Bad Words! Oh sh*t!
Offline I had this little chat with my dad a long time ago. I discovered he, as a hardcore christian, he likes cuss words. I asked him what would happen if we as a society just decided to make them regular words. Common expletives and colorful adjectives. Yea your kid could say the F word with no reprecussions. I explained to him, (lol) that we as a society have decided these words are bad. But they are just words. If we could somehow push that they are not really bad and they became everyday common words (as if they aren't already) what would be the big deal. He didn't want to discuss it, he acts like he personally needs words that should not be spoken. Makes a lot of sense!
Anyway he is a big christian and does not agree with me on this at all and did not even want to talk about it. Why not?
Faith is the word but next to that snugged up closely "lie's" the want.
"By simple common sense I don't believe in god, in none."-Charlie Chaplin
- Login to post comments
And I must agree with that 100% myself. People who don't understand the history of our culture just don't know a good dirty joke when they hear it.
Now, that having been said, it seems that b166er beat me to posting George Carlin, so I will go in a bit of a different direction. Swearing has been part of our general human experience for as long as there has been spoken language. In fact, the ignorant people who don't like cussing due to some mistaken belief that it bespeaks a lack of culture are most probably people who have little knowledge of the roots of culture.
Here I am reminded of the great medieval author François Rabelais who was one of the great contributors to the French language during the first half of the 1500's. During this period, the basics of grammar and spelling were first being worked out. In fact, François Rabelais was hugely responsible for the general idea that words ought to be spelled the way that they are pronounced and not in some simplified fashion.
As this is a free speech forum, I believe that I will take this opportunity to post a bit from one of his more well known works, Gargantua and Pantagruel (don't blame me, it is a classic of 16th century literature):
=
The neck of a goose; I'll have to try that.
This is incorrect. Often, swearing had been borrowed from other cultures, sometimes barbaric cultures. For example, Russian was "enriched" by swearing words largely during the Tatar-Mongolian invasions in 13th century.
If you study the origin of English curse words, you will find it out that essentially all of them have NOT been around "as long as there has been spoken language". Of course, you should know that 'cunt' is borrowed from German, 'asshole' has long been used in its direct meaning, and 'motherfucker' is a pure americanism (so it is MUCH younger than English
)
I cannot think of any curse word that would have no common language analogue. Let me know if you find any. So, I have another question, why do we need to swear?
Yes it certainly is only an opigion, but a fact based, justifyable, and reasonable opigion. Much more reasonable it would seem than the opigion that people who cuss are uneducated.
?
I don't know a single professor who would be swearing even once in 10 minutes. I do not exclude the possibility of finding one... also, maybe your list of educated people is way longer than mine. Perhaps, you know what you are talking about.
So would it be safe to say you are among those who believe we should have the words that should not be uttered? The words that we ourselves have deemed to be "bad"?
To have words that should not be spoken is akin to having money to not spend. imo
Faith is the word but next to that snugged up closely "lie's" the want.
"By simple common sense I don't believe in god, in none."-Charlie Chaplin
Are you saying the only form of education is a scholarly one? At what point on one's path for knowledge would you consider them educated? Do they have to obtain a degree? All my closest friends have degrees in various fields, are they educated? They certainly swear all the time. I've met many professors, some swear, some don't. It depends on the individual, the timing, environement etc... Whether they cuss or not certainly has nothing to do with their education as if the more degrees they get the less they swear or something the like is ofcousre non-sense. Now if you ask me who is educated I would have to include the VAST amount of wise self educated folk I have met along the way that had no formal education but were just plain brilliant, and some of those people swore, and some did not, some a little and some alote. It has nothing to do with their education which is just:
"The act or process of educating or being educated."
Making a connection between education and swearing is a bogus as making as connection between inteligence and eating desserts, rediculous.
This is a very poor argument. In fact, it reads like you have gone out of your way to construct a parody of my point in order to distract from it and then tried to break down the parody.
Obviously the English language has only been around for a finite time. If you include older forms that are pretty much unrecognizable to native speakers today, I am sure that they swore back then.
Even so, swearing has been around far longer than the English language, however far back you want to go.
=
Don't we have such words already? Didn't we create a new race, African-Americans?
Now, we have Native Americans. What's next? Mexican Americans? How about European Americans? 
I tried to resist, but couldn't.
Wouldn't you agree that Oedipus Rex was the first known motherfucker?
-- I feel so much better since I stopped trying to believe.
