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Monday
August 22, 2005

The "F" Word by Fraser Stephen-Smith

If someone is offended by the phrase, “I don’t like it when people yell ‘fuck’ inappropriately,” then they are foolish. They are fools who adhere to a commandment, “Thou shall not swear,” without questioning the reasoning behind the commandment. These fools have allowed their behaviour to be governed, without question, by a word—they are subservient to a sound. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (74 messages)

Monday, August 22, 2005 - 1:42am

Interesting!

I'm reminded of the quote: "Obscenity is the crutch of inarticulate mother-fuckers."

I've often wondered why so many insults are sexual. "Dick" is a common insult, as are "Screw you," "Fuck you," etc. I suppose we must look at Christianity (Paul, Augustine, and most early bishops.), to appreciate the origin of the commonly perceived notion that sex is dirty.

This might explain why the 'f' word is shunned. People see it as the tool of a mean, tough guy who hates others and is used to cursing them.

Monday, August 22, 2005 - 3:54am

A Chat With Your Mother
(The F-Word Song)
©1984 L&P Berryman. Words by Peter, Music by Lou.
Oh the pirates in their fetid galleons, daggers in their skivvies
With infected tattooed fingers on a blunderbuss or two
Signs of scurvy in their eyes & only mermaids on their minds
It's from them I would expect to hear the F-word, not from you

CHORUS:
We sit down to have a chat
It's F-word this and F-word that
I can't control how you young people talk to one another
But I don't want to hear you use that F-word with your mother

There's the lumberjacks from Kodiak vacationing in Anchorage
Enchanted with their pine tar soup & Caribou shampoo
With seven weeks of back pay in their aromatic woolens
It's from them I would expect to hear the F-word, not from you

There's the militant survivalists with Gucci bandeleros
Taking tacky khaki walkie talkies to the rendezvous
Trading all the latest armor-piercing ammo information
It's from them I would expect to hear the F-word, not from you

There are jocks who think that God himself is drooling in the bleachers
In a late November downpour with a belly full of brew
Their entire grasp of heaven has a lot to do with football
It's from them I would expect to hear the F-word, not from you

There's unsavory musicians with their filthy pinko lyrics
Who destroy the social fabric and enjoy it when they do
With their groupies & addictions & their poor heartbroken parents
It's from them I would expect to hear the F-word, not from you...

Monday, August 22, 2005 - 4:05am

Marty Lewinter wrote: "I suppose we must look at Christianity (Paul, Augustine, and most early bishops.), to appreciate the origin of the commonly perceived notion that sex is dirty."

The Clouds by Sophocles has a scene in which the hapless hero is assailed by a student of Socrates, to show how stupid he is and how much in need of higher eduction. "So, what finger do you use to point with?" asks the philosopher. "When I was young, I used this one!"

I just saw piece of Roman art with that gesture.

Sexual behaviors and misbehaviors antedate Paul of Tarsus by at least one ice age.

Much has been written on this subject. Some reading would raise the level of discussion on this topic. For one thing, sexually assaultive language is not "swearing." Swearing -- and rules against it -- is based on ideas of sympathetic magic. We call the bear "Bruno" because if we call him "Bear" he will know that we are hunting him. That is older than calling on God or the devil.

If you want to dissect this, you need to identify the elements of the anatomy, otherwise all you have is a "bloody" (i.e., by the Lady) mess.

Monday, August 22, 2005 - 5:38am

I sanctioned this article. I agree that some times call for cursing while others do not. More to the point, the fascistic curse word prohibitionists stand as enemies of our liberties on the airwaves, on public property and in our workplaces. I know someone who got fired from a Nokia plant for "sexual harassment" because a female co-worker overheard him use the word "balls" and complained. Bah! If a company wants to institute its own draconian rules of speech conduct, fine, though I consider it ill-advised. But this termination came from federal law instituted into company policy. Bastards!

I have recurring fantasies of being in a life-or-death situation in which I have the power to save the life of such a fascist and choose not to do so. Imagine a militant, man-hating, liberty-smashing feminazi having a deadly seizure and lying on the floor, writhing in agony and unable to speak. I look at her and say, "What was that number? 1-1-9? 9-9-1? 9-1-9? 1-9-1? Oh, well, I guess I can't remember the emergency number. After all, I'm just a man, and we men just don't get it, remember? You said so yourself!" I grin and watch her suffer and perish as she so richly deserves. Ah, sweet justice...

(Edited by Luke Setzer on 8/22, 5:44am)

Monday, August 22, 2005 - 6:26am

Luke, I have that same fantasy about uptight, evangelical Christians. I just stand there and say, "Call for help? Why don't you pray for healing from Jesus? What good's your faith now, pusbag?"

Monday, August 22, 2005 - 6:37am

If I was going to be consistent, I should probably mutter about the Setzer/Graybosch misanthropy act again, but I'm afraid

"What good's your faith now, pusbag?"

has me laughing a little too hard to complain.

(Edited by Fraser Stephen-Smith on 8/22, 6:38am)

Monday, August 22, 2005 - 7:00am

Fuck those motherfuckers.

Monday, August 22, 2005 - 7:15am

You can fuck those motherfuckers. I'll stick with my wife.

