Is it possible for somebody to be unaware of just how badly they swear?

[Unmanagable]

I swear rather often, but not with any malicious intent.

Sometimes, it's for emphasis. Sometimes, to express things in a manner the intended audience can better understand. Sometimes, because of my mood. Etc., etc.

I make it a point not to swear in front of children, and I don't swear every other word, or in all of my conversations.

If adults are offended, I see it as their issue more than mine.

[silivrentoliel]

I swear when really angry or if an animal runs in front of the car (or tries too) while I'm driving. Sometimes I'll swear at other drivers, but not as often... I have stupider phrases that make some people giggle (DH just shakes his head) simply because I don't feel that swearing at them will make any difference.

[Abi]

Originally Posted by Unmanagable

If adults are offended, I see it as their issue more than mine.

I agree. F*** them.

[Lunacie]

I used to swear a lot.

Now only when certain drivers annoy me greatly or scare the crap out of me.

[Bethylphenidate]

Yes, I'm sure that's possible, but I think most people are aware. We just don't care, lol.

I use lots of "colorful" language (not that every other word is 'f', but my sides of conversations are sprinkled with swears.) Unless I'm in the workplace or around children, I feel no need to "tone down" my language. If you're an adult, then deal with it. Swearing doesn't in itself mean I'm angry; sometimes swears simply add emphasis. I find it highly amusing when I'm accused of sounding "unintelligent" for swearing by the very people who tell me to "stop using big words." I have a big vocabulary; I know when to use which words in a sentence... and sometimes the best word is a swear. Besides, to eliminate swears from my vocabulary, well, that would just make it smaller.

To my fellow intelligent people who think swearing makes me sound "unintelligent," well... that's just a sign of their ignorance, and the whole “If you're an adult, then deal with it” bit applies to them. Stop focusing on the swears and focus on the rest of the words in my spiels.

...Besides, it's not like I say things that are racist, homophobic, etc., etc., etc., and again, never around children or at work do I swear. In fact, people at previous jobs used to tease me for saying “Shoot!” a million times a day!

[lalapin]

I do swear a lot!!! I try to control it though!

[sarahsweets]

I just cant stand people who swear...

[DvlsAdv0c8]

I cuss like a sailor. I do try to be as couth about it as I can, and try to respect children and elders. Everyone else can just deal with it.

Sometimes a particular swear word is just the right word for the situation to express my exact thought or feeling. I also tend to tailor my language to the crowd or person I am with. Sometimes I find myself picking up a little bit of their accent if they have one. I sometimes find myself "dumbing" my language down in order to be understood.

When I am livid about something I will break out every offensive word on George Carlin's list, and even make up a few of my own. Usually quite loudly. Road rage will usually bring this on.

[Geno]

You people need to remember that, when you get down to it, all swearing is is a sound you make with your mouth and vocal chords a certain way, the only reason they're considered bad is because society says so. Therfore, I swear a LOT when I'm not around people who would dislike it. (which is rare, as my family and none of my friends mind it at all.) When I'm with my (very italian) family I swear twice per sentence or more no matter what my mood is.

[salleh]

I have been known to swear, usually, at my computer ....nothing sets me off like problems with it .....

and when I am in Michigan, I end up watching a lot of news from a news station that runs almost 24 hours a day with political news ......I have been known to go on soap box rants.....


other than those times, I rarely swear ,......

so, I deduce that it is feeling impotent in a situation that frustrates the bejabbers out of me, and swearing eases that pressure a bit....


I always know that I am swearing ....it is never unconcious......my mom always said anyone who uses bad language shows how small their vocabulary is...( she was full of pithy statements like that .....they didn't nickname her "The Duchess" when she was a teenager for nothing )

and I tune out people who swear a lot, like quite alot of the stand ups on comedy central.....of course they bleep them so it drives me nuts to hear that constantly too ! .......


......and then just because I am rarely consistant ......I listen to shows like Qi and swear words fly around that show regularly, but for some reason, when they do it, it doesn't bother me at all.....it seems swearing in a British accent doesn'toffend me....They use it for comedic effect and they're quite good at judging when it will be funny ......

[Spacemaster]

I swear profusely, but I try to keep it to a dull roar around children. I even swear at work, but usually when I'm making up prescriptions, not when the customer is in front of me. I can't guarantee that they won't hear me though...

If I were in front of Congress, I would make it a point to cuss them out as profusely and proficiently as I possibly could! @#$%&^*@#$@#*&$(&*#@$!

There's something about an exclamatory F***! that just does the job like nothing else. It just flies deliciously off the tongue.

[ana futura]

For the record I swear much less when I am medicated. I might not even swear at all, I haven't really caught myself doing it while on meds.

[T-Rex65]

Yes. I think I've been one of them from time to time. A work friend once told me I used the f-word (which is my favorite) in front of my boss, who happened to be a very polite, reserved older man. I didn't remember doing it *at all*. And since I wasn't angry about anything during that particular conversation, I must have dropped it casually.

[spunkysmum]

Originally Posted by Verile

I have to disagree. Having went through the military it wasn't uncommon to find a person with a heart of gold but a mouth of waste.

I have encountered plenty of people who match that description.

What's offensive is subjective so being offended by swear words may be a personal problem.

Some people are very offended by Christmas trees, for example.

However, this is quite a stretch. To suggest the person who is offended by swearing is the one with the problem is pretty out there. A handful of people are offended by Christmas trees, whereas obscene language is still largely frowned upon by polite society in general, so that analogy doesn't apply well.

[spunkysmum]

Originally Posted by T-Rex65

Yes. I think I've been one of them from time to time. A work friend once told me I used the f-word (which is my favorite) in front of my boss, who happened to be a very polite, reserved older man. I didn't remember doing it *at all*. And since I wasn't angry about anything during that particular conversation, I must have dropped it casually.

Yes, this is the kind of thing I was referring to, somebody dropping the words when they are not angry or upset and talking to somebody they probably would not think of deliberately offending.