Sticks And Stones

We all know the difference between sticks and stones and words.  Or at least we all should.  A Milwaukee man said two words on a bus and got slapped with a $500 fine.  What are swear words?  Why are they offensive?  Who are they offensive to?  Whose quality of life goes down when they hear a word?

What are words?  Words are letters arranged in a way as to express a meaning.  Inherently words are neither good or bad, they simply are.  Words can only be bad or good if we assign that meaning to them.  We own the words, the words don't own us.  Words aren't dangerous.  Censorship of certain words isn't meant to prevent certain words from being said, it's to prevent certain ideas from being expressed.

In a supposedly free society, why are certain words taboo?  The Bible, a book many tout as holy and infallible, uses "damn" and "hell."  Yet when used in other settings, those two words can be offensive.  The definition of "sex" is the same as the definition of "fuck," and yet one is taboo.  According to some sites, the three most offensive swear words, in order of decreasing severity are: cunt, motherfucker, and fuck.

We've discussed "fuck."  In meaning, it is as harmless as the word "sex."  I don't understand why "motherfucker" has such a negative stigma attached to it, I mean, all fathers in heterosexual relationships are motherfuckers, and more than likely proud of the fact.  Cunt means the vagina, and only those who are intimidated or incapable of respecting women would consider that word offensive.  Life springs forth from the vagina.  Ok, maybe it doesn't spring as much as it squeezes out in a bloody mess, but you get the idea.

Examining these words one wouldn't think they were offensive at all, and in reality they are not offensive.  People mistakenly believe these words are offensive because of superstition.  Profane means something outside the church.  By that definition child molestation is not considered profane, as long as it occurs within the church.  If these words don't differ at the base level from accepted terms, how could they possibly harm anyone's quality of life?  Words are words.  If someone calls you a name, it doesn't make it true.  Superstition grants power to certain words which on their own are harmless.  Superstition has no place in our society.

Just as people used to stop dead in their tracks if a black cat crossed their path, some people to this day turn white at the mention of one word.  If you break a mirror you will not have bad luck for seven years.  If you say fuck in a group of people, those people aren't going to turn into homicidal maniacs.  Grow up people.

Do you realize that as a culture we burned people we thought were witches?  We did that because of superstition.  Luckily we learned how terribly we were mistaken.  How many people died for that superstition?

As for the undercover officers on the bus, the word police and thought police, I have a message for you: motherfuckers fuck cunts, it's just what they do.  Don't use my tax dollars to stick the proverbial soap into the mouths of citizens.  Instead, take the money you've wasted on undercover thought cops and buy some copies of the Bill of Rights.  Pay close attention to Amendment I.

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never fucking hurt me.

© 2010 Nate Phillipps