Thursday, April 12, 2007
I’ve effing had it with vulgarity.
I’m not one of those people who thinks every use of a vulgar word is horrible. These words were invented because they have a distinct meaning. Sometimes the exact word you need to use to express your thoughts or feelings is a vulgar word, and that’s fine.
But that’s not how most people use these words. Instead, they use them as synonyms for “really” or “very.” Or they use these words to convey meaning they don’t even know themselves. It’s the verbal equivalent to punting. Why be articulate when you can just throw out the f-word, followed, if necessary, by, “Dude?”
I am surprised to find this level of intellectual laziness at a university. How much education is required before your articulation surpasses caveman level?
Part of the power of vulgarity is its infrequency. The person who resorts to vulgarity shows desperation to be understood or believed. When vulgar words compete with articles such as “the” and “a” in your speech frequency, you sound like an idiot.
There will always be those who wish to demonstrate how avant-garde they are by not obeying conventional rules of conversation. I admit that was why I started swearing, in fifth grade. By the time your parents can no longer wash out your mouth with soap, the thrill of swearing should be gone.
Defining yourself in opposition to something gives the thing you supposedly hate complete control of your life. Your “individuality” is really just a sign of your enslavement. Nobody really thinks this way about it anymore. I think for most it became a habit after fifth grade and they can’t stop it.
If it’s a habit now, why don’t you break it. You’re getting an education presumably to be a more professional, hire-able person. Getting rid of a filthy mouth should go along with a diploma and knowing how to craft a resume.
I have two children who love the University of Kansas more than life itself. My daughter’s dream is to have a Jayhawk statue in our front yard. The biggest treat my children receive is a visit to campus. But how frequently can that happen when so many overheard conversational snippets contain coarse language? Forgive me for not understanding the nuances between “I was so drunk,” and “I was so f-ing drunk.” They say the same thing: “I’m an idiot.”
Cultural institutions continue to abet this degrading slide of vocabulary. Here at the University, the primary cultural forum, Free for All, continues to print an advisory statement that says obscene comments will not be printed, but lately it seems it can’t be a complete Free for All without at least three f-words.
If the point of a college education is to educate, to teach students to think for themselves, why does a stroll across Wescoe Beach sound like a sailors’ convention? It’s getting to the point where it’s ridiculous.
Cut it out.
Minster is a Lawrence junior in economics
Doing Without: Swearing
Absence makes the heart grow...?
Minster: Kids growing up faster and faster
Third graders in Georgia took the reaction of frustrated students into the ...
Free for All: September 26, 2007
Just because we hide in your room doesn’t mean we have to ...
Regan: Irish 101
As her time in Ireland ends, Regan shows how to be fluent ...
Nichols: Accepting the f-bomb
Bad words are only as bad as we make them out to ...
Better Options for Bad Situations: Cursing
How to clean up your dirty mouth (at least when you have ...
Mangiaracina: An open letter to South Florida's ...
Free For All: April 19, 2007
Why do people wear sunglasses on cloudy days?
Free for All: May 4, 2007
I found a hat that says "Jawhawk." What does that mean?
Free For All: April 4, 2007
Whoever is flying the kite in front of Templin: You’re adorable.
Free For All: September 6, 2007
The comment before this one sucked.
Editorial: Eradicate the R-word from your vocabulary
Using the R-word can be highly offensive, much more than you might ...
Minster: Basketball is blocking education
Spoiled fans have forgotten the reason they came to the University. Athletics ...
Catch of the week: Brad Foster
Our weekly peek at the fish in the KU sea.
Free For All: Sept. 10, 2007
Did anybody see the K-State video on YouTube? Don’t forget your power ...
Mangiaracina: Reading, writing are our last bonds
Minster: Follow my philosophy
The teachings of ancient philosophers have become irrelevant in the modern world. ...
Free For All: October 10, 2007
Looks like someone forgot their power towel.
Free for All: May 3, 2007
Honk if you love peace and quiet.
Minster: Bad habits die hard, even in ...
Election season doesn't change bad habits like exaggeration and dishonesty.
Question & answer with Director Kevin Smith
Free For All: March 12, 2007
The sun on my tummy feels so good!
Vosburgh: No second chance in first impression
For Gill's premiere, students should reconsider kick-off chant.
Minster: Critics of Kansas’ tourism slogan are ...
The tourism slogan of, “As Big as You Think” works against the ...
Minster: Fans should lose optimism, face reality
The baseball season may have started a new beginning, but the past ...
Gentry: The party that never ends probably ...
Hard-partying neighbors are mysterious and annoying
Recession needs new definition
A look at what the word "recession" really means in America.
Don’t uptight high school administrators
Minster: KU athletics greedy for revenue
The KU athletics department wants to bring down Joe-College.com for not paying ...
Free for All: March 5, 2007
Spring has come again, which means the start of another baseball season, ...
Free For All: October 8, 2007
Free for All, why in the world can’t people in this God-forsaken ...
Free For All: April 18, 2007
Free for All is my new addiction.
McLeod: T-shirt issue borders on censorship
Offensive or not, the “Muck Fizzou” shirt is still embodiment of student ...
Letter: Other places on campus are vulgar, ...
Malicious Intimacy
Four students' experiences with domestic violence.
Free for All: April 10, 2007
I just got done using a handicapped stall, and I was wondering ...
Free For All: October 29, 2007
College is evolving. We have Easy Mac instead of Ramen. Way to ...
Free For All: October 4, 2007
To the guy who just stopped in front of me on the ...
From left: Kimberlee Hinkle, Libby Johnson and Hannah ...
1 comment
Kansas Jayhawk fans hold aloft a reproduction of ...
2 comments
Erin Saupe, a Ph.D. student from St. Cloud, ...
1 comment
0 comments
Armed robbers continue to threaten.
3 comments
Lecture from Greg Mortenson, co-author of New York ...
0 comments
Comments
Minster: Campus isn't a sailors' convention
Okay this is a college campus - we should not have to alter our actions because some parents want to take little kids here. KU is not here to be a field trip destination, it is a place for thousands of adults to gather and learn. Good luck trying to get them all to censor themselves so the poor kiddies aren't corrupted. Take them to the park.
Sign in to comment
Or login with:
OpenID