Swearing is, on balance, a negative influence on society

1) The pro's scenario Humans are emotional creatures, we can be delighted or sometimes just happy, other times we can get annoyed or very, very pissed off. Curse words are words that help people unleash the frustration inside them in a situation which politeness or less harmful words dont fully express. People who do not release their frustration now has all of that rage bottled up over time which can cause a significant deal of stress. So cursing can be seen as a quick way to release all of your anger and become a happier person, rather than holding your tongue all the time and over time letting all of that rage build up inside you until you lose your mind or snap. In the first video to the right is an episode from mythbusters. It is about a myth that swearing when suffering from something helps you tolerate pain more than if you were just using more milder forms of curse words. It has even been proven by other studies that swearing can help people tolerate pain more. http://www.youtube.com... http://www.time.com... http://www.scientificamerican.com... http://www.telegraph.co.uk... http://www.nyheadache.com... As for precise vs imprecise communication, communication doesnt come in the form of just the context of words, because curse words carry more emotion to them and help people really express how they feel on the inside. Swear words are hardly civil, I give the Pro that. However curse words help a person release their anger in a situation so that they are happier over the long term period whereas being polite means holding your tongue and having all that annoys you bottled up inside over a long period of time. Swearing can help a person feel better later, feel less depressed later, and helps express their anger. Anger is a bad thing to have inside you, curse words remove that anger faster then using politeness or more milder forms of cursing. 2) The aspects of swearing People dont often swear because they want to be vulgar or uncivilized or cool, most of the time people swear to deal with pain or stress in their lives, really express their emotions and feelings in words, OR TO JUST MAKE A F*CKING POINT. Had I not done that chances are you would have skipped right over it or not even given it a second thought, right? Then the point is made, cursing helps people make a point to. As for betraying chivalry and acting like scholarly gentlemen, there is a time to act polite and a time to really express the pain you are in or speak out about what you really want to say, and we cant always put chivalry on top of our right to express ourselves. Swearing is negative in civility but it is the best way to express ones opinions and emotions at the same time. 3) Swearing betrays rationality and morality among other things Initially it does, but there are long term effects that swearing has on people stress levels and ability to cope with pain that must be taken into account. http://www.parents.com... http://www.lifehacker.com.au... 4) Class Barriers People in the lower classes have a lot more pain in their lives, emotional situations to deal with, and stressful lifestyles then the fabulously rich upper class does. If swearing were eliminated it would knock down these class barriers, it would only drive the lower class further up a wall since their easiest way to relieve themselves of stress, protected by the first amendment, would thus be taken away. Lower classes probably do curse more, but since curse words help tolerate pain the lower class NEEDS these curse words to help them get through the daily grind otherwise they just might kill themselves. 5) Examples of negative effects The first and second case the Pro brings up are cases of someone being the victim of verbal abuse and curse words. Curse words do harm others only if they are directed at specific people in a hateful manner, meaning curse words can be violent towards innocent people only if they are directed at them in a hateful manner. As for the politician, looks like he was also directing his frustration at people and expressing all the stress he was going through ============================================================================ How is swearing beneficial to society? 1) It helps people cope with pain http://www.alphagalileo.org... 2) It helps people express what they feel emotionally Deals with emotional pain, see above 3) It helps people deal with excessive stress in their lives See the lower class argument 4) It can be funny and entertaining to others The next two videos you watch are David Chapelle and Kevin Hart doing stand up comedy, and the funniest parts of their act and are used just to express disbelief or emotion in a scenario, and not used directly against people. http://www.youtube.com... http://www.youtube.com... (Chappelle skip to 5:09 if you want) 5) It helps express disbelief or shock (See Chappelle Video) 6) It can help make a point Take this example, which person makes their point heard more? Person 1: "Obama has not handled the situation as well as he could have" Person 2: "OBAMA IS F*CKING IT UP, WHAT THE F*CK IS HE THINKING???" Chances are that even though the second one is less civil, it expresses how the person is feeling with Obama and has made their point be heard more than the first person. ============================================================================ Swearing might not be civil, but it still has its benefits because it helps people express their emotions, it can be used to lessen pain and fight stress, not cursing could lead to having more stress, it helps people make a point, it can be downright hysterical if used properly, and it is a quick way for people to deal with stress in their lives rather than keep their mouth shut and deal with all that bottled up anger inside them.