Thoughts

hmm...interesting. a couple of thoughts:

1. clean language is not "the" sign of intelligence (as claimed on their website); it is "a" sign of self-control and/or effective articulation and/or critical thinking and logical reasoning skills.

2. further, clean language (if defined as non-cuss words, and not "kind" words in general) can be just as disrespectful and demeaning as cuss words. people find ways of saying the exact same insult in many more words. sometimes that works to patronize the other to an even greater extent.

3. that said, i believe cussing should be viewed in light of the intention of the speaker. is "darn it" meant to express the same expression as another 4-letter da-n word? and if that be the case, why is one deemed acceptable while the other is labeled less-intelligent, rude, low-class, etc? there doesn't seem to be a logical reason as to why one should have a stigma attached to it. i think it's just an idea that's been around for so long that no one questions it...

4. still, i agree as to your 1st and 3rd points. we probably don't want to testify to others as a big ball of fury and frustration...

5. as to your 2nd point...i don't know how being a woman can possibly make you appear more low class than if you were a man, but i think you already know that and i respect the fact that you realize it's a double standard.

i guess i would say you perceive or expect all women to be raised a certain way, regardless of class (whereas maybe only preppy and/or middle-high class and/or God-fearing, etc. men are taught this), so when you hear a female using foul language, you wonder if she must've been raised by a pack of sailor-wolves...(whereas for a man, you might just excuse his language as being the norm, or at the very least, just not "high-class", but certainly not exceptionally ghetto).
 

When I hear guys cuss, it's a total turn-off. That goes along with smoking, drinking excessively, telling crude jokes, being disrespectful to elders, etc.
 

I was thinking about the difference between the f-word and other words like darn. I remember asking dan what she thought about it one day. She said, "Well...what does the f-word mean?" I paused a few seconds trying to remember it's original meaning. I was like, "Ooh..." So its like a crude way of how you view sex, which is suppose to be a gift from God for the love relationship between a husband and wife. Not be defined by the crude way (started by i don't know who)...to throw around in your treatment of trivial to important topics and treatment of people. So I guess using it excessively would be like glorifying (maybe elevating?) the word and all that stands behind it. I think back in the day, words hold a lot of weight. But now, i think we not only overuse but misuse words constantly that it seems like they lose its meaning. Just a thought.
 

I think it all depends on context and motivation.
For example, while saying "fuck off, asshole" is probably not a very Christian thing to say, neither is saying "get away, you jerk", if the thought you are trying to convey, and the feelings in your heart toward that person, are the same.
Likewise, I fail to see how there can be anything wrong with saying something like "that's fucking funny", when the word "fucking" is not in any way used to describe a sex act or directed toward anyone in an offensive manner. It is simply an adjective that basically means "extremely" in that context.