@#$% censorship

I should be able to say what I want to say when I want to say it, right?

Well, what if what I want to say is offensive — not racially or religiously offensive, just in the way I want to say it?

What if I want to use a bad word?

Well, no, of course I wouldn’t be able to say what was on my mind. It isn’t polite.

But aren’t you cutting me off from my right to say what I want?

Yes, you are. Why are some words given so much %$#@ for being bad?
What makes them so awful? Is it the sound they make?

Is there actually something offensive about the word %$#@? Is it their meaning? Well, who assigned meaning to them?

And why, for that matter, do I have to adhere to societal rules that tell me how and when I should speak?

*&^% that.

It seems to me that by making some words inappropriate, we are cutting ourselves off from the full scope of the English language.

Not only that, but we are practically putting these words on a pedestal to be used only when we really want to shock and awe.

If we don’t want to have bad words, don’t give words a bad stigma. Think about how much more pleasant things would be.

We’d have fewer insults. Fewer ways to be insulted.

Moreover, we’d have fewer reasons to judge the actions and mannerisms of others.

If we stop making such a big deal out of cursing and using words that are “bad,” for whatever reason, we might actually find that people will be more willing to communicate simply because they can speak their minds, whatever they happen
to say.

­— ewenning@indiana.edu