Does swearing alienate people?

[Ki!ler-Mk1]

I was just thinking that if you had a person who used alot of vulgar and allegedly offensive language, but the person themselves were very nice, kind helpful etc, would their aledged bad language be alienating to you or others (regardless of if you find them offensive or not.)?

And what if they continued to communicate in this way in written media, eg any form of internet communications. And they were beyond convincing that they are to some people offensive. Should they be cast out and abandoned or accepted for the way they are?

I am NOT describing anyone i know.

 

[waterproofbob]

This entirely depends on the environment. When I'm around people from work I swear a fair bit. I can also swear a reasonable amount online when on ts when I'm chatting with people I know. However I have certain groups of friends that don't swear or do so very rarely and if I were to swear around them to the same extent it would certainly be frowned upon.

For me it is entirely environmental. Having said that there is very little that offends me. If anything I get frustrated by how easily some people are offended by things like language especially when it isnt aimed at them.

 

[thatbloke]

omg don't fucking swear!!! [noparse][/noparse]

 

[Ki!ler-Mk1]

If anything I get frustrated by how easily some people are offended by things like language especially when it isnt aimed at them.

I was going to write something similar to that in the OP but i actually felt like my view might be alienating, as it is due to my incomprehension of some forms of offense.

I used to swear only when speaking via microphone, but a few months ago someone punched me in the face repeatedly, and since then i swear quite abit. You could say its permenantly affected my personality, but as our personality is made up from our past experiences, i could rationalise this as a single turning point in my behaviour and blame that if anyone ever complains if i swear too much, or just tell them to fuck off too.

I still makes me feel bad when i swear spontaneously in "real life" though as i know it isnt the me i have carefully constructed over time.

 

[thatbloke]

I was going to write something similar to that in the OP but i actually felt like my view might be alienating, as it is due to my incomprehension of some forms of offense.

I used to swear only when speaking via microphone, but a few months ago someone punched me in the face repeatedly, and since then i swear quite abit

this wasn't the, er, "stabbing" incident that night on BC2 was it?

 

[Ki!ler-Mk1]

Frak you TB! Just wait till i42, i haz a rubber knife with your name on it.

 

[Ronin Storm]

On the internet, in your written word the specific words you choose are highly important but unpredictable in outcome as the audience may appreciate or avoid vulgarity and you may not know in advance. I tend towards caution when I don't know the people and it's not my board.

On voice comms, you get both words and tone and so intention comes across better. However, I feel that quite a lot is still lost in translation unless you already know the people you're talking to.

So, swearing is going to alienate some people no matter what you do. Question is to whether it is appropriate for your environment. If in doubt, I'd avoid it.

All that said, the more intense a game gets the more I swear. Some people find this amusing. Others ignore it. I guess there must be others who don't like it, but I think I send them screaming so I guess that's just the way of it...

 

[Taffy]

Thanks to my job, I'm completely desensitized to swearing (only getting called a f*****g ginger c**t 3 times in a night is usually a quiet shift ) so no, it doesn't offend me. I actually use swearing occasionally as a method of communicating effectively with someone. Then again, I arrest people for swearing aggressively and repeatedly, so I can understand why some would be offended by it.

I think thats all the main points covered and me successfully sat on the fence

 

[Ki!ler-Mk1]

The other day i saw that someone on channel 4 had recieved complaints for using a word starred out like this: P***, anyhoo, it took me a long time to figure out what the word was, and then it hit me, paki, well brit isnt offensive, and i am sure there are white pakistanis, so i thought to myself that giving credence to the word as a form of racism was worse than the using of the word. Like in what taffy said, the quote regarding haircolour, a fact about his appearance, and he could look past the swearing and say yes, i have orange hair, so what. Well pakis should do the same, "yes im a fucking paki from pakistan, what of it?" - Im a brit, and i dont think thats offensive, yet the word is sourced in the same way.

 

[Ki!ler-Mk1]

I just think that if people were not so easy to offend, by the credence they themselves give to words, then the world could be much happier place.

I diverse

 

[Huung]

I just think that if people were not so easy to offend, by the credence they themselves give to words, then the world could be much happier place.

I diverse

You have to remember that whilst logic dictates it should happen, human nature means it won't. Most people are idiots, and when you have an idiot looking for an excuse to kick off and have a fight, there's very little logic can do to help.

In your example, "Brit" has never really been used in an overly offensive manner by racists - but "Paki" has. At the end of the day all words are just that: words. It's the connotations the words come with, or the history of the usage of the word which dictates it's usage and how appropriate it is. Whilst "Paki" isn't racist in itself, or indeed a swear word, the way it has been used by racists makes it unusable by anyone, whether they mean offence by it or not.

Who knows, maybe "Brit" will be seen in the same way a few hundred years in the future.

 

[Wol]

alot of vulgar

I don't think swearing alienates people from me quite as much as the use of "alot"....

 

[Gombol]

I don't think swearing alienates people from me quite as much as the use of "alot"....

I think Wol alienates people. <3

Seriously though: The main thing that alienates people is the Media and the like (TV, Games, Music) Since they will watch / play / listen to them, and think swearing is the "best thing evar"

 

[Ki!ler-Mk1]

When i started the thread i had intended to refer only to non directed swearing eg "Why is this * thing in the * way" or some such, but i myself went straight onto directed abuse i had alot of ideas for that quote above but they seem to have slipped my mind, this happens alot

I supose you could say it as swearing as adjectives and verbs, but not as nouns.

Still alot of the time im sure alot of people dont even distinguish in real life.

 

[eMP3Danie]

I think a couple of people could vouch for this... but I am an alien when it comes to THN...

I have a big personality and a big mouth, I hate being that guy. Sometimes I think it alienates me alot here and I tend to keep the mic muted while im playing something competitive.

Lan on the other hand I cant control my volume... I cant use my inside voice and I end up being the loudest on the row.

Though over the last year or so I haven't played much of anything and I am hoping this swearing bug has been fixed... I don't wannabe an alien any more ;(

 

[thatbloke]

I think a couple of people could vouch for this... but I am an alien when it comes to THN...

I have a big personality and a big mouth, I hate being that guy. Sometimes I think it alienates me alot here and I tend to keep the mic muted while im playing something competitive.

Lan on the other hand I cant control my volume... I cant use my inside voice and I end up being the loudest on the row.

Though over the last year or so I haven't played much of anything and I am hoping this swearing bug has been fixed... I don't wannabe an alien any more ;(

lol you should listen to me when playing BC2... Mk1 (and likely anyone else who was in a clanbox with us at the last 3 iseries) will attest to the fact that I can get a little abusive (not at him, just in general) at times

While it may put some people off, tbh, at LAN, it's a much different atmosphere, plus my headset is rather good at blocking out the noise

In terms of such stuff on teamspeak, yes it can put people off, but for me personally, my main issue is more with shouting and other bursts of loud volume than with any swearing.


So in short, from my point of view, try not to shout too much (I have no idea if you actually do though!)

 

[Spicypixel]

I never offend anyone.

 

[eMP3Danie]

I never offend anyone.

This offends me

 

[Spicypixel]

This offends me

Mission Successful. RTB.

 

[Larul]

What is swearing and cursing realy? Aint it just a few other words in the language that is supose to be offensive,
not allways aimed at someone and often aimed at something?

Imo it is just words and it is up to the user to use them in the best way he/she can.
Sometimes they are needed and sometimes not.

And another thing. The english language i have came across doesn't have any swearwords.
Even when Raz has his breakdowns i am chocked that your language completely lacks any words that could offend anyone.