"We are entitled to our own opinions. We're not entitled to our own facts"- Al Franken
"If death isn't sweet oblivion, I will be severely disappointed" - Ruth M.
And I agree with you. I never intended to make a connection between formal education and swearing. What I am trying to talk about is the connection between swearing and the lack of cultural education, or in your words the dependence "on the individual, the timing, environment etc...". Just imagine two groups - #1 Carpenters and #2 College professors. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to tell us who will use more cussing words at work. Now, imagine you REPLACED carpenters with professors and visa versa for a day or two. Tell me now which group will use more cussing words?
Phrasing is not quite the same as the base word, there is a difference in combining words but even at that one should be able to speak them if they find it to be appropriate. If someone disagrees, well that's part of what makes the world go round isn't it, even if it involves using uncouth slang terminology. Free speech, it's here..most of the time.
Faith is the word but next to that snugged up closely "lie's" the want.
"By simple common sense I don't believe in god, in none."-Charlie Chaplin
Well, maybe you are right. I would really like to read something about the history of swearing. Have you seen any book you would recommend me?
Easy question: the college professors would swear more. Because they would hit their thumbs more often than the professional carpenters!
-- I feel so much better since I stopped trying to believe.
"We are entitled to our own opinions. We're not entitled to our own facts"- Al Franken
"If death isn't sweet oblivion, I will be severely disappointed" - Ruth M.
Though I am not 100% sure he was the first known one, I agree that he was a motherfucker. Just curious, why did you ask?
It reminded me...
- Natasha, have you been slapped on your cunt with an oar?
- No, but why did you ask, lieutenant?
- To keep our conversation.
Possibly.
I am not so sure though. It depends on the cultural environment of professors outside the college. If they are not used to swearing, they may just not have those words in their active lexicon. They may use something like "oh, crap!" ... in first few days at least.
Also, I do sometimes swear, but I have never ever swear with my wife including our "bed time" (as someone suggested here). So, no matter how I look on this, my education is terrible anyway.
Yeh, yeh, yeh....
So you freely use the F* word, but you cannot use the N* word, which is just a normal word used by the rest of the world.
Just curious, what does your dad say about using the N* word?
All you are saying here is in the construction industry it is more exceptable to swear, and so the carpenters have grown more accustom to doing so. It is not only exceptable to swear in the contruction industry, it is customary. The professors are used to being in much more professional surroundings, and they are most likely more conditioned not to swaer. This would be expected. When you say "cultural education" what exactly do you mean? Are you saying cultural refinement, like a certain type of manners, or a way in which a "higher class" of people than carpenters would act? I'm really not getting what your saying at all. Are you refering to carpenters as unintelligent? Or not "culturally educated?" Keep in mind your talking to one.
With Oedipus Rex, the concept is obviously a very old idea. There was a lot of incest amongst the old Greek gods. Since we all recognize them as being in man's image, it just makes me wonder.
I took Italian in college. We had a guest native speaker come in and teach us hand signals and cursing. "Momma Mia" is swearing, and very rude swearing at that. It is taking the Virgin Mary's name in vain, not your mother's. A lot of the cursing was religious in reference. Yes, they have words for all the words we consider bad, and they are not used in polite company in Italy, either. But to be really rude, you have to bring in religion. I find the differences in language and cultural standards interesting.
-- I feel so much better since I stopped trying to believe.
"We are entitled to our own opinions. We're not entitled to our own facts"- Al Franken
"If death isn't sweet oblivion, I will be severely disappointed" - Ruth M.
My dad is a racist who uses it frequently, I was a racist up untill a point as well. I looked up the term, It used to mean simply a lazy slovenly person. Apparently they have adjusted that and officially made it nasty slang for a black person. The N word is not a bad word though. Bad words are not found in the dictionary. It is a racially charged term meant to demean and belittle now days. It could have it's own thread.
Faith is the word but next to that snugged up closely "lie's" the want.
"By simple common sense I don't believe in god, in none."-Charlie Chaplin
Ooh, now this is a topic I love and have actually read into. I don't even know where to begin. I guess I'll have a go at the two biggest questions I saw in the thread:
1) Should the "ban" on "bad words" be lifted?
2) Why do we need to swear?
Before we answer the first question, we have to ask two sub-questions: 1a) What exactly is this "ban" and where did it come from? 1b) Why are some words "bad"?
It turns out that the "ban" or "taboo" that is issued on some words doesn't trace back to any sort of heavy-handed decision. There was no language-control committee that designated these words as offensive. (Not even the FCC, which is completely ad hoc and therefore doesn't count.)
