Using 'bad' language - 2

"This must mean I'm disgusting
But it's just me I'm just obscene"
- Eminem, in Without Me

[After my blog titled "Using bad language" I thought of doing a follow up of that topic to try and answer some of the questions. It should be obvious to you that as this is a blog about foul language, its use here would be a foregone conclusion; especially because I would like to present both sides of the argument. And as I do not use/do not like to use/do not pretend to like to use foul language, I just have to say that if it does indeed disturb you, please do not continue reading]

I'm not generally inclined towards rap but I like Eminem. His lyrics can be funny or thought-provoking but more importantly they are powerful. And why? Because as he raps in The Real Slim Shady,
"I'm like a head trip to listen to
cause I'm only givin you things you joke about with your friends inside you livin' room
the only difference is, I got the balls to say it in front of ya'll
and I aint gotta be false or sugar coated at all
I just get on the mic and spit it..."
And of course with this comes the use of foul language. One of my favourite Eminem songs is "Stan". I once heard its clean version and it seemed to lack the punch. [Maybe its better to have a censored song than none at all... the Wal-mart version of Nirvana's "Rape Me" is "Waif me"]

But my point is that using "cuss" words does add more emphasis to what people say. Plus all the "exclamation phrases" seem much more whole hearted.
Some people have gotten around this by using words like "fricking", "shyte" etc. leaving no doubt in the mind of the listener what is intended. They add emphasis without using the actual words. Can this be categorised as use of 'bad' language? They afterall do mean to convey the same meaning. And if people do not have any problems with this, then why should they have problems with the actual words?
Do we now need a new set of "exclamation phrases"? [heh I know thats going too far :)]
But still... think about it.

Using 'bad' language

Does 'bad or 'foul' language bother you? Should it bother you? Is it 'wrong' to 'cuss'? Is it 'wrong' if it does not bother you?

Well, almost everyone around me curses. One way or the other. The words themselves range from funny name calling to potentially serious verbal abuse of family members. So why do people tolerate it? It has become so common that it has become part of common language. Thats how friends address each other now. But still respect to elders demands that we don't use these words while addressing older people. But that dosen't prevent people from using them behind their backs.
So is it a serious crime?
Once you are used to it you no longer feel anything is wrong. Maybe thats why Mel Gibson got into so much trouble.
This topic will be open for discussion for some time to come....