Is the "F" word still too obscene for public use?

[hedgehog]

I'm not talking about the FCC, I'm talking about everyday use, for example, on a T-shirt worn to the mall or to school.

I'm too old to be comfortable using the word myself, but it doesn't faze me to hear it unless it's directed at me and/or it's a result of lazy speech.

17 votes, 0 passes | Time left: Unlimited
	F*** yah, it's still obscene!
	7 (41%)
	F*** no, it gets used everywhere these days.
	10 (59%)
	What's the "F" word?
	0 (0%)
	0 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided.
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[seabeyond]

1. i would have chosen offensive opposed to obscene. nt

[ScreamingMeemie]

2. It depends.

[Solly Mack]

3. It is damn near my favorite word.

I refrain from using it in public though. Well, I try. I use it on DU. (I'm at home on DU)

[appleannie1]

4. It shows a lack of intelligence IMO. A person that does not know the proper noun, adjective or

adverb just uses that instead. An inanimate object like a car does not fornicate. So how can you intelligently describe a car using that for an adjective? You can't.

[GoneOffShore]

6. Used to agree but I fucking well got over that.

[GObamaGO]

10. +1

[Gidney N Cloyd]

11. I have a high IQ and an excellent vocabulary but I use it freely.

Last edited Wed May 23, 2012, 09:59 PM - Edit history (1)

[lunatica]

23. I do too and I use it quite deliberately

I always remind people of The Catcher In The Rye and how expletives are part and parcel of literature and language

[CBGLuthier]

22. because "fucking car" says one hell of a lot more than any other adjective you can name.

Literalism is the death of language.

[Gman]

32. Like "fucking, you know?"

No I don't know, and you have a pretty limited vocabulary, don't you?

[RedCappedBandit]

34. Disagree

Expletives serve a purpose. Their use has nothing to do with intelligence.
Also, I believe you're using the word intelligence, when you meant to use the word ignorance. Somewhat ironic given the context.

[frylock]

37. oh SNAP!

well played.

[libinnyandia]

5. My teenage relatives on fb use it too often.

[Robb]

7. Depends.

How many states away is my mother at the time I say it?

[Go Vols]

8. .

[liberaltrucker]

21. That's fucking funny!

Posted to FB, thanks.

[kentauros]

39. It's fucking therapeutic!

The Fuck It Life

Fuckin' great instructional video, too!

[ellisonz]

9. Fuck it. n/t

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

12. Fascism?...... nt

[RC]

13. "Fuck" is so versatile.

No other word has so many uses, or is used in as many parts of speech.

[leveymg]

14. Fuck no. Republican is a much dirtier word.

Since you asked.

[99Forever]

15. Makes me thik of this :

"I am Fuck, of the Mountain.."

[SoutherDem]

16. Obscene No.

Not appropriate in all places Yes.

[msongs]

17. ignorance on display is the new mantra nt

[Special Prosciuto]

18. My Mom once scolded me,

"Every other word out of your mouth is the F word!"

"Don't f***ing exaggerate," was my reply.

[Johnny Rico]

19. It's childish and frequent use is indicative of a poor vocabulary.

[Iggo]

20. When I use it, it sounds right

When you use it, it sounds wrong.

[one_voice]

24. It's my favorite word...

I love making up words that include the 'f' word. But I don't usually use it in public.

[man4allcats]

25. Fuck No.

The "No" option should be "Fuck no" - not "F*** no" since those such as myself who selected that fucking option have no fucking problem with the word "fuck." Thus we don't need F*** when Fuck will do quite nicely. And that's my final fucking word on it.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

26. Too many people over use it because they've got little else to say

David Mamet or the Cohn Brothers, they are not.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

27. A word that I use liberally --

but with great care with regards to situation, knowing that it is certainly offensive.

[HarveyDarkey]

28. George Carlin opines

[Raine]

29. I use it all the time but I use it at home

it doesn't offend my family but I don't use it in public because I don't like to offend people. It's just rude and insensitive to not take into account other's feelings.

[Gman]

30. Profanity is the crutch

Of the inarticulate mother fucker.

[provis99]

31. the word "fuck" should be situational in nature.

If it is used far too commonly, like it is in NYC, it loses it's power. Personally, I use "fuck" rarely enough so that when I use it, people know I'm a little pissed off.

[etherealtruth]

33. Obscene ... depending on how it is used ...

I view it's (general) use in public as impolite rather than obscene

[RedCappedBandit]

35. Well, I probably wouldn't wear it on a t-shirt

but I really don't give a fuck either way.

[Bluenorthwest]

36. I'm not keen at suggesting that appropriate for wearing to school be the standard for all

public use. School and the mall are not the same place, and neither is a coffee house or tavern. And this concept that a word can be 'obscene' is also a tad, well, obscene.
I think lazy speech is the sort that is not nearly specific enough to ask a straight forward question. The sort that asks if a word should be said by asking if it is suitable to print on a tee shirt and wear to school. That's fucking lazy. And it is always the most lethargic of writers who like to make the claim that words that offend them personally are signs of a lazy mind. I love that argument, as it lets me know that person has not spent much time in the upper reaches of any creative or political field or organization.

[kentauros]

38. Hay, I'm over fifty,

and I have a t-shirt with this on it:

[Igel]

40. Ill formed question.

"An apple is a fruit" is a nice definition. "A cucumber is green" assigns an attribute to an object (I've seen yellow lemon cukes and white cukes, of course).

But a word like "obscene" (or "offensive&quot is a judgment and requires a perceiver. You can't just say something is obscene--the person engaging in judgment is always present in the context.

And you can't just say "Do people think the F word is too obscene for public use?" On the one hand there's no unitary "people" that does the judging. On the other hand, it's trivially true--all that's required, strictly speaking, is to find two people who think it's obscene. Not a prob.

Yes, there are still socially defined communities of speakers who find the F word offensive and obscene.

Even that's weak. Many people find it obscene in some contexts and not others. Different subgroups of people will disagree where the line's to be drawn.

Taboo words are like that. Take the "N" word. I know people who use it daily and nobody cares; I know people who use it and are or would be treated as pariahs. Who are you? Where are you? Who are you talking to? About what? (Etc., etc., etc.)

[oldhippie]

41. I think it portrays low social class ....

... and civility. I don't like hearing it in public.

[Comrade_McKenzie]

42. I have always found the concept of "obscene" words to be preposterous.

Words with a deep history of hate like racial slurs I understand, but the rest I consider harmless.