Monday, August 22, 2005 - 7:17am

Fraser, if you think that's bad, then you'd better not read my books if I ever finish the bloody things. Among other things, the Muslims and most of the Christians killed each other off in World War 3, and the survivors have two words for them: good fuckin' riddance. :)

Monday, August 22, 2005 - 7:44am

A pilot of alitalia, lost his job because during cruising when the plane was ready for take off, he used the f word. He basically said “fucking button"

When the time came to renew his contract "two years after the accident" he was fired.

Do you think was a good thing to fire him or not?

I think it was!

Cussing is basically frustration, when a person is frustrated it’s very much easy that one can lose control

I don't think it would be a good idea for a pilot to lose control when you are trying to take off

A huge 747.

(Edited by Ciro D'Agostino on 8/22, 7:45am)

Monday, August 22, 2005 - 8:43am

I sanctioned this article. I agree that some times call for cursing while others do not. More to the point, the fascistic curse word prohibitionists stand as enemies of our liberties on the airwaves, on public property and in our workplaces. I know someone who got fired from a Nokia plant for "sexual harassment" because a female co-worker overheard him use the word "balls" and complained. Bah! If a company wants to institute its own draconian rules of speech conduct, fine, though I consider it ill-advised. But this termination came from federal law instituted into company policy. Bastards!

I have recurring fantasies of being in a life-or-death situation in which I have the power to save the life of such a fascist and choose not to do so. Imagine a militant, man-hating, liberty-smashing feminazi having a deadly seizure and lying on the floor, writhing in agony and unable to speak. I look at her and say, "What was that number? 1-1-9? 9-9-1? 9-1-9? 1-9-1? Oh, well, I guess I can't remember the emergency number. After all, I'm just a man, and we men just don't get it, remember? You said so yourself!" I grin and watch her suffer and perish as she so richly deserves. Ah, sweet justice...

Sounds like you hold quite a grudge against these institutions and philosophies. It seems kind of pathological.

No institution or philosophy is ever corrupt. It is always the individual who fails to conform that is the problem. Never the organization.

Monday, August 22, 2005 - 8:45am

Celeste, I hope you're being sarcastic.

Monday, August 22, 2005 - 8:52am

I think we'll find that Celeste is a fucking idiot, and a troll.

No institution or philosophy is ever corrupt

Whatever.

Monday, August 22, 2005 - 10:12am

Kids mindlessly absorb the disapproval of words such as 'fuck' from their parents and teachers. Enjoy the following relevant joke:

A 7 year old boy and his 4 year old brother are upstairs in the bedroom. The 7 year old is explaining that it is high time that the two of them begin swearing. When his little brother responds enthusiastically, the 7 year old says, "When we go down stairs for breakfast this morning, I'll say "Hell" and you say "ass." The 4 year old happily agrees. As the two boys are seating themselves at the breakfast table, their Mother walks in and asks her older son what he would like to eat for breakfast.
The 7 year old replies, "Ah hell, mom, I'll just have some Cheerios."
"WHACK!" the surprised mother reacts quickly. The boy runs upstairs, bawling and rubbing his behind. With a sterner voice, the mother then asks the younger son, "And what would YOU like for breakfast?"
"I don't know," the 4 year old blubbers, "but you can bet your ass it sure as hell ain't gonna be Cheerios."

Monday, August 22, 2005 - 10:17am

Yeah that evil Stallin actually following the idea that "the throats of the bougoisee should be crushed under our red boot." Or Hitler and his insistance on ridding society of the undesireables, whom he outlined before election.

Or those pesky inquisition catholics actaully following the bible verses "The wages of sin is death", "For all have sinned and come short of the glory" and "I am the only way to my father's house."

It's not the usually hypocrits you need to be affraid of in this world, it's the honest people.

---Landon

Monday, August 22, 2005 - 10:19am

Michael: I loved the song you quoted.

I should have used stronger language in my comment about Christian attitudes vis-a-vis sex. Early Christians believed that sex is evil, unholy, disgusting - an act catering to our physical bodies - an act with utter disdain for our souls - a lusty focus on this world.

Granted, this view was shared by various cults, but it is through Christianity that the view that sex is evil was incorporated into mainstream Western thought.

Monday, August 22, 2005 - 11:00am

Michael,

Of course I'm being sarcastic.

But then again, I'm not. I'm actually describing the way too many people actually think and conduct themselves.

Fraser,

I think we'll find that Celeste is a fucking idiot, and a troll.

Please see my above post to Michael. And in addition, regarding your "troll" comment, please also read as well as my comments on the "Please Don't Feed the Trolls" string: http://solohq.com/Forum/ArticleDiscussions/1368_1.shtml

You're far too quick to slosh around insults, the way you slosh around that rotgut in that pretty glass of yours.

One of these days I'm going to have to write my own article, and call it something like "The Dangers of Narcissistic, Foppish Dandies With Delusions of Automatic Perfection".

What do you think of it?

Monday, August 22, 2005 - 11:41am

Marty,

Not until Augustine in the 4th Century, before that sex was ok.

Monday, August 22, 2005 - 11:46am

Robert, didn't Paul in the 1st century denigrate sex?

Monday, August 22, 2005 - 12:03pm

Yeah, I think Paul went as far as saying no married man or man with children would ever make it into heaven.

---Landon