By way of analogy, there is no committee that decides why some specific series of sounds has a definite meaning uttered in front of another. For example, when English-speakers produce the series of sounds amounting to the word "dream", why does it refer to a sleep phenomenon? After all, when the Anglo-Saxons uttered the word's direct ancestor, they understood it to mean something like "joy". But no one person or committee made a unilateral decision that changed the word for everyone. It turns out that most matters in language operate much like fashion trends. We can't say exactly where they started, we just know that they caught on, and the change occurred because an entire society accepted the change, not because any rule was made forcing them to.
The taboo on certain words is a mere convention in much the same way, but most likely results from a literal belief (in older cultures) or a gut feeling (still around today) that certain words have some kind of "power" to them. Most likely the "power" we feel is a reaction to something the majority of the current society is averse to.
One timeless example is swear words like "piss" and "shit" since people are very naturally disgusted by these substances, not to mention that they attract disgusting creatures and diseases when left lying around. (Hence, indoor plumbing.)
There are also sexual swears, either by referring to the act itself, i.e. fucking, or to the parts needed for the act, i.e. cock, dick, pussy, cunt, etc. There are multiple levels of aversion here: religion, a dislike for sexual infidelity or whoredom (may or may not be religious), the fear of diseases, etc.
Notice also that one society's swears may not carry as much force when moved to a completely different society. For example, you'd have a hard time finding an American that felt all the force of the word "bloody" that a Brit might feel.
So the "ban" is nothing more than a mixture of a specific society's aversions mixed with learned convention.
As for what makes a word "bad", that is also pure convention. Most people who believe that there is something morally wrong with swearing do not agree with this and will often try to offer up an explanation for why the specific swear word is uniquely "bad" or immoral, but these reasons tend to not hold water.
For example, that the word "shit". Why is it so bad? Your anti-swearing friend might argue that it's a bad word because it refers to something gross. But what about when a mother says "poo-poo" to her child? Isn't she referring to the same disgusting substance? Is she therefore swearing? Of course not. What about when a doctor says "feces"? Is that not also the same reference? Is he not therefore swearing? Of course he's not. Any distinction between "shit" and another word that means the same thing is completely arbitrary and conventionalized.
We can do the same thing with "fuck". Your anti-swearing friend might say that it's "bad" or immoral because it refers to a sexual act. But then again, why is it bad to say that two people "fucked" but perfectly okay to say that they "had sex" or "made love" or "had intercourse"? They all refer to the same activity. Your anti-swearing friend might predictably argue that it has to do with the KIND of sex it refers to. It is a sexual word with a very negative and possibly violent connotation. But then why am I swearing when I say "he fucked her" but not swearing when I say "he raped her"? Once again, it doesn't hold water. Once again, it's arbitrary and conventionalized.
We can even see how certain "bad words" gain or lose effectiveness over time based on how the society generally feels about the word's referent.
For example, if I were to shout "Jesus Christ!" in a public space, probably only the religious would be offended. However, if I were to perform the same act in the 15th century, most listeners would probably not only be offended, they would be horrified by my foolishness and afraid for their own souls from having even heard the swear. This indicates a relaxation in the belief of what words can do (this was a time when people believed curses were exactly that--real curses with real effects) but also a relaxation in how seriously religion is taken for most people. (Comforting!)
We can also consider words that are considered "mild language" at best, but used to carry much more force. For example, not even grandma bats an eye when you call someone a jerk, which is actually short for jerk-off. She does not flinch when you say that someone is a sleazebag, even though this probably originally referred to a used condom. Most women would probably have to get out a dictionary if you called them a strumpet, and even then, the word wouldn't carry the same force as "whore".
But then look at how our reaction to the words "nigger" or "cotton' pickin'" have changed over time as our understand of race has shifted. Where the n-word used to be thrown about nonchalantly only a century ago, it is now one of the most offensive words in the English language in most contexts. So the "power" or "force" we feel behind a word is also conventionalized, but also says something about how we know our society thinks--not necessarily about how we individually think. (e.g. I'm not religious, but I know many people in my society are, so I can still count on "jesus fucking christ" to have a satisfying punch.)
So back to the first question: 1) Should we lift the "ban" on swearing?
Yes and no. Yes, because we are lifting it all the time. That's why no one is offended by "jerk" anymore. But no because it's not a decision any one person or group can make. The entire society sorta has to tacitly agree.
