Public swearing outlawed in Massachusetts town

[Reba]

I'm not saying it works or stops anything. I'm saying, IMO, it is the reason they are expressive. An adult should try to remember what it was like to be a kid instead of using a wholesale nobody swears rule pushed on everyone.

I do remember when I was a kid, and neither I nor my friends used profanity. Some kids at school occasionally did, and we looked down on them for it. We didn't think it was "cool" but we figured they simply weren't well educated.

The people who made this law couldn't deal with a bunch of teenagers? Really?
I don't know about you, but I don't see any adults here.

Like I posted, I don't think a law will have much impact on changing them. As long as parents and society let them get away with it, it will continue.

 

[VacationGuy234]

Show you what?

Expressive speech of how you feel without swearing. You know like, "I'm really upset you just punched me!" "You really didn't have to do that". Somehow, it doesn't exactly convey how you feel at that moment, IMO.

Is it over used? Sure, but it's still a form of expression.

 

[Reba]

Expressive speech of how you feel without swearing. You know like, "I'm really upset you just punched me!" "You really didn't have to do that". Somehow, it doesn't exactly convey how you feel at that moment, IMO.

Is it over used? Sure, but it's still a form of expression.

Are you saying that unless you swear, the person punching you doesn't realize that you didn't like it? Really?

If someone is that obtuse, I doubt swearing would have any effect either.

 

[VacationGuy234]

Are you saying that unless you swear, the person punching you doesn't realize that you didn't like it? Really?

If someone is that obtuse, I doubt swearing would have any effect either.

I'm saying the words indicate meaning more effectively. I doubt most of the teenagers know what For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge actually means or where it came from, but it means something (often the same thing) to anyone who hears it.

Do I think teenagers should swear? No. Do I think other people should be deciding who swears or if anyone swears? NO. The only thing this law does is allows cops to not catch real criminals. It's a waste of time, money and effort.

 

[airportcop]

Agree.


Don't agree.


I don't see how profanity is ever "necessary" to get the job done. I see it as an expression of frustration for not having the right words and actions to actually get the job done.

Reba,

I understand but! What I am saying is that 99% of the time cussing is not appropriate or professional and the person using it needs to widen their vocabulary options. But as a cop I have run across a few very rare instances in dealing with the very rough hardened criminal element that nothing else works but to yell obscenities at them to be able to fully gain their attention and sometimes their respect. Yes it means stooping to their level but in these rare times it does and has worked. I'm not saying that I enjoy it or that it is even right but that sometimes in the very rare situations it works. I used to be one of those foul potty mouthed cuss like a sailor kind of guys. In the Navy a Christian co-worker pointed out that what I was saying didn't even make sense in the literal and how dumb it sounded. I used Ephesians 4:29 to learn how to properly speak!

 

[deafdrummer]

It is absolutely funny to read this thread. Human society is the biggest make-believe there is.

I say this as an outsider, a cave woman so to speak.

 

[Jiro]

The only thing this law does is allows cops to not catch real criminals.

how? from what I see, Middleborough looks like a lofty quaint town with country feel. I doubt cops are there busy catching and busting criminals like Harlem or Bronx

It's a waste of time, money and effort.

well -

The ordinance does not specify which curses are banned, and police can decide whether to ticket offenders.

"It does not affect you if you are sitting at a café," said DuPhily. "It only affects you if you are verbally abusing someone across the street."

certainly not a waste of time, money, and effort since it's part of public disturbance and/or disorderly conduct and/or domestic violence.