A long time ago, someone pointed out to me that using lots of profanity while talking conveys a desire to be perceived as strong or tough, as though you have to speak that way to feign strength or to attract people to what you're saying. Noticing this changed the way I understand people who use lots of profanity and it also changed the way I try to speak. If I want to be a strong man, I should have a strong character and mean what I say and not be afraid to follow through with what is right. Using strong words should be used sparingly, if at all.
Spot on brother. I think that happens a lot. It was the same in my case. I used profane language to try to make a stronger point or to try and make my jokes funnier. When in reality it does the exact opposite
I'm very glad that I had subscribed to you a while ago. It seems my main feed here on substack is pushing the kind of vulgar language you are talking about. So, especially by contrast, I really appreciate your thoughtful reflections on virtue. My wife and I both enjoy your work.
Whenever I'm reading an essay and they drop an f bomb, I am almost relieved because it tells me the rest of the essay is likely not worth the time taken to read it. There is a class stratification to language but it's not snobbish. To notice that people who talk and write obscenely are also the people whose society is not worth entertaining is simple pattern recognition. They act poorly in this aspect of their lives so everything downstream of language will be polluted by the disordered use of it.
Thank you for the kind words brother, it really makes me happy to hear that you’re enjoying the content 🙏🏼
And I completely agree with your final point: vulgarity streams down from our speech into our character. It’s impossible to use crude language frequently and not have that affect your personality deeply.
Thanks again for reading and God bless you and your wife. I am very grateful for your support
I like this rule: When they say something objectionable right up front, they're doing you a favor by telling you to stop reading. Don't waste your time.
Not a profanity example, but I just read an essay about the World Series that started by saying that the Blue Jays aren't even a real baseball team (because they're Canadian). Stopped me in my tracks. No need to read further.
Thank you so much for writing this. I grew up in a Christian home with a strong and present father, and he was very strict with us about language. My mother too, in her own way. Words are more powerful than we understand. Both physically and spiritually.
Oh my Goodness! I thought I was the only one with such Thoughts!! Even our articles (altho ur is a lot better than meXD) gives off same vibes..
I just recently published my Article and after that I thought to see wheter others also think like me or not and found your Article and I'm glad!!!! I especially loved the part where you asked about the two different men, speaking in two different ways and How you used it to illustrate the conclusion (even the conclusion itself being thoughtful and Great!) also even I felt the same seeing everyone praise the famous books such as subtle art of not giving f*** even though the title felt always so off to me... I think till now (since I joined recently) This is the best read I have had✨
Thanks a lot for letting me know a part of your perspective as well which gave me even more ideas to continue and made me feel not a weirdo for thinking like this!
Glad to hear you liked the article brother and you're definitely not the only one! Thank you very much for the kind words, God bless you and keep fighting the good fight. The cultural war is fought at the level of the words we use as well
My dad once told me "If you have to use profanity in your argument, you have a bad argument." He works in construction, and as a result, has countless stories about how his lack of profanity has been a subtle but profound witness for Christ. Over the years, I've lost the discipline of my wording - I'd like to use my career field as an excuse, but as you pointed out, it can all boil down to laziness if we're honest with ourselves. I often forget there's a spiritual factor to this equation - nothing happens without consequence.
Sometimes I get indignated with myself because of this. My speech in comparison with the books I read, content I write and media I consume is so poor that looks shameful. Thanks for the article, I'll try to be less vulgar and put more thought in my wording. I hope you also can do it man gl
Yeah, same here, especially since english is not my first language haha. It's a worthwhile purpose to pursue though, so hopefully both of us can improve on it
Free speech is one thing, shock speech is another. The F* books are using shock to gain attention so they can stand out amongst the millions of self help books. It’s a device. Similar to comedians who used it at one time to stand out. After a while, the shock wears off and to your points, the user is left with few words with meaning. Certain comics, like Chris Rock use F bombs as part of their cadence