Whinging Wednesday - Swearing On The Internet




I’ve been thinking about this for a while because I know this particular whinge will upset some people. However, I’ve come to the conclusion that if I can’t share my strong feelings on my own blog, where else can I do so?


We have all seen junk left abandoned on the side of our roads. Some people obviously think it’s fine to publicly display their trash. But that leaves us who get rid of our old sofas and fridges responsibly, putting up with other people’s rubbish in our collective public faces.

Many people smoke in their own homes. They enjoy smoking as a hobby, and this is okay with the rest of us. Not all of us smoke, however. Some folks feel strongly against the habit, and hate to inhale a lungful of second hand cigarette smoke when someone in a public place has walked by, exhaling a mouthful of the stuff.

We all know people who smoke dope. We know they do it in the confines of their own space. Yet, and rightfully so, we don’t expect them to subject our children to puffs of second-hand marijuana smoke, nor would we condone them lighting up when they come over for a visit.

Not everyone believes that smacking children as a form of discipline is right. Not everyone believes that it’s wrong. Nevertheless, we won’t excuse a parent for resorting to this type of discipline in a public forum. We would be appalled that someone would even attempt to do this in any other place than inside their own home. Some less-than-men hit their wives/girlfriends in private, fully aware that this trashy behaviour is not tolerated by the majority of us.

The bottom line is, if you indulge in behaviour considered to be anti-social you should be careful not to stand in front of a fan when you’re out and about. Many people would be revolted by the actions of the above perpetrators, yet they themselves are happy to generously share their swear words with the rest of us.

Not everyone swears, and like cigarette smoke, it’s something you should puff at people who enjoy doing it as much as you do. How is it not okay for Mr X to dump his old coffee table on the side of your road, but it’s fine for you to let loose swear words in the street in the presence of my young children?

You can agree it’s vile for parents to smack their kids in public as a form of discipline. But it’s dandy for you to type several swear words in a public forum on the Internet and leave them there for me to read.

You despise the guy in the other car who’s picking his nose and flicking the boogers out of his side window, but you’re happy to leave dirty words, smeared from your finger tips, all over the web.

I’m done.

You’re a writer? Then write some real words to express yourself. Go get rid of your trash responsibly.

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5 comments:

Judy Croome | @judy_croome November 18, 2009 at 4:13 PM  

Bravo, Anne! I couldn't care less what people do in their own home, but I am getting tired of too many movies, too many TV shows and too many books using swearwords instead of dialogue. And that habit is creeping across the internet and into maintsream society - status updates on Facebooks, comments on other people's blogs, conversations in queues and articles on blogs, everywhere there appears to be an inability to express any emotion without the use of a swearword.

I absolutely disagree with external censorship, but I do believe that the lack of respect for self and others that abounds in today's world (swearing is juts one symptom) is something to worry about.

Anne Lyken-Garner November 18, 2009 at 7:07 PM  

Thanks, Ann. It's nice to know I'm not alone in all this.

Unknown November 19, 2009 at 3:02 AM  

Anne, I have removed people from my "friends" list at various sites for using profanity and obscene language as I do not want to be associated with it. If I am to let God's light shine through me, I cannot smut myself up. In college we were taught that this type of language is not scholarly, so even if this is common language for the writer(s) they should consider their posts. Thanks for sharing your sentiments on this! I am with you all the way.

Anne Lyken-Garner November 19, 2009 at 11:45 AM  

Thanks, Judy. Swearing is certainly not scholarly. If we know words we wouldn't have to resort to using the same 6 ones for joy, sadness, pain, anger etc. We'd be better equipped to express ourselves.

Self Sagacity November 8, 2010 at 5:11 AM  

Good for you to speak up, have a voice. It's your blog, be yourself. I agree, I have felt uncomfortable when seeing the swear words. Yes, I agree they should restrain themselves.

Anne's a published author, freelance writer and experienced editor. She's just signed her second publishing contract this year with 2 separate publishing houses. You can hire her or see her available books in the side panel on the right.
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