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...or is it just me?

I agreaa with Zor and you, Dan. Cuss words are only cuss words because someone decided to label that way, and it's just been pu tin our heads that it's wrong. I have the mouth of a sailor/trucker, though I've been trying to hold it in in case I offend someone. I mean, even words that aren't "cuss" words can hurt someone, so should it really ********' matter if I curse or not? It makes language colorful. xD But yea, no words cuss or not should be used to hurt someone.

I don't neccesarily see a problem with using them, just as long as they're in the right context. There are certain words out there that I take offense to (such as the n word), but things like hell, s**t, ********... no problem. But they have to be in the right context. For example, ******** doesn't neccesarily mean sex in general. It's more of a... one night stand kind of sex. If sex is a broad umbrella term, ******** is only one of the spokes. Catch my meaning? I'd find it extremely odd and rather sad if a very happy couple said they ********. I'm not saying they need to 'make love', but you get what I mean, I think?

Maybe it's just the area I was raised in? I've always filed the n-word under cuss word because it shouldn't be said. It's not like ********. It actually /had/ a meaning in the past, a very deameaning and cruel meaning. And it still has that meaning. -shrug- That's just the way I've always seen it and that's the way it always came across in South Florida.

Hmm... I guess that's kind of the way I think of the word ********. I usually associated more with no love sex than hardcore, bed banging. I pretty much think of making love as something soft and sensual as well, though.

I say it's a word, words were meant to be said. If it's in the dictionary and has a meaning, with the exception of the words "bling and fashizzle." then we have the right to use them.

Think of it this way: Words only have the meaning that people give them.

If I started saying, "Shut up, you stupid piece of candy!" in a very negative way, eventually the word Candy would become vulgar when coming from me. It's all in how you use them.

Of course, it can be very crude (crude, not rude; no typo) to have someone be swearing every other word. A teacher of mine once told me that people that had to swear all the time to get their meaning across didn't possess a big enough vocabulary to do so, and in essence, weren't the brightest crayons in the box.

I think if you know not to swear like a maniac around people that should be respected or are your superiors, then it shouldn't be a problem.

The poll didn't have an "it depends" option, so I just picked the one that I thought would have less percentage.

Anyway, I think the usage of explicit language differs according to the situation. If a person uses it to purposefully insult another just for kicks, then it becomes a no-no. On the other hand, if someone chooses the word just for innocent teasing, "She's my b***h" then it comes out as harmless.

I think the main reason why society puts a taboo on crude language is because Children often use the words without knowing their definition, and hence there are situations where they could put themselves into trouble for doing so. I know from personal experience, that I had no idea what Indiana Jones mean when he said, "s**t!" As a child, between all that cool a**-whipping, I thought it sounded cool so I used it without much thought. Thankfully, I didn't get myself into trouble, but I knew a few others who did.

On a more personal manner, no matter how large the person's vocabulary, nothing makes them seem stupider when they utter "********" in between words. It just takes away the respect, just a little bit. That doesn't mean that I'm some kind of vocabulary saint. I have friends that swear a lot, just to tease, but they don't do too much of it. If you use terms like "s**t," "b***h," "********," and etcetera as though they're the air you breathe, that's when I think someone's taking things too far. Of course I swear on occasions, but that's only when I'm under extremely tense situations and usually, there's nobody else around to hear it.

As for the word, "sex" I don't see it as an offensive language. It's something that occurs naturally in human beings. Another reason why people place restriction on the words is because children can't exactly grasp the true concept of "sex" until they reach a certain age, wherein there would be complex explanations from either their parents or their teachers.

i totally agree with this 100% i mean, spongebib calls them "sentence enhacers" and thats what they are, sentence enhancers!