Should Congress fine parents who use profanity in front of their children?

[Sandpiper]

Congress and the FCC are obviously concerned with keeping the ears of Americas children safe from naughty words on broadcast media. But what about in the home itself?

Children are far more likely to hear "fuck" "shit" etc. from the mouths of their own parents than they are on TV.

Consequently, I think it's time for Congress to pass a bill that would level substantial fines against any parent who uses profanity in front of their children.

Or is "fuck" only a bad word when Bono says it?

[porphyrian]

1. Nah, fuck censorship.

I'll say whatever I fucking want to my kids.

[Kelvin Mace]

2. F*ck 'em

and their f*ckin' law.

David Allen
www.thoughtcrimes.org
Distrusting the Government Since 1984

[CaptainClark23]

3. um....

is there supposed to be a "/sarcasm" at the end of that?

[gatlingforme]

4. I think congress should pass a bill to disassemble congress.

[LoZoccolo]

5. Fuck yeah!

Them little fuckers shouldn't have put up with this shit! Fine those sons of bitches!

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

6. Fuck yes...the word war should be obsolete by now

it's the parents' fault

[dr.strangelove]

7. I hope you are being sarcastic

I do not support regulating parental speech.

[Commendatori]

8. How would you enforce this?

You'd have either government watchdogs in your home or a new generation of squealers being raised.

Why stop there? Shouldn't Congress stop people from smoking, drinking, eating junk food and farting in front of their kids?

This is the sort of idea that horrifies me - we might as well put swastikas on our arms if we're going to start passing laws like this.

[Sandpiper]

12. You wouldn't

My post is tongue-in-cheek.

I'm simply using it to illustrate the absurdity of the current decency crusade.

Children are going to hear more profanity at home from their parents and at school from their peers than they ever will from celebrities on the radio and television.

[CaptainClark23]

15. phew, had me worried....

thought they'd gotten to you.

[Commendatori]

22. phew, had me worried too

I've heard such proposals from Democrats. Maybe D.C. is a strange place, but I know a lot of Dems that would sign on to that idea. Sorry, but based on recent experience I had no way of telling that you were kidding.

[Brahma Bull]

9. I think we need to censor the idiot Republicans.

The lies that come out of their mouth is much more harmful than a few fucking swear words.

[clydefrand]

10. The majority that rules both chambers would

never vote for this. They wouldn't be able to cuss the Dems. And their kids!

[Speck Tater]

11. Remember "Demolition Man"

The ticket dispensing machine that kept spitting little paper slips out. *Beep* you are fined 2 credits for profanity.

Little machines like that installed everywhere would do the trick.

[tnlefty]

13. Just want to point out that my kids hear the words you referenced in

other people's homes. I didn't even say crap in front of my kids until roughly 3 years ago. My spouse and I used to go into our closet which we dubbed the "cussing closet" when the frustration level got to the point that we were going to be tempted to say things we knew we shouldn't say either to our kids or in front of them.

Now they hear much more of this type of language at school, but since it's not used at home they are much less likely to repeat it unless they are just trying to get a reaction from us.

Stepping down from my soapbox, I don't think Congress should pass a law regarding parental language at home. Fuck that.

[truthspeaker]

14. fuck, no! That's fucking stupid!

[jdsmith]

16. My kid got busted when he was in first grade

The teacher, as teachers do, said something completely nonsensical, and my son said, "Bullshit." (That's how we talked at home, and we'd forgotten to tell him about at-home talk and not-at-home talk.) So the teacher told him that nice children did not talk like that. He considered that for a minute and thoughtfully said, "No shit."

We were called in for one of those conferences that severely test your ability to keep a straight face. (We did, however, quickly bring him up to speed on the different vocabularies that we all have to choose from as the occasion or setting dictates.)

Now that kid's all grown up and is the third person in the family either possessing or working on advanced degrees in English or Communication. That, we like to think, is the result of letting the kids know that there are lots of different ways of talking and writing real good.

(By the way: two people have already wondered whether people were intending to be sarcastic when they wrote "Fuck, no" and the like. Are little winkies REQUIRED when we're being sarcastic? Is this a sign that we're not communicating well enough with words?)

