Senior English major
When I was growing up, I was taught not to use four-letter words. Those “dirty” words made my parents mad, offended those who heard them and inevitably got me into trouble. While I didn’t use those words often, they would occasionally slip out in a moment of anger or frustration.
But in recent years, I noticed a surprising increase in the frequency I used these profane words. I found myself using them not just in anger or frustration, but also in normal situations when there was no need for such language. But more surprising than the frequency of these words was the general acceptance or apathy of those who heard me use the words.
There was no change of expression or look of shock on their faces. No punishment or signs of offense. And it wasn’t just me. I noticed all of my friends using profanity like it was nothing special and I wasn’t reacting negatively. A normal sports conversation would be filled with enough F-bombs to fight a war. It has become apparent to me that our generation, and those after us, are generations without curse words.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a curse as “an offensive word that people say when they are angry.” This definition relies heavily on the term “offensive.” If the curse word is not found to be offensive by those hearing or saying it, it seems fair to say it is no longer a curse word but is rather just a word. I can’t remember the last time I used a curse word within a conversation between people my age and had someone act or respond as if they were offended. This tells me these words have become so commonplace to us that they are no longer viewed as “bad words.”
While the situation may be different for everybody, I know music is the main reason I became so accustomed to hearing profanity. With the exception of the occasional Will Smith song, it is difficult to find a rap song without some kind of profanity in the lyrics. I still don’t understand why radio stations insist on playing Lil Wayne songs. They have to silence so many profane words that you only end up hearing about half of the lyrics.
Just for the record, I’m not blaming rap music. It’s not the only genre that uses heavy profanity; it’s just the type of music I listened to the most and it was popular when I was growing up. Anyone who listens to heavy metal knows profanity can be found in the lyrics of many songs. Even popular bands such as Maroon 5 have been known to curse in their songs.
So all of this begs the question: If curse words no longer offend or shock, then what is the point of using them? It seems to me these words have made themselves obsolete. And what’s the point of using something that is obsolete? Would you go to Best Buy and ask where the VHS tapes are?
Dave Stroh is a senior English major. He can be reached at dstrohdbk@gmail.com.
