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More and More, Kids say the Foulest Things (swearing)
The Washington Post ^ | 04/12/04 | Valerie Strauss

Posted on 04/12/2005 10:06:43 AM PDT by crv16

Dan Horwich's English class is a bastion of clean language, where students read the classics and have weighty discussions free of invective and profanity. But when the bell rings and they walk out his door, the hallway vibrates with talk of a different sort.

"The kids swear almost incessantly," said Horwich, who teaches at Guildford High School in Rockford, Ill. "They are so used to swearing and hearing it at home, and in the movies, and on TV, and in the music they listen to that they have become desensitized to it."

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: civility; culturalentropy; decencydeficit; profanity; pspl; swearing
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To: frankiep

> imagine how dumb kids out of HS who talk like this will look and tell me how it's no big deal.

Imagine how dumb someone would look if every four words out of five were "pillow." That doesn't make "pillow" a bad word; it just means the speaker seems to have an impediment.


61 posted on 04/12/2005 10:39:43 AM PDT by orionblamblam ("You're the poster boy for what ID would turn out if it were taught in our schools." VadeRetro)
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To: politicket

"Thank you sir, may I have another"


62 posted on 04/12/2005 10:40:17 AM PDT by orionblamblam ("You're the poster boy for what ID would turn out if it were taught in our schools." VadeRetro)
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To: politicket

And where did most of them learn the language? at home

And the same type of peer pressure occurs in private schools.

I see it on a daily basis and my daughter is in public school.

When corrected for using a forbidden word just last week, she looked at me and said "But Jessie says it all the time" her friend Jessie goes to private school - but jessie's parents both swear like sailors.

I am sorry but I can not agree with you that it is all the fault of the public school system and give the parents a pass.


63 posted on 04/12/2005 10:41:13 AM PDT by Gabz (John Paul II, pray for us.)
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To: orionblamblam
Hogwash. How is it disrespectful?

Proverbs 15:2

"The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly, But the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness."

As I said before, you're a fool if you use that language, especially around people that don't want to hear it.

BTW, I gather from your previous posts that you are not very old. Am I correct?
64 posted on 04/12/2005 10:41:31 AM PDT by politicket
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To: politicket; orionblamblam
Why don't you try words such as: "Thank you, Lord Jesus, for allowing me to live in a place that can provide great healthcare for my medical condition. May Your will be done through all of the days that Thou hast set aside for me".

Because having to go in for surgery is nothing to be happy about. Expletives are called for upon hearing such news.

65 posted on 04/12/2005 10:41:42 AM PDT by Modernman ("I'm in favor of limited government unless it limits what I want government to do."- dirtboy)
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I have noticed quite a bit of foul language showing up on FR recently.

If people cannot control their language when they type, just think how bad it is from their mouths.

And we question why kids talk the way they do? Some of us need to look in the mirror. And you all know who you are...


66 posted on 04/12/2005 10:42:22 AM PDT by Peace will be here soon
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To: JenB
odd what that day-in, day-out condition does to one.

That's very true.. I can't help but say "sir" or "ma'am" numerous times daily.
And truly, I ain't all that humble! ;-)

67 posted on 04/12/2005 10:42:52 AM PDT by humblegunner (We ain't subject to terror, but it's unwise to irritate us.)
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To: JenB
Well, sorry that "darn" doesn't cut it for you. But I never hear foul language 'in context'. It just litters the conversation the way broken beer bottles litter a hiking trail - and with similar effect.

You only need stronger words if you use the less-strong ones frequently. I don't say "drat" often, but when I do it has the effect for me that the f-word has for some of my colleagues.

Foul language is like auditory smoking; do it all you like, but I'm not going to hang around while you do so.


Well spoken, and worth repeating. I'm sure that your parents are proud!
68 posted on 04/12/2005 10:43:46 AM PDT by politicket
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To: politicket

> "The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly, But the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness."

Non-sequitur. Listen to a speech by Hillary Clinton or Ted Kennedy. Very few expletives. Much foolishness.

Expletives =/ foolishness.

> I gather from your previous posts that you are not very old.

Older'n most humans. Getting creaky and ready to retire... 35.


69 posted on 04/12/2005 10:43:47 AM PDT by orionblamblam ("You're the poster boy for what ID would turn out if it were taught in our schools." VadeRetro)
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To: Xenalyte

Thank you! Proper grammar, proper diction, use the right word in the right place, and a curse is never the right word. Why should I be considered "weak-stomached" or puritanical if I don't like hearing foul language?


70 posted on 04/12/2005 10:44:37 AM PDT by JenB
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To: JenB

Peer pressure I can go along with.............but somewhere along the line they had to have learned these words from somewhere.........and that somewhere is usually an adult.

