Potty Mouth

Ever met a person who swears all the time and when you think about it, the context in which they used the swear word(s) makes absolutely no sense?

Why are swear words even necessary? Often they’re referred to as “adult words,” but why exist at all? In my humble, or maybe not-so-humble opinion, swear words are immature, unprofessional, inappropriate, and frankly unoriginal uses of English vocabulary. I honestly don’t care the mood someone is in, or the presiding situation at hand. Swear words just sound... dumb.

            Why do people find it so cute or hilarious when a child swears accidentally? I admit I’ve laughed on occasion in similar situations (these incidents are often shown on “America’s Funniest Home Videos”) but really it’s an awful slip of the tongue that should immediately be corrected. If it’s being caught on film, you know it’s been going on awhile which teaches the child that swearing is okay. We laugh, so they laugh. The parent pulls out the camera and prompts a repeat, and the child thinks it’s acceptable. Yuck.

            Depending upon my audience, some may recall my “Potty Mouth Jar” I had in high school. Anytime I caught a friend swearing, I charged them a quarter. Surprisingly well, this carried on for a while, to my benefit of course, and even though it tapered off, but my friends knew to watch their mouths (around me at least.)

I’m not necessarily offended when people swear. Honestly, I have a hard time taking people seriously when they swear. If they do it “jokingly,” I tend to think them altogether immature. If done out of anger, I view it as lack of control over anger. Label it judgmental if you like, but let be honest: if you walk up to someone at random and start swearing at them, chances are it won’t be received with smiles and hugs.

            Why swear at all? I won’t pretend that I’ve never done it. Yes, a swear word have slipped from my mouth before, but it left me feeling filthy and depressed the rest of the day, not out of guilt, but just because swear words are in general not uplifting or encouraging. They’re depressing, discouraging, and derogatory.

That’s pretty much all I have to say about that.