BUT, in our “fake G rated” society, where children are little sneeky sponges (possibly & probably) lurking when we don’t think they are, we’re supposed to stop and think before we express ourselves profanely… right? Whatever… I never said I was kid proof!I say, “INVOKE YOUR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS!” Have fun with it, but when you do it, don’t be a chicken #%@&, and comment on my blog anonymously; be proud of your point of view (whether it sucks or not)! In fact, if you want to drop a little comment bomb, I invite you to do so, but have the courage to sign your NAME; otherwise we (and YOU) all know you ARE a “Chicken #%@&”!
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In the interest of full disclosure; I, on occasion, use profanity. More often than I should. And I do make an effort to watch my language. I don’t swear in front of my mother, my son, my customers/clients, nor do I swear in general situations out in public. I do agree, however, that occasionally a profane word or two can be useful and succinct.
You’re an actor. That may be all I need to understand your feelings about swearing. It’s apparent that the circles you used to travel in with your ex-husband brought you in contact with other people who aren’t as foul-mouthed as you. But, actors, who are so in touch with what’s real and true, feel the swearing is very necessary. Among your actor friends, I’m sure you all believe that ‘Gone With The Wind’ would have been more real if Rhett had told Scarlet, “Frankly, my Dear, you can go f--- yourself.” And how much more powerful, gritty and real would films like; ‘Twelve Angry Men’, ‘The Maltese Falcon’, ‘Days of Wine and Roses’, ‘Psycho’& so many others be if only those scripts had been filled with profanity?
I’m no prude. There are plenty of movies that I like very much that have profanity. However, occasionally I see a film that is so heavily peppered with the F-bomb that it gets to be distracting. One film comes immediately to mind: ‘Glengary GlenRoss’. EVERYONE in that film uses the F-word (and all its variations) so much that all I can recall about the film is the swearing.
Also, I always thought that the sycophantic James ‘In the Actors Studio’ Lipton’s question of an actor’s favorite swear word was stupid and done for a gratuitous laugh. Harrison Ford said mother f---er! Tee hee hee! By the way, I see Lipton’s run out of actors. His latest interview is of Martin Lawrence! I wonder which is his favorite swear word.
If you are spending most of your time in the presence of prolifically profane performers that may also explain your notion of a “fake G rated society”. (By the way, putting “fake G rated” in quotes means that you are either quoting something or that you think the quoted portion is rubbish. So, you are saying, in effect, that our society really is G rated.) But, I’m sure that you are aware of the vast number of Americans going through their everyday lives without needing to resort to foul language. Whether or not children are present.
Which brings me to my next point.
What bothered me most about your poorly thought out defense of profanity was the statement, “I never said I was kid proof.” When I read that I knew I was dealing with another adult refusing to be a responsible person. Swearing in front of children, “I never said I was kid proof.” Getting drunk in front of kids, “I never said I was kid proof.” Smoking pot, taking drugs, fighting, lying, stealing, having sex, acting like a spoiled brat, “I never said I was kid proof.”
Part of being an adult is being responsible. Like it or not, we are all role models. Kids watch us and listen to us. Being an adult means doing ones best to set good examples. It’s better to develop the verbal ability to express yourself without being lazy and relying on profanity. And it is always a good idea to watch your mouth when children are present. Excessive profanity, in my opinion, just adds to the coarsening of our society. When done in front of children it robs them of their innocence. And that is just sad.
Occasionally, a choice word or two can be effective, but when it becomes so prevalent in your everyday speaking the effectiveness is greatly diminished. For example, when at a social gathering being re-introduced as a trucker. It’s not fair to truckers, I know, but, they aren’t thought as the most intelligent and genteel people. Part of that attitude stems from a reputation of being foul-mouthed. And being foul-mouthed is taken, in our society, as a sign of lower class, lower intelligence and a general sense of crudeness.
Finally, I had to laugh at the unintended irony of your last paragraph. You encourage your readers to invoke their constitutional right and respond to your statement. But you warn not to be a “chicken #%@&”. Right there you refrain from taking your own advice. You use the comic strip depiction of swearing. You censored your own use of profanity while defending your prolific use of profanity. Pretty ironic, don’t you think?
My name is Jim Fitzsimons. I have my own blog at http://dimland.blogspot.com/ to which I will be posting this response
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