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Why are "bad words" bad?

Discussion in 'Debates' started by Adam34falcon, May 8, 2017.

  1. Adam34falcon

    Adam34falcon Celebrity Meeper

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    Do you think we should have such a thing as "bad" words? Why aren't they just like normal words? In my opinion I thin you should just be allowed to say them in public places.
     
  2. Natsu

    Natsu Celebrity Meeper

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    They are taboos, usually relating to
    1) mature action or body parts/people related to said action
    2) negative judgement of some sort
    3) waste products

    I don't want to be reminded constantly about these things, and neither do most people so in society, so they are inappropriate.

    Adam, you are 12 so you'll think it's funny to say "bad words" but you shouldn't say them child
     
  3. Muunkee

    Muunkee Legendary art supply hoarder

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    People curse in public all the time. I hear it all the time. I do it all the time.

    Bad words are considered bad mostly because it comes from something derogatory in the first place. Saying bi --- used to mean just "A female dog" but people meant it to say, you're being such a, meaning an extremely moody person, and it became an insult.

    The words come from taking one thing and turning it into something negative.

    I'm going to assume you mean swears here.

    If you're talking stuff like real sexual content, that falls into inappropriate-ness because it's a private matter and has always been private and therefore bad to talk about in public. And there's verbal sexual harassment relating to this which tbh is just harassment and is bad no matter which way you look at it


    in short, they're bad because people made them so.

    Edit: Also unless you're in an office or some crap, or you're around a bunch of religious people, or around young children (none of which I curse around unless I am 100% sure no one cares in the area) no one will care. Tbh you shouldnt be cursing in certain areas such as those just due to being a polite human being but otherwise have at it
     
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  4. OneBreadSlice

    OneBreadSlice Celebrity Meeper

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    I actually wrote an english paper on this subject.
     
  5. Supreme_Overlord

    Supreme_Overlord Popular Meeper

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    The topic that the word refers to isn't inherently what makes people view it as bad though. If you say "s***," people might often view it as bad, whereas they likely won't have a problem with "crap," "feces," or "poop," even though they're all synonymous.
     
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  6. SuperDyl

    SuperDyl Popular Meeper

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    1. Many, if not most, parents don't want their children swearing, as it makes the parent look bad.

    2. People swearing in public have the risk of children picking up the words, making their parents angry. This is inconsiderate to the parents.

    3. Swearing is usually a very strong way to say something, just as good, great, and fantastic are different levels of the same thing. Swear words are beyond what society deems safe bounds for the strength of a word.

    4. For these reasons, people who swear often are sometimes stereotyped as rude.

    5. AKA, my personal rant: I have yet to see a reason someone should swear. Most just say, "Free speech," but this doesn't act as a reason someone should do something. Neither is the reasoning that people exist who swear a good reason to swear either, as groups aren't always right (unless it's a witch trial).
     
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  7. TheTastyNacho

    TheTastyNacho Celebrity Meeper

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    I think that you should be able to say whatever you want as long as the people around are fine with it. I like the law that swearing in public is illegal because it makes sure small children don't pick up words they shouldn't be saying.

    It's definitely ok to drop the occasional f-bomb. Just make sure the people you're with are not bothered by it.
     
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  8. Muunkee

    Muunkee Legendary art supply hoarder

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    Swearing is not illegal. Making a public nuisance of yourself is (being loud, harassing, continuing after being told to stop by law enforcement/property owners), but that's not quite the same. It does become illegal when it appears to intend to provoke a fight,, but again, not really the same as just cursing.
     
  9. Grandblue

    Grandblue Celebrity Meeper

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    I mean, you say that, but that just begs the question as to why these body parts are "mature," (I assume you mean in an explicit sense, not hormonal), or why negative judgement is so taboo. Honestly, I don't know the answer to this, but I would like to bring up that a lot of swear words come from superstition. Examples: "Hell" and "damn."

    "N*gg**" is obviously bad because it was simply a word to refer to black people. Same with "queer." People began taking it offensively, so it became offensive. An interesting social dynamic is that when people rise above and accept these words, they lose their meaning. Hence why "queer" is not as offensive as it used to be. Gay people like to refer to themselves as queers. On the other hand, as you know, many words have not been accepted– rather, they incite sheer hatred.

    That being said, "f*ck," "sh*t," "b*tch," and many other words are meaningless to me because they are overused. In my friend group, when someone uses these words, they are looked down upon for not being able to use something more interesting. Ah society is truly a wonderful thing, I'm probably overthinking a bit.
     
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  10. DancingCactus

    DancingCactus Legendary Meeper

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    pretty sure the best and most simple answer is that these words convey a sense of discomfort and malice

    and the bible sees swearing as a sin when used in anger or broad speech
     
  11. OKNEM

    OKNEM Celebrity Meeper

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    +1. I want to [hypocritically insert bad words] the person who made these words... They're not necessary.
     
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  12. MeepLord27

    MeepLord27 Popular Meeper

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    Because theres stigma around them. Its not a large problem though.
    There are no bad words, just bad feelings.
     
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