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Aww... Fuck It. The word that offends is often the word that is the most useful... What's the most offensive word in the English language as spoken in the USA? I would guess, hands down that it has to be "Fuck." Most would agree I think.
I've actually often wondered about this...WHY is this word so offensive to so many? It's a silly little word when you think about it - has a sound much like a fast, hard sigh of exhursion. It's a small word but has MANY uses - it is used as every KIND of word you can imagine: verb, adverb, explitive, noun, and many more. It has connotations that change depending on the context in which one grew up sometimes but the meanings of the word change too with the WAY it's spoken. What other single word can mean, when "fuck me" is spoken in a soft, sultry voice, that you want someone sexually in such an intense, passionate way? What other word can really put across the frustration, anger, and sometime despair that one feels when the ONLY possible choice to say to someone is "FUCK YOU!"? What other word can replace "shit" when you get badly, unexpectedly hurt so that those around you
have NO mistake that you are not well?
I admit it. I'm a terrible "f-bomber." I use the word all the time - to me it really doesn't have the shock value, the offensive value, that it seems to have for others. I often forget just how common it is in my vocabulary until I notice that someone is offended by something I've said. Whoops, my bad. I guess that I have never really understood the concept of a word itself being offensive. Words in context, sure - it's the context that MAKES them offensive."Swear words" to me has always been an odd concept. Why in the world would a WORD be a bad thing, an evil thing? Words are for communication, for expression, and well it's true that often those things aren't nice or easy or pleasant or pretty. Why is the word to blame?
I like a word that can be used for anything and everything - it's utalitarian. It's resourceful. It's highly offensive to many people but to me, it's simply something that fits many situations. And ya gotta appreciate anything that can fit most situations equally well. Right?
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