Quote:
Originally Posted by frasnow
Give me a break. Swearing is not culture. Anybody can swear. To attribute everything to culture is to allow far worse atrocities. We should hold ourselves to a higher standard.
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Why isn't language you don't like culture, but language you do like is culture? I don't think that's something you can say. The slippery slope argument ("if you say swearing is culture, you can say anything is culture, and that is a lot worse!") is fallacious at best.
Or, more fundamentally, what is wrong with swearing? Fundamentally, the only reason I don't swear in some contexts is to be polite to those who don't like to hear it. I try to avoid swearing around robotics children because they are less likely to have the social wherewithal to avoid swearing in mixed company, and I don't want them imitating my behavior. But I don't honestly see what's actually, morally,
wrong with swearing. It's just words.
Unlike other taboos, which disparage marginalized groups and are thus inherently hurtful and perpetuate oppression, curse words just have one (of many) meaning(s) that refer to sexual or excretory acts or functions. Yet, other (non-curse) words we use that have one or more of these meanings are not held to the same standard. I legitimately don't get it. Not getting it doesn't stop me from trying to be nice and not swearing around people who do get it, but I think we need to understand why swearing is so bad in order to condemn this particular case (or any case, really).