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DesideriScuri -> RE: Massachusetts town orders $20 fines for the minimum of cuss (6/12/2012 6:18:19 AM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: jlf1961
This ought to be interesting.
quote:
Residents in a town outside Boston have voted in favour of fining people who swear in public.
At a town meeting on Monday night, residents voted 183-50 to approve a proposal from the police chief to impose a $20 (£12) penalty on public profanity.
Officials insisted the proposal was not intended to censor casual or private conversations, but instead to crack down on loud, profanity-laden language used by teenagers and other young people in the city centre area and public parks.
source
I dont see how casual conversation cannot be censored, since profanity has fast become part of the American culture. I have noticed that I have tendency to swear in normal conversation, many of the phrases I use were common during my days in the army. I am not offering an excuse, just stating fact.
Since the birth of my nephew, I have been making a conscious effort to tone down my colorful language and admittedly it is a bit hard. It is far easier to emphasize something by swearing than it is to come up with an equally descriptive or way to emphasize something without cussing. And I am college educated.
I can't see this standing very long. Regardless of what the officials "intended," it is, in fact censoring casual or private conversations. Next thing you know, you'll be guilty for not reporting people who cuss.
Now, there is something that I have always wondered. What makes a word "bad?" Why isn't the word "bad," a "bad word?" If not for societal mores, would anyone really be offended by the word "fuck," simply because the word itself is offensive? What makes it "bad" and not the words, "buck, puck, duck, luck, etc.?" To be honest, I'm a huge fan of fuck. The action is quite enjoyable, but the word itself is amazingly flexible (Warning: Voice-over of George Carlin classic).
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