Profanity can just F- off! Or at least, that’s what one South Carolina senator thinks. State Senator Robert Ford is introducing a bill to outlaw profanity statewide. If you say or write a profane word, the act could be punishable by five years in jail or a $5,000 fine. View the Bill at WeirdStuffNews
Now I may be a religious conservative but even I think this may be going a little too far. Does the first amendment protect your right to swear? Well, maybe. But in my opinion, the government already has too much involvement in what we do, think, say etc.
Perhaps the bill could be modified to ban that language in public forums; like congressional meetings, court rooms, etc. Or perhaps, it could even be applied to public schools. Of course, the punishment would also need to be greatly reduced, to say, a $25 fine; with proceeds going to funding something like improving curriculum in public school English classes. Anyway, I think his heart is in the right place, but he is going about it all wrong.
Also of interest:
There was a young high schooler on the Tonight Show the other night who started a no cussing club. He substitutes words for cuss words. “Pickle’ was an alternative word. http://nocussing.com/
3 comments:
There should be no ban on any word! Period. Even you have gone too far in your evaluation. A $25 fine! Give me a break. The point being is what offends some, does not necessarily offend others. What's next? The word "pickle". If you don't like it, either leave or don't listen. And shouldn't these senators be working on things more important than a swear word????
Pickle? PICKLE?!? That's even worse than 'frik-a-frak', which a South Carolinan who I've met uses.
I fully agree with Misha over at nicedoggie.net on the subject of cussing (or swearing, as we call it here in the UK) - using the Lord's name in vain might be out if you're a Christian, but any other word is fine - after all, you need something to say when you hit your thumb with a hammer, and 'oh, pickle!' doesn't really cut it.
Sure, other people in earshot might be offended, and that's why I moderate my language when other people are around. But that's my personal choice, not because I believe that people should have a right not to be offended.
I'm sorry, but the idea of "either leave or don't listen" is nonsense. There is no excuse for the foulness of language in use today. Should it be illegal to curse? Of course not. But cursing is so prevalent today that extreme language has become meaningless. In fact, if you hit your thumb with a hammer, "oh, pickle!" is actually far MORE effective than the usual curse word, because the curse word--or swear word, as we say in the USA--has become so common that it's lost all its impact.
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