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As a mother I have heard “It just slipped out!” right after a child who shares my last name utters a profanity. Now I’m sure it wouldn’t have if you weren’t in the habit of using the word in the first place. A better statement would be “It just slipped out in front of you when I didn’t mean you to know I use that word all the time with my friends!”
I was talking to a friend today and we were talking about kids swearing and I mentioned that I remember a time when the worst thing I could call anyone was ‘Fat Pig!’ or ‘You Cow!’ I wish I was that innocent again. What happened to those days? The kids today have a whole new vocabulary. I don’t remember using the F bomb until I was 18. The S word was shocking at 12 and 13 but it was fun and caused giggles between my friends and I, although Sugar was a great replacement for home. Even now, at 38 years old I am unable to use some swear words around my parents without apologizing first. I suppose part of that is conditioning though.
I never thought swearing was a big deal, I mean they are just words right? What harm can words do? Well, I have changed my mind on that subject a little, and we can talk about the harm words do another time; as for the swear words, yes they are just words and they can’t make your ears bleed, they don’t have poison darts attached that kill the listener in 2 seconds, but there is a time and a place for them.
Thus becomes the trouble, when is the time and place? If you do know the time and place how do you stop using the words when it is NOT the right time and place, how do you stop slipping up?
Just recently my son; after taking a running dash across the living-room, jumping the couch and landing on the floor with such a thump that the china wobbled, picked up our ringing phone to check the caller ID. As he picked up the phone he hit the on button with his finger and he said “oh! Crap!” then handed the phone to me, who had just made it to the phone at a sedate walk. “Hello?” I said, not knowing who was their as neither of us had seen the ID. And sure enough it was a friend of the family, a wonderful lady that is always very kind to us and the kids, has something nice to say about everyone and is just a really nice lady from my grandma’s generation. Now I am sure she thinks that every time I pick up the phone I am in the habit of cussing!
I can cuss, I do cuss, I can cuss up a storm, I have even had those moments when I have said it and realized that it was probably not the best time or place. I am trying very hard to replace my most used profanity with some other nonsense word, like Purple. Maybe if I catch my 11 year old early and teach her ‘purple’ she won’t have to relearn it later However “It just slipped out!” doesn’t work for 38 year olds. We have to take responsibility for our actions and the consequences that come with them.
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Posted by bazile on 2008-08-01 08:19:28 | Rating: | Views: 26
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