Quote:
Originally Posted by Elgin Clock
Can you make a difference at the personal level and ask someone not to swear if you go up to them personally and ask them not to?
Probably.
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I don't have a problem with people doing this. This is the appropriate way to approach this problem, if it really offends you. I hate censorship with an undying passion, and think censorship in ANY media (print, audio, video, oral face-to-face communication, etc) is stupid. Self-censorship is better, but not by much. Its simple, if something offends you, don't listen to it. Censorship in music is the one that really bugs me. By censoring the song, you remove the artists original intent from the song, instead of just not listening to it, if it offends you.
Will asking someone to stop swearing near you because it offends you help? Maybe. It can't hurt. Will they be offended that you're trying to tell them what to do? Maybe.
All I know is there are plenty of places in life where I see people swearing all the time. (Though admittedly, I do tend to attend places where this might be more common: racetracks, other competitive environments, etc)
You can't protect people from it, and you can't outlaw it, so I suggest learning to not let it offend you. Things like the ever-versatile F-word. Its a word, nothing more. Its offensive connotation is all in how one interprets it. Ones that really get me are words like A** and sh*t. These are words that have a real definition. An $@#$@#$@# is a donkey. This context is used in the BIBLE, and yet, some people are offended by this word. Same goes for sh*t. I don't understand how it is any more offensive than poo, or feces.
In any case, the point I'm laboriously trying to get to is that it is highly unlikely you will eliminate swearing anywhere. You may however, be able to reduce it through making people aware that they're offending you.