Re: Cursing

dthorsley · Wed, 27 Oct 1999 18:09:04 -0700

Thank you, local_nutcase, for your post, which
allows bitchass and myself to start a whole new round of
idiot Yankee bashing.

>You said cursing at
practise is hardly
>justifiable, maybe this is true
if you 
>are living in Nazi Germany but
in
>the US the only justification you need
>is the
first amendment.

Well, geez, in this socialist
worker's paradise we have up here in Canada we actually
believe in such concepts as civility and mutual respect,
and listen to other people's requests to exercise a
little self-control.

We also understand that the
right to free speech does not automatically entail the
right to force others to listen to you, and that
civilized societies have always imposed limits to free
speech, requiring public statements to meet minimal
standards of truth and decency. "Your freedom to swing your
arms ends where my nose begins."

>And this
offensive thing. I find what
>you(whoever posted it)
posted to be very
>offensive, a slap in the face
of our
>country. NO, I will not attempt to
give
>an excuse for cursing because cursing in 
>a
free format(Internet) needs no excuse.

However,
incoherent, irrational, and unnecessarily offensive speech
does require an explanation. The purpose of the 1st
Amendment, to which you cling so dearly, was not to protect
the right to use needless profanity. Even a poor,
ignorant foreigner such as myself could figure out this
basic concept.

I don't consider asking people to
stop swearing to be a slap in anybody's face, unless
that's how you ask them to stop swearing. (SLAP! Keep
your commode mouth to yourself!)

>Yes
freedom has a tendency to offend 
>people, some
people just dont want to
>welcome
expression.

Free speech exists to allow people to express
unwelcome or offensive IDEAS. I hardly think that swearing
constitutes an idea. Free speech is not an absolute right --
it is perfectly acceptable to insist on a minimum
code of civility and conduct.

If I so desire, I
may use the chatroom's word filter, or use the
killfile to remove all comments from one local_nutcase.
However, these are barriers to communication. I would much
rather that all users of the chatroom agree to act in a
responsible manner, so that intelligent conversation will
overpower potty mouth. This will allow me to impose as few
limits as possible on my right to communicate in an
intelligent manner.