Just Let Go and Swear

8/25/2013

I didn't expect to write about this, but some things just get under my skin.

Today I saw someone on Twitter chide a celebrity for a single swear. It was a retweet, which they could have set up to be blocked after the assault on their delicate sensibilities. Instead they unfollowed and had to mention the offender before they they did, I guess thinking to warn her followers of the person who was no longer worthy of her. This of course invited comments from the celebrity's less sensitive followers. Though it's her choice and not acceptable to harass her, most of what I saw was disbelief that someone could be so decisively unforgiving, no second chances. I don't get it either and never will. Of course, I understand when there is excessive, unnecessary swearing. But some seem to lump everyone who lets the expletives fly once in a while into the unpleasant, abrasive, immature complainer category, and pretend that they are above everyone because they don't use certain words. Seriously, Google those adjectives and see what they think of you. I'm not going to link to or even mention the site, because I don't want that morally superior bull in here. Sorry, I grew up with swearing. I have brothers who don't go a day without saying something cringe-inducing or laugh-out-loud hilarious, which usually uses naughty language, but they know how to act in public and treat people right.

Life is not just puppies and rainbows, and language reflects that. Swears are a form of expression when nothing else will do (granted, it's the first form for some). Imagine being in a firefight and you were on your last bullet. Would you keep it clean and say "Nuts. We're not getting out of this alive. Oh, shootskididdles"? No! That's not remotely what would come out of the "purest" person's mouth. If you fall down the stairs or fall off your bike, you will not be hollering, "TIDDLYWINKS!!!" How unrealistic would movies and television and books and music be if none of those things ever had a swear to emphasize how dire a situation was or to add comedy? Just about everything I love, the unfollower would hate. I can see one day a beloved musician unexpectedly cussing in a song, and she can't ever listen to her favorite songs again knowing what horrible person created them. I am writing right now about The Wolverine, which had some unexpected swears. They made me grin, not swiftly exit the theater in revulsion, demanding my money be refunded for such an insult to my ears.

Would this person stop seeing family because they used a dirty word? I can't imagine the droves of people in her everyday life that she's pissed off or made feel like shit for her puritanical view. Quite sad. I hope none of this is true, that she just doesn't want to see it in her Twitter feed, that this grown woman doesn't subsist on an entertainment diet of Sesame Street, Green Eggs and Ham, and Veggie Tales, and that she loves her family the way they are.

One cannot always find the right word. Get off your high horse. Sometimes you just have to give in and say "Fuck!"

If bad language doesn't make you run for the hills and you would like to support this site, please click on something in this handy little Amazon slideshow. Nothing comprehensive, but there are a few random shows and albums in there that I love because they came to mind.