The utterance of those type words, including the word "damn" elicit a financial penalty in this house.........my 6 year old tends to heavily supplement her allowance when daddy is doing yard or auto work!!!!!


71 posted on 04/12/2005 10:45:00 AM PDT by Gabz (John Paul II, pray for us.)
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To: Publius Valerius

Yes, language conveys ideas, and values. The words you use tell others who and what you are, what you believe in, and what you value. You're always broadcasting messages about yourself with what you say, along with your appearance and actions. Don't be surprised or cry foul if others view you negatively for your choice of expression.

If you don't agree, that's fine. But just spend 30 miniutes browsing threads at DU and you'll probably see what I mean.

"The foolish and wicked practice of profane cursing and swearing is a vice so mean and low that every person of sense and character detests and despises it." -- George Washington

"Profanity is the common crutch of the conversational cripple." -- David Keuck


72 posted on 04/12/2005 10:45:03 AM PDT by Choose Ye This Day (I'm an "outraged moralist" and I have no good argument. I'm headed to Marie Callender's.)
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To: politicket
"The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly, But the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness."

Hmmmm..... Another passage that can be interpreted several ways. Swear words are not foolish, per se. Depending on the context, they can be the best way to get one's point across.

Does a drill sargeant act foolishly when he uses vulgar language to beat a point into his recruits' heads?

73 posted on 04/12/2005 10:45:22 AM PDT by Modernman ("I'm in favor of limited government unless it limits what I want government to do."- dirtboy)
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To: politicket
I'm sure that your parents are proud!

Well, at least they don't have to try forcing soap down my throat. I'm a little old for that but I bet they'd try.

74 posted on 04/12/2005 10:46:17 AM PDT by JenB
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To: orionblamblam
Consider a few days ago, when I found I need to go in for surgery that will leave me scarred and in agony.

Hope everything comes out okay, Orion. You'll be in my thoughts and prayers.

75 posted on 04/12/2005 10:47:06 AM PDT by Terabitten (I have a duty as an AMERICAN, not a Republican. We can never put Party above Nation.)
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To: mlc9852
My grandfather (who died before I was born) always said profanity was the sign of a limited vocabulary. I believe he was right.

I know for a fact that he was right!
76 posted on 04/12/2005 10:48:06 AM PDT by politicket
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To: crv16

As an adult who struggles to eliminate this from my mouth, as another poster mentioned,I use alternative words. I use the word "Clinton" instead of something more vulgar.
The best solution is to not have to utter anything out of the ordinary, but I'm not there yet.


77 posted on 04/12/2005 10:48:22 AM PDT by HereInTheHeartland
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To: JenB

> Why should I be considered "weak-stomached" or puritanical if I don't like hearing foul language?

For the same reason I laugh at those who get upset when politically incorrect language is used. For the same reason evangelicals go nuts when the come across someone who gets offended when they hear the words "God" or "Jesus." For the same reason Conservatives laugh themselves fuzzy when they meet a liberal who can't stand to be around someone who speaks of the right to keep and bear arms.

Becoming squishy around certain words gives those words power. The "F-word" has no more power than, say, "acorn," but some people's aversion to it *grants* the word power. "South Park" did a very good episode on this a few years back.


78 posted on 04/12/2005 10:48:24 AM PDT by orionblamblam ("You're the poster boy for what ID would turn out if it were taught in our schools." VadeRetro)
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To: JenB

Just so. What I can't stand is the liberal and libertine acceptance of the notion of Cultural Entropy: everything just falls apart, and there's nothing you can do to stop it, so just go along with it. Kids are going to engage in sex; just accept it. Women are going to have abortions, that's just the way it is. People these days swear and dress like hoboes; don't be so old-fashioned.

This is "progress"???


79 posted on 04/12/2005 10:49:06 AM PDT by Choose Ye This Day (I'm an "outraged moralist" and I have no good argument. I'm headed to Marie Callender's.)
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To: orionblamblam

"it just means the speaker seems to have an impediment."

That's exactly the point I am trying to make. If every other word out of your child's mouth was "pillow" you would do something to correct that behavior. It would make him look less than intelligent in front of others and it would certainly be a detriment to him when he becomes an adult. The same applies to swearing. If every other word out of someone's mouth is a swear word, it is an indication that that person does not know how to communicate effectively. That person will not be taken very seriously and will appear dumb, even though he may be very intelligent. The point is that schools are supposed to prepare students for success (at least that's what we give them tax money for) and if they ignore basic communication and conversational deficiencies then they are not serving their purpose.


80 posted on 04/12/2005 10:49:16 AM PDT by frankiep
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