Cussing isn't so bad

I’ve only succumbed to peer pressure once. But once is all it takes to start a habit.

I was bullied in school for being a goody-good.

I was never late to a class. I never got detention. I addressed my teachers as “ma’am” and sir.” I gave my teachers homemade Christmas candies each year. And I didn’t cuss.

I chose not to cuss because that’s how I was raised. My cousins and I weren’t even allowed to use the word “hate” as children because it was considered “too strong a word.” If one of us tried to mumble a no-no word we would have a bar of soap in our mouths before we said the second syllable.

But that doesn’t mean the adults in my family had clean mouths.

My mom can give the cast of “Family Guy” a run for their animated money. It was simply understood and accepted kids weren’t allowed to curse.

For some reason, my lack of a sailor mouth was a concern to my fourth grade peers. It was their mission to corrupt me. But I resisted until seventh grade when my raging hormones weakened my defenses, and I said “hell” for the first time.

From there it’s gotten progressively worse. It’s a full-blown habit and not one I’m particularly proud of.

But I don’t think cursing is necessarily bad.

Kids are more desperate to grow up faster than ever before. Peer pressure is getting stronger and riskier. It’s coming through media like the Internet. It’s getting harder for kids to resist.

There are worse habits for kids to give into than cussing.

There are 600,000 teens who begin smoking each year.  

The life expectancy for a smoker is at least 10 years less than that of a nonsmoker.

Last time I checked, cursing didn’t shorten one’s lifespan.

In 2012 it was predicted 21 percent of 16-year-olds were drinking. And we all know drinking can lead to liver damage and high blood pressure.

I like to think cursing lowers blood pressure. One F-bomb can really take a load off.

Also, teens are becoming sexually active at younger ages.

Then they are more at risk to become pregnant, leading to increased abortion rates and teen moms dropping out of school. At least, that’s the way it happens in my head.

Compared to going out and forming an addiction to cigarettes or alcohol, getting high and having sex, I think cussing is a much safer and smarter habit to give into.

They’re just words.

There’s a time and a place for them, of course. You probably shouldn’t cuss when you meet your boss for the first time. That’s common sense. And try to restrain yourself around your grandparents. That’s respect.

But it’s time to stop shaming people with a dirty mouth. They could be doing much worse.

­— lnbanks@indiana.edu
Follow columnist Lexia Banks on Twitter @LexiaBanks.