Shit, Damn, Motherfucker.

I'm an English major. As such, I'm obsessed with language. I love looking up the etymologies of different words to understand why we use them and where they come from. I enjoy language play and double entendres. I love putting words together in ways that inspire and move people.

With this, I've been thinking about the role of so-called "curse words" in our everyday language. As you have seen, I do curse (especially when I'm driving 8]). My brothers curse. In fact, I didn't learn cursing from school like some may have but from my own mother. My relationship and belief in language simply makes this an option for me.

However, "curse words" have gotten a bad rap over the years. Reasons why this particular set of words shouldn't roll off the tongue include that it effuses ignorance, shows you have nothing to say, is disgusting, is unprofessional, is impolite, and is not ladylike, among others.

I find it weak at best. I still don't understand why this particular subset of words, over others, evokes so much disdain and dislike among people. There just is no justification of it, for me.

Case in point: A friend of mine, an amazing writer, told me that she was wrote one day. In my response, I enthusiastically told her, "I fucking love you!" Here, a word that evokes disgust from the majority of people is used as an adverb to help spread love. For me, it's not problematic at all.

However, take a certain person I know who does not curse anymore. In dealing with many people, including the elderly, intentionally difficult mother she is responsible for, she does not curse. But she indeed does yell, scream, and say potentially hurtful things. She may not curse, but what she says about other people does not reflect love, charity, even stability.

So which is worse, my expression of love with an oft-hated word or this person's use of language completely devoid of these words yet hardly reflects love at all?

I must acknowledge, however, that with language comes responsibility in every way. So whether you curse or not, there is a time and a place for every word you say. One must also consider the results and consequences that come from the words spoken. Language implies communication; there is no one-dimensionality.

At the same time, there is something conveyed in a "shit" or "fuck" that cannot be connoted with another word. It's not always filler; there is intent. And while they can be used for harm with phrases like "fuck you" or "kiss my ass," as a part of language I cannot simply discard them as words never to be used. After all, if they exist, they do for a reason, right?

Maybe one day I'll change my mind. In the meantime...

Fuck it.