[Sandpiper]

17. If someone has to point out

That they're being sarcastic, it really defeats the whole purpose of it.

[jdsmith]

19. Wash. _Post_ put Art Buchwald in the "Satire and Whimsey" section

Which was, as one of my professors used to say, a way of saying, "Hey, moron" to its readers.

[DrWeird]

23. Of course some dink usually chimes in...

to inform you that you forgot the "sarcasm" tag.

I can never tell if they're being sarcastic or not.

[LynzM]

18. OMG, LMAO!!!

That's a keeper! I agree, teach your kiddos that there are different vocab sets that are appropriate for different settings.

I think it's sometimes hard online to tell when someone is being sarcastic, particularly if it's not someone whose posts you follow, so you know their mindset, and whether they would be prone to saying something like that.

That said, anyone who thought we should try to do this, well, I'd have to question whether they belonged here! :D

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

20. How about vice-versa?

Fortunately, I don't have kids, but listening to the brats at various public places, they would hardly be shocked at anything said anywhere.

Personally, I find profanity absolutely essential when speaking of the residents of the white house, or dealing with a recalitrant computer.

[madrchsod]

21. i think kids learn" bad "words from their

parents and friends. to bad these nitwits who want the government to protect their children don`t realize it is up to them to raise their children to resist the temptation of the big bad world around them. these people are very poor valueless parents that have to rely on others to give their children values.

[TexasSissy]

24. First we'll have to authorize all those microphones, so we'll

know who's cussing in front of their children.

Now that I think of it, audiotapes may not show the whole picture of the cussing, so maybe we should authorize VIDEOtapes.

Yeah, that's the ticket.

[put out]

26. Yeah, yeah, that IS the ticket!

What a great idea you are having! Let's all have mikes and cameras in our homes, so that we may all know who is cursing and otherwise doing those things which may not serve every child's interests the in the best way during every waking moment. Plus, the microphones and video cameras could even watch us while we sleep so that our Attorney General can ascertain we are all behaving!!!

Hey, we could market this idea skillfully and call it "Parents at Home Being Real".

I'm gonna need some duct tape for my mouth. It should help me with my smoking habit, not to mention my fucking cursing habit. Shit, did I say that again?

[Ezlivin]

25. Easy to enforce...

...All they have to do is automatically arrest any soldier or sailor that has children.

And just to be safe, they should gather up all children of blue collar workers.

That'll teach 'em a fuckin' lesson.

[izzie]

27. I just think this is all one big error.

It just does not work. Who, pray tell, will make up the list of things we should not see or hear. Anyone hear been in St Peters and seen the art work with the added fig leaves? Funny.

[jayfish]

28. Ever Heard Of Timothy Boomer? (READ THIS)

http://www.statenews.com/article.phtml?pk=11113

<SNIP>
Three months after a Michigan law against profanity was ruled unconstitutional, cussing cases are popping up in other states.

Roseville resident Timothy Boomer, also known as the “cussing canoeist,” swore in front of a family after falling out of a canoe on Aug. 15, 1998. He was found guilty of violating an 1897 state law against cursing in front of women and children.

He appealed the ruling and the Michigan Court of Appeals overturned his conviction and declared the law unconstitutional.

But laws like it are still intact across the country.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed two lawsuits against Pittsburgh-area police departments July 2 regarding profanity arrests. Also, two Wisconsin residents were cited for disorderly conduct last month for swearing.
</SNIP>

Luckily, Michigan tossed out the law as unconstitutional. As we saw last week the SCOTUS ruled that state law trumps the Constitution, so if the case had gone to them they may have upheld or simply punted. Get used to it... THEY WANT TO PUT YOU IN JAIL FOR EVERYTHING.

Jay

[Q]

29. America condones torture but not swearing?

- How messed up is THAT?

[Gregorian]

30. Congress shoud be fined for wasting time on things like this!!

Oh, and there should be a tax on ugliness. Good lord! Sometimes I think we'd be better off in the jungle.