awww, pish

While I was with a group of folks last week, one of them started discussing how someone she met from our circle had told her that she needed to clean-up her language in order to set a good example. Specifically, I believe the statement was "Once the F word or the S word comes out of your mouth, nobody is going to listen to anything else you have to say." I have no way of knowing for certain, but I am pretty sure the comment was directed toward me. And I know that there are indeed people out there who are all 'prim and proper' and will think less of me and what I have to say based on the fact that I swear.

But here's the deal. I am much more willing to take seriously someone who is being genuine. Prim & Proper often says the 'right' thing, but Prim & Proper also often says the un-genuine thing. When I am interacting with folks, I much more inclined to give credence to the person who is willing to swear. Now, I'm not talking about the person who is just swearing to shock everyone around them, or swearing because they have anger issues and feel the need to lash out to everyone who is listening...instead I am speaking of the person who uses the F and the S as emphasis, or as an explicative, and there is a difference (although Prim & Proper would argue otherwise). I respect people who can say 'shit' when they mean 'shit', and say 'that really fucking sucks' when it really fucking sucks. Many years ago I had a therapist back home who would on occasion use 'shit' in the appropriate context, and I gotta tell you, the things she said to me had much more credibility than things coming from my other therapists.

But that's me. Not everyone, particularly Prim & Proper, will feel the same way. But that is the beauty of us humans; We all have our own needs, and our own way of being and interacting. Regardless of swearing-status, I don't think the Prim & Propers would be coming to see me in a professional capacity anyway, so I will save my poetic reverie for my peeps. And in the mean time I will learn from my new friends all of the appropriate UK swears so I can be a well-rounded multi-cultural swearer.