There are 9 choices, 18 votes for NarniaKid's debate

Is it Right to Swear?

As a high school student, I hear swearing every day. Most of the swearing is for silly reasons for example, you drop you pen. So do you think swearing is nessesary, or should we just stick to 'dammit'?
  • Eh
    I use them all the time, out of sheer laziness.
    33%  Voted for by Weydon, Energizer Bunny, SenseiRidgway, petethemeat, WiseOwl. (6 total)
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  • Not Just Words
    There's a recent-ish study showing that swearing actually serves a purpose: it significantly increases pain tolerance. The study only covered pain-swearing, not descriptive or abusive swearing, though.


    Time article: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1910691,00.html

    Journal article: http://journals.lww.com/neuroreport/Abstract/2009/08050/Swearing_as_a_response_to_pain.4.aspx
    16%  Voted for by rozencrantz, NoeL-, Molzahn.
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  • it's just words
    swearing has nothing to do with right or wrong. language is for communicating, swear words can be used to be more expressive, it's just unfortunate that they are so often used unnecessarily (especially by kids).

    11%  Voted for by zga, SenseiRidgway.
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  • It displays a lack of intelligence
    I think of swearing as, from a strictly ęsthetic standpoint, more or less exemplary of a lack of intelligence and an inability to express oneself without reducing yourself to sounding like a moron.

    I make a distinction between a person swearing because, say, they dropped a hammer on their foot, in which case they're not so much swearing AT a person as they are swearing out of pain. While, again, from an ęsthetic standpoint, I think of the use of such language is childish, is it absolutely WRONG? I am more or less indifferent towards it, especially if the person rarely swears, as a general rule.

    However, I do think that people who swear incessantly-- such as teenagers and many young adults-- display a lack of intelligence. There are hundreds of thousands of words in the English language that you can use to describe something, and if you are unable to think of anything except the f-word to fill in the space between thoughts, it's probably because you are either lazy, or just plain stupid.

    It is either this, or you are simply apathetic toward it. As NoeL put it, they're just words, right? I will grant this to an extent, yes; they are just words, but words have meanings. On the first level, it is simply rude for many people. If you're in a room with people who are sensitive to swearwords, then don't swear; it's only polite, to make them feel more comfortable. If people are offended by your language, and you keep using it, you're just being a jerk. "But they should just learn to deal with it-- they're just words!" say some. Alright, so they're just words. If that's the case, then it really shouldn't be much of a problem to refrain from saying them, should it? Whether you agree with it or not, if someone is offended by swearing, then just don't do it; it's basic courtesy.

    If you're with people for whom it isn't a problem, I still think, as I said before, that constant swearing is indicative of lesser intelligence, inasmuch as you cannot muster up any better diction than the same swearwords over and over, but is it actually WRONG? I dunno.
    11%  Voted for by Xelgaroth, WhatALovelyDay.
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  • Hmmm..
    Hmm.. I'm not sure what to say because I don't swear. I think that you shouldn't swear directly at somebody, use it as an insult, but I suppose I can handle a few swearing mutters. Although we probably will never be able to avoid swearing, because there are some people that are just like that.
    Voted for by NarniaKid.
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  • Nope
    It may be wrong for you to swear, but that would be your personal value. For me, it is the opposite. For me, censorship is wrong.
    Voted for by s0cialNME.
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  • they're words, like all the others.
    i don't understand why people would list a word as bad. if it's so bad, why was it made? swearing can be relieving in many ways. but i don't think that someone who swears often, should be frowned upon. censorship, is the most annoying thing ever. especially when tv shows say it anyways and it just get's bleeped out. what's the point? both you, and i, know what they're saying, and we have heard the words many times before. we ALL have said fuck.
    Voted for by dsc.
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  • Well...
    They should be used to express seriousness; now, it's like there's no way to show people that you are truly angry. (Which really sucks, I must say...)
    Voted for by GinryuStargazer.
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  • freedom of speech
    we all have the right to speak what we please, and if someone doesn't like it, then that's their own problem. We all have things we don't like, we suck it up and deal with it.
    Voted for by Rhapsody.
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