Followup: But can't we spread awareness and reduce reactions to swearing? Probably, but I think that's what we're doing every time we use a swear word casually. We're essentially reducing it's shock-factor and therefore its effectiveness. That leads to the need to find new offensive words or to get creative with the ones we already have, which is why "jesus christ" isn't quite as offensive as "jesus fucking christ" which isn't quite as offensive as "jesus titty-fucking christ".
As for 2) Why do we need to swear?
This question also has multiple answers, and the most obvious one is we sometimes feel the need to shock people into paying attention. It's a way of saying "I'm serious". Or for that matter, "I'm fucking serious." (See how that works?)
But that leads to the belief that swearing is an inherently aggressive act, which is another arguments spouted by the anti-swearing moralists of the world. It's not necessarily true, though.
In many cases, swearing is absolutely an aggressive act. But is George Carlin being aggressive when he says to his friend, "Heya, Tony. How the fuck are ya?" Obviously not. As it turns out, swearing can also be used to indicate that two (or more) speakers wish to speak to each other in egalitarian terms. This could be used by two friends to tacitly indicate belief in and satisfaction with their friend-level relationship. It can also be used in different ways, though. For example, a professor you know very well and interact with regularly might be greeted with, "Good morning, Dr. Smith" in a lecture hall, but be greeted with, "Hey! John! How the fuck are ya?" at a chance encounter in a coffee shop. (For those of us who have had the satisfaction of being on such terms with our professors.)
What about when you swear to yourself in an empty room? It's certainly not a relationship-indicator to yourself. Some might argue it's an aggressive act when you utter a swear through gritted teeth after, say, stubbing your toe. But what about when you remember something important you had forgotten and suddenly say "Oh, shit" under your breath? In the cases of both toe-stubbing and remembering, it is probably more along the lines of a tension-release, a way to deal with the "fight" or "flee" responses your body cues up but that you know are unnecessary, so you dump them at the drop of a "fuck" or a "shit".
At any rate, it's very interesting stuff and always fun to read about. I always think about checking out another book on swearing, but I always get distracted by other shiny things.
A place common to all will be maintained by none. A religion common to all is perhaps not much different.
Self owned.
Enlightened Atheist, Gaming God.
So, my simple responses to these two questions are:
1) No, if you define the 'ban' as being 'This set of words is frowned upon if you use them'. My reasoning is indicative of my passive behavioral traits, and my reasoning is that we need to keep this 'ban'; or else not only would these words lose that quality of making that one weird person in the room cringe every time you use them (very useful in some situations), but would also completely diminish the line between professional and 'casual' speech. The only things we'd have left are lol and 1337speak, and I just wouldn't be able to live in that world. At any rate, I realize this isn't the strongest argument, but I'd hate to no longer have a reason to giggle every time my 58-year-old mother calls someone a 'fucking dumbass'.
2) We don't need to swear, because if society didn't label words as swear words, there wouldn't be words to swear with. As for why I swear, it's because the swear words I use have a definition and purpose relevant to the sentence or phrase I'm making. I had never heard of the word 'cunt' until I was a teenager, and I still don't really use it. The definitions attached to it are more what I use 'douchebag' or 'pussy' for (there are other denotations, of course, but those would be the first two that I use much more frequently that come to mind). The words simply fulfill my need for a word in a sentence. Now, going back to making people cringe, that's just a separate use altogether; but again, we don't need to swear, because we wouldn't be able to if society didn't say some words are swear words.
'Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition. God wants you to go to war.'
"This movie has been rated R, for strong violence and ...language."
I think that strong language has its place. Some words are just so fitting to express strong emotion; it's rather comforting to know that they are there for use in an emergency. As a soldier I often found that some words provide emphasis that others just lack, especially if used sparingly. Thoe who know me well know that when I "cuss" something must be seriously amiss.
That being said, I find those who color their language by inserting "fuck" liberally into everyday conversation rather irksome since to me it indicates one whose actions are informed only by strong emotion and not by careful thought. This is a trait I've observed in one of my sons and I actively discourage it. But, then again, he's not known to be a thinker, nor is it likely that he ever will be.
Another thing that irks me is the use of the word "nigger" among blacks. My kids are biracial and it seems all the fashion among their black friends to address one another as "nigger" (although they claim it's "nigga"
. I consider that particular "cuss" word strictly forbidden and its use in my presence will trigger a tirade of other "bad" words from me. "Bad" words should be able to be used with impunity by all and not segregated for use by certain groups of people. Why is the use of the word "nigger" perfectly acceptable for my kids (who are, after all half white), but not acceptable for use by their father?
