What's so bad about cursing?

I've never really understood why cursing is so taboo in society. I thought it was stupid when I got punished for it as a kid and as an adult I still think it's stupid when someone gets offended by a mere word. I can understand someone getting offended by a racial slur or when they're being cursed out by someone else, but when it comes to your four letter words I can't really see what's so bad about. Sure, the S-word is for fecal matter, but so are words like poo, poop, and crap and no one cares about those words (not to mention both **** and it's synonyms can be used in the same ways grammatically). The F-bomb can be used as a word for the act of sexual intercourse, but the majority of its uses have nothing to do with that definition. Indeed just about every curse word in the English language has lost it's original meaning, euphamisms have come into use that mean the exact same things, yet the words are still considered offensive for some reason.

It really boggles my mind how people can be so offended by such words that we had to create the FCC, put advisory stickers on music albums, bump games up to T and M ratings for having curse words, punish kids for using them in some really harsh and arguably abusive ways (mouth soaping, hotsaucing, etc), and even enact anti-cursing laws (I know of two cases where people were brought to court merely for cursing, one of which was in the 1970s and the other which was in the 1990's I think, and I'd be willing to bet that there's many more).

So, does anyone here find swearing offensive, and if so just what is it about swear words that you find so bad? Like what is it about the S-word that makes it worse than saying "crap"?

Designating certain words as taboo is beneficial to the language. Taboo words carry extra oomph when used. It helps bring attention to whatever it is you're trying to communicate. Overusing these words lessens the taboo, which then lessens the oomph. I for one, would like to maintain my ability to throw in the oomph. It ensures my words will always carry more weight than my cussing neighbor.

"It really boggles my mind how people can be so offended by such words that we had to create the FCC, put advisory stickers on music albums, bump games up to T and M ratings for having curse words." Society can be amazingly stupid. :( Anyway, to answer the question, to me, "curse" words are just like any other words, and shouldn't be treated any differently. People really need to grow up about things like this.Forerunner-117

On rap cds, the advisory stickers are still needed. The parents need to know that people are wasting their money on crap.

Designating certain words as taboo is beneficial to the language. Taboo words carry extra oomph when used. It helps bring attention to whatever it is you're trying to communicate. Overusing these words lessens the taboo, which then lessens the oomph. I for one, would like to maintain my ability to throw in the oomph. It ensures my words will always carry more weight than my cussing neighbor.

Oleg_Huzwog

i think you got a pretty damn good point

On rap cds, the advisory stickers are still needed. The parents need to know that people are wasting their money on crap.

cubeCAT13