What happened to class? All we have is crass.

[John Coloccia]

I'm unimpressed with the concept of making offensive anything illegal. One day, we find curse words offensive. Tomorrow we might find expressing religious ideas offensive.....or has that happened already? Maybe next week, we'll decide that disagreeing with the president is offensive....or has that already happened too?

Seriously. Take responsibility for yourself...your own mouth and your own ears. We really don't need to go down this path again, do we?

[David Weaver]

I'm with you, John. If someone is spewing bad language in front of kids, then the folks who are with the kids can line them out. We don't need police running around wasting tax dollars enforcing that kind of thing, and we don't need people with arrest records for cursing in public. That's totally ridiculous.

I'm not condoning anything as acceptable behavior, necessarily, but there is a difference between unacceptable and worthy of police action.

[Phil Thien]

It is kind of a sad day when we equate the absence of foul language with class.

Only using G language seems like a like a low threshold for being classy.

But I guess I do agree it is probably a good place to start.

[ray hampton]

[QUOTE=Steve Meliza;2119461]Who decides what crass is? What about words spelled differently but pronounced the same or so similarly that you can't tell the difference? What makes people get offended at the f-word but not "frak" from Battlestar Galactica? Is a word not offensive if you don't understand the language it was uttered in? I checked the Bible for unutterable words and came up blank, is there some other moral compass that lists them? I'll have to check the first amendment, I'm sure it lists all of the circa 1776 dirty words like "darn", "dang", and "dagnabbit".

I wonder about what version of bible you use , the following words were consider unutterable when I were a kid [ piss] dung and they are in the King James Bible, the word "blood" are prohibit by some internet sites

[ray hampton]

I'm unimpressed with the concept of making offensive anything illegal. One day, we find curse words offensive. Tomorrow we might find expressing religious ideas offensive.....or has that happened already? Maybe next week, we'll decide that disagreeing with the president is offensive....or has that already happened too?

Seriously. Take responsibility for yourself...your own mouth and your own ears. We really don't need to go down this path again, do we?

THIS WILL DEPEND on whom we are talking to, a drunk or someone high on dope will not stop you from using 4-letters words but a true minister of GOD will disagree with a potty-mouth, a female dog is a female dog not a ITCH

[Mel Fulks]

I don't think the law is the best way ,or even a good way to deal with the problem . But it is a mistake to think that it would be something new .The laws are old , and in many places still on the books. But strong social censure always did most of the policing and that is gone. With the anonimnity of modern city life it won't come back.

[Steve Meliza]

a female dog is a female dog not a ITCH

Walk into a dog show and you'll quickly learn that "dog" is the males and that other word is for the female canines. It is said seriously, with a straight face, without malice, without ill intent, and no one takes offense because it is the proper language.

In regards to your previous post, the 1560 version of the Geneva Bible. That KJV stuff is just too newfangled for me.

[ray hampton]

Walk into a dog show and you'll quickly learn that "dog" is the males and that other word is for the female canines. It is said seriously, with a straight face, without malice, without ill intent, and no one takes offense because it is the proper language.

In regards to your previous post, the 1560 version of the Geneva Bible. That KJV stuff is just too newfangled for me.

is a fox or a wolf a canine ? a female fox are a vixen , if foxes and wolves are canines then the word dog must be use to refer to the group of canine that will not included foxes or wolves
do the library have a Genera bible [1560 ]
this might be a worthy study, thank you

[Chuck Wintle]

I'm unimpressed with the concept of making offensive anything illegal. One day, we find curse words offensive. Tomorrow we might find expressing religious ideas offensive.....or has that happened already? Maybe next week, we'll decide that disagreeing with the president is offensive....or has that already happened too?

Seriously. Take responsibility for yourself...your own mouth and your own ears. We really don't need to go down this path again, do we?

John,

IMHO offensive words will always be spoken but I am hearing a lot of f bombs and others words that suggest a lack of education or a family situation that did nothing to stop the behavior. When the originator of the offensive words realizes that someone is listening and is judging them at the same time I often see a shift in how they speak.

[David Weaver]

When the originator of the offensive words realizes that someone is listening and is judging them at the same time I often see a shift in how they speak.

This isn't limited to profanity, though. It's pretty much the case any time anyone has any private conversation that they are expressing any opinion.

It's pretty much universal that every generation was sure the next was bringing the end of the world with their manners or the lack of decorum to some arbitrary standard.

[David Weaver]

THIS WILL DEPEND on whom we are talking to, a drunk or someone high on dope will not stop you from using 4-letters words but a true minister of GOD will disagree with a potty-mouth, a female dog is a female dog not a ITCH

The origin of the word was around 1000 ad according to dictionary.com, and it didn't take on a disparaging definition until 1400. That's, by their numbers, 400 years before it was hijacked. It's still used with regularity at every dog show I've ever seen, including any on broadcast TV. It still retains two non-disparaging official definitions.

[John Coloccia]

John,

IMHO offensive words will always be spoken but I am hearing a lot of f bombs and others words that suggest a lack of education or a family situation that did nothing to stop the behavior. When the originator of the offensive words realizes that someone is listening and is judging them at the same time I often see a shift in how they speak.

Personally I don't care, and under the right circumstances I've been known unload a stream of profanity that would curl a sailor's toes, but there are other things people say that I do find offensive and it's my choice to put up with it, say something or simply leave. I think it's pretty ridiculous to suggest that such speech should actually be a against the law.

[Biff Johnson]

Part of the increase in public vulgarity is the result of a society that does not understand that there is a need of some formality .Every time I'm in a doctors office and hear a "Bob " or "Mary" called for their appointment and see someone three times the age of the receptionist get up ,I wonder how we got where we are. Heard a country's leader call another country's leader by a knick name in a press conference recently!

Amen. My wife's doctor goes by "Doctor Matt" (first name) you know, to keep it informal. I don't want to be informal with my doctor. I also don't want the teenager at Circuit City to call me by my first name.

[Brian Ashton]

its a lack of proper rearing and likely the kid has heard often in his/her house that, to them at least, it becomes a normal way of expressing oneself. the f bomb is a substitute for a lack of vocabulary often. but i rate the f bomb right up there with the word "awesome" and others.

I can't say I disagree with you but I've seen the other side of that in my family. My father never swore in frontof us kids. The worst word I can remember hearing was bugger. But I have one brother that is really foul mouthed. He's really bad and his son is the opposite, never heard him say any foul words when I went to visit.

[Brian Ashton]

It is kind of a sad day when we equate the absence of foul language with class.

Only using G language seems like a like a low threshold for being classy.

But I guess I do agree it is probably a good place to start.

But it works. I often have people here apologise for swearing in front of me. To be honest, without being mistaken for being arrogant or such cause I certainly don't think I have any class, it does elevate me. But not because I try to elevate myself but because those around me notice I don't swear and pull themselves up when they do in my presence.