"With its enduring appeal to the search for truth, philosophy has the great responsibility of forming thought and culture; and now it must strive resolutely to recover its original vocation." Pope John Paul II
Because political correctness is choking us out.
Bad words are not politically correct, "nigger" is not a cuss word it is a demeaning term for a race of people, it used to simply mean "a lazy slovenly person". Only recently has the dictionary definition changed to officially add it to the mountain of political correctness we now enjoy >< (I think I mentioned this once already)
I also don't understand why blacks would choose to use the term when everyone else has been stifled..I don't walk around calling myself a cracker or honkey or w/e, what does this accomplish?
I admit I only have one good black friend, (I only have 4 " good" friends period) we had a long discussion about racial stuff a long time ago, he says he will not allow his 3 kids to use the term, but then again he is 44. It seems to be mostly young ones doing this and he doesn't even know why.
Should really start a different thread for this discussion though, like I said, that term and a few others are not really "bad" words in the sense I was implying in the OP.
On this subject, tell me how this website stays up http://www.thedailynigger.com/
Faith is the word but next to that snugged up closely "lie's" the want.
"By simple common sense I don't believe in god, in none."-Charlie Chaplin
Maybe it's for the same reason that some gay people call themselves "fags" and themselves and others like them "dykes," and why some friends call each other bitches. I'm not sure of the reason for this, but they don't seem to be offended by it if the people calling them that are "one of them" so to say.
As for bad words being everyday, common words, I'm not so sure about that. Like a previous poster(s) mentioned, I think that making these words mundane would lessen their effect.
Logic is yummy
Yea the "bitch" reference is valid, but somehow the term bitch does not invoke quite the same unsavory flavor as the N word. As 100% hit on, the N word is probably the worst word in the world and the most unpolitically correct one in this day and age. It is so unpolitically correct that a certain fine american authors books have to be altered to suit the populace.
I just despise all this politically correct bs the media has driven like a railroad spike into the heads of US citizens. "Bad words" are a gateway too political incorrectness lol
Faith is the word but next to that snugged up closely "lie's" the want.
"By simple common sense I don't believe in god, in none."-Charlie Chaplin
Nothing new to say since my first post. Only one ignorant & arrogant asshole who thinks swearing has anything to do with any kind of intellect continued to post, proving the lack of his own.
Enlightened Atheist, Gaming God.
*copy*
*paste*
Swearing CAN indicate anger or strong emotion, but most of the time for most people it doesn't. I'm not just guessing here or talking about my feelings. Check out some books on swearing. =]
It's a solidarity marker. It's been done before, too, with other words.
I hesitate to say that the homosexual community did the same thing, since their aim seemed to be to "take the word back" and use it non-offensively with each other until the word lost any force for insult it might have originally had. It still has a little bit of an offensive/non-PC ring to it, but for the most part, you can't insult a gay man by calling him gay. (Maybe if you spit while you say it and throw in a few other words like "sodomite" and "fag" you'll get somewhere."
But even then, the zeitgeist is now such that you'll make yourself look more like an ass than the person you're trying to ridicule.
I don't think the black community is doing quite the same thing with "nigger", since it seems obvious that the word is still offensive and the black community doesn't want anyone but the black community to use it, and only in certain ways. Unlike the homosexual community, I don't think they're trying to make unoffensive by using it persistently. I think it's much more comparable to people from southern or appalachian communities calling themselves "hicks" or "hillbillies" but not wanting anyone else to call them the same thing. When the person from that community uses it, it's a sort of solidarity marker, indicating that they consider themselves a part of the heritage that is the butt of the slur. It's sort of like... you can only say it if you understand it.
I guess to put it in a much simpler way, it seems kinda similar to, "Nobody calls my sister ugly but me."
There are layers of meaning there that are hard to discern from an outsider's perspective.
On the other hand, I wouldn't be surprised if some of these layers of meaning were lost on certain people who use the word, who only began saying it as a way to sweeten their cool talk. That is probably true, too.
A place common to all will be maintained by none. A religion common to all is perhaps not much different.
At my day job, I had a Mountain of a human being with a protruding, cro-magnon sloped brow and hair on his palms take exception with me taking the lords name in vain, to which i responded "I dont know another way to take his name"....he demanded i stop,...and he was thusly dissapointed...
