I completely understand that words have power. The “N” word and other racial slurs are some of the most hurtful words in existence. But these words are hurtful because of the historical and downright mean intent behind them.
The words hurt because they were specifically designed to hurt us.
Compare those words with certain four-letter words that make teachers cringe. The four-letter words that we as a generation decided to give power to have no historical painful roots. Sure these words were used long before us, but in the old days, they were just words.
The “F” word comes from Sweden. The original word was “focken” or “to copulate with.” It literally means sex. Sex is a word that everyone seems to use with alarming frequency these days, but apparently it’s nowhere near as dirty because it only has three letters instead of four.
The “A” word is used all throughout the Bible. It’s an old English way to say donkey.
The “S” word has no historical origin at all.
In my mind, if a word has no historical meaning, no great pain associated with it, then it’s just a word. Four-letter words, to me, are interchangeable with all the other interjections and adjectives in the English language. “Oh my goodness!” and “What the f***!” are exactly the same to me.
They’re just words. No one ever demeaned an entire race by saying “You’re full of (insert expletive here)” or “Go (dirty word) yourself.” The look of shock on a 40-year-old’s face is what makes the word seem like more than what it really is.
There’s no way I’m going to adjust my language just because a few old guys in suits say that my mouth is dirty. Give me a real reason to not say something, and I’ll happily adjust the way I talk.
I’ll never say the “N” word to you, and I’ll never call a woman outside her name. I’ll never use a racial slur to get the upper hand in an argument, and I’ll always make a valid point to defend my beliefs. Do not tell me my language is dirty when five minutes ago I heard you call your best friend a garden tool or a magician’s skill (both of which are original names for prostitutes and women of lower standing).
I’m tired of the looks people give me because of words that I use that are arbitrarily designated as bad. I know I can use larger words, or words that the scholarly community might say are more politically correct, but I don’t care.
The words that come out of my mouth are the words that I choose, and no one will tell me how to speak my mind.
You say, “Clean up your dirty language, Jordan.”
I say, “(Expletive deleted) that.”