True story, while in Bible College I worked at a place called Kwikset Lockset along with several other students from the school. It was a good place to work and it was good money for a poor struggling college student. Since none of us single guys owned a car, we had to carpool with one or two of the married guys. One Friday night after work, on the way home from Anaheim, we stopped to get gas at a station on Walnut just off the 57 freeway in Fullerton. Since the driver was pumping the gas, my friend Pete and I went in to the station/mini-mart to get something to drink. While we were inside standing in line, a very large and apparently drunk gentleman in front of us was being belligerent with the clerk. He very loudly yelled at the clerk, "give me the blankety blank" cigarettes! Not one to let an opening like that go without comment, my friend Pete said, loud enough so that everyone could hear, "I didn't know they made that brand!" Now if you know my friend Pete, you would know that his comment was meant to be funny but it was also a sarcastic way of making a point about the large (have I mentioned this guy was big?) man's language in public.
Evidently, the large gentlemen did not appreciate my friend's humor at his expense. He turned around, gave us a threatening look and then stomped out the door. We quickly paid for our drinks and headed out to the now fully fueled car. Unbeknown to us, the large man had returned to his monster truck filled with several of his buddies who were all now glaring at us. After we gave an abbreviated explanation to our fellow carpoolers as to what had happened in the store, we all agreed the wisest choice was to high-tail it back to the freeway and head home.
As you might have guessed, the large man and his buddies followed us out of the parking lot and onto the freeway. Thus began 30 miles of highway stalking on the 57 freeway. When we would speed up, they would speed up, when we would change lanes they would change lanes. We mostly drove very fast, exceeding speeds at which I have never travelled, before or since. They stayed on our tail nearly the entire way. One of the married gentleman in the car kept saying, "We are going to die, we are going to die!" I was beginning to believe him. What was usually a 30 minute drive took us less than 20 minutes. Finally, deciding they had stalked us long enough, they pulled their huge truck beside us while throwing beer bottles at our car. After terroizing us this way for a few seconds, they got off the freeway and disappeared. Whew!
This article reminded me of that story. It made me think about profanity and its prevalence in today's society. I don't know about all of you, but I still cringe when I hear people cursing in public. It just seems inappropriate. Especially in professional settings. I know that if I worked for an employer that constantly dropped the "F" bombs at work, I would have little respect for them. Then again, maybe I am the one that is all wet? One time I took my ex-wife to see a Doctor. He was a highly recommended specialist. When we met with him for a consultation after the exam he talked like a sailor. It was a big disappointment for me and in my mind, most unprofessional. To talk like that in public, in a professional setting shows a lack of class and a lack of consideration for others.
Please don't misunderstand, I am by no means a shrinking violet or a prude. But, I do think that it takes more creativity and effort to actually inspire people using non-vulgar language. That is why I have never understood the humor of some comedians. How hard is it to make someone laugh when every "joke" involves "MF" and other variants of the "F" word? The punchline seems to be the crudity of the language, not the wittiness of the story.
Again, your language doesn't offend me, but your lack of originality does. I have worked several jobs in which it seemed that creative use of the "F" word was a prerequisite for most positions. At one place I worked, they guys used the "F" word so much that it would ring in my ears at night when I would go to bed. Seriously, the "F" word was used as an adjective for everything. "Can you bring me the f***ing wrench?" "I had a great time at the f***ing club last night." "That is one f***ing huge pimple." You get the point. Interestingly, I also discovered with these guys that the "F" word can also be used as a verb, a noun and an adverb!
Part of the problem I think is that our culture has been desensitized to vulgarity. It is everywhere. Exhibit one is the ever popular, WTF. The whole philosophy seems to be, since everyone else says it, why not me? Recently I heard several kids dropping the "F" bombs and I stopped to ask them, "did you learn to talk that way in Sunday School?" Surprisingly, they got the point and apologized, although, I suspect most kids would have no clue what I was getting at if I said something similar to them.
I do realize that sometimes, and in some situations, a curse word is the only way that seems appropriate to describe your response to a situation. To say that one is pi**ed off just seems more of an apt description of how angry you are, than something tamer. And of course, the very popular d*mn is an excellent way to communicate shock. Still, those are probably better used in private than in public.
I also realize that when we start to condemn certain words we tread dangerously close to political correctness and I DESPISE all things that are politically correct. Some will say that the problem with profanity is not with the user, but with the hearer. I do agree with that to some extent. I am certainly not proposing that we ban any words, even the "F" word. I am saying though that we should probably use better judgement when and if we choose to use them. Especially if you are in a public place and trying to buy some cigarettes!
Disclaimer: I am in no way implying that I have been perfect in this area. In very rare situations I have let fly a few "inappropriate" words (just ask my children). However, if you ask my friends and family, they will tell you that I am generally pretty good about this issue.
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