I begin every show i do with this tag line "ON The Last Forum for Free speech... Internet Radio, and Internet Television"... even cable pay channels and sattelite radio are watered down and censored
www.RichWoodsBlog.com
Me personally ? I work with "bubbas" and swearing is an almost non-stop activity. Because of this daily exposure it has crept into my own speech with far too much frequency. I try to limit it as much as possible around my girlfriend and I never swear around my elderly mother. For me it is an issue that requires self-discipline and I do not consider swearing to be appropriate public behavior.
One thing that has somewhat surprised me on this forum is how many Christian theists have no problem dropping the "F" bomb while at the same time defending a religious philosophy that supposedly values piety over the profane, sanctity over sacrilege.
"Hey you fucking atheists, don't you know that Jesus fucking loves you ? "
I don't know anyone who likes* the term "hick" or "hillbilly" even in Texas those terms are a bit derogatory, redneck is the only term of ignorant endearment they employ.
Hick and hillbilly mean dumbass basicly, redneck is like a "cool dumbass who is intentionally backwatered down" thats probably the best way I can describe it.
Faith is the word but next to that snugged up closely "lie's" the want.
"By simple common sense I don't believe in god, in none."-Charlie Chaplin
where in the hell have you encountered this? as someone who's from appalachia (eastern kentucky), and has been all over appalachia (east tennessee, southwestern virginia, west virginia), i can say we don't "call" each other anything, except perhaps "man" or "bro." the most regional it gets is "boys" or sometimes "son" (used with friends your own age) or occasionally "hoss" (usually used with some degree of irony). there is no such thing as "appalachian solidarity," though i have found that people from other parts of america often have the misconception that we're some tight-knit group of people united by "mountain pride" or some such bullshit. i can see where some might get that impression, thanks to some of the worst varieties of country music and jackasses like jeff foxworthy, but that's all it is: an artistic device. nobody takes it seriously. even those "south shall rise again" motherfuckers (which are virtually nonexistant in appalachia, since appalachia was historically sympathetic to the union) are far more concerned with being white than being from a certain geographical area. none of them would ever try to pick a fight with another white guy just because he was from "the north." the truth is, people from appalachia don't see themselves as anything unique or culturally separate from the rest of america. we damn sure don't see ourselves as some sort of race or quasi-nationality.
as for "hicks" or "hillbillies" or "rednecks" or what have you, no, we don't find those words insulting in the least, nor, as i said, do we use them with each other. if anything, we consider them quaint or childish. if you were to try to pick a fight with a kentuckian by calling him a "hillbilly," you'd most likely get laughed at. if you wanted to insult someone from appalachia, you'd have much better luck with "faggot," "cocksucker," "son of a bitch," or something along those lines. you know, the kind of stuff that works almost anywhere.
"I have never felt comfortable around people who talk about their feelings for Jesus, or any other deity for that matter, because they are usually none too bright. . . . Or maybe 'stupid' is a better way of saying it; but I have never seen much point in getting heavy with either stupid people or Jesus freaks, just as long as they don't bother me. In a world as weird and cruel as this one we have made for ourselves, I figure anybody who can find peace and personal happiness without ripping off somebody else deserves to be left alone. They will not inherit the earth, but then neither will I. . . . And I have learned to live, as it were, with the idea that I will never find peace and happiness, either. But as long as I know there's a pretty good chance I can get my hands on either one of them every once in a while, I do the best I can between high spots."
--Hunter S. Thompson
Stepping into the discussion I think the question of making the words commonplace is that they probably would lose some of their 'oomph' and we'd invent new ones. I think the question of linguistic taboos have more to do with the time and place. A man I talked to has three kids, he swore occaisionally in casual conversation but usually just things like 'damn' 'shit' and that was about it. However when a friend of his son said 'pissed' he actually told the kid to leave. This surprised me more because the word was always fairly commonly used around me, friends, parents, teachers used it casually so I never really considered it a taboo word. My friend in question had the attitude that he didn't want his kids swearing around him or his wife nor did he want their friends doing so, when I told him how the word was used casually for most of my remembered time on this earth he seemed pretty surprised. Now maybe it's that he worries more about his kids because he and his wife went from poor to middle class and he doesn't want to see his kids backslide, but the view is still kind of jarring. I think that in some regards the taboos give the word too much power, it makes it so that by saying it we all sit up and take notice regardless of the message, or that we ignore the message and instead focus on a word used once. Conversely, the power of the word is in its infrequency, a person who swears a lot might have to have a 5 minute tirade of profanity to produce the same level of percieved indignation as the person who rarely swears uttering one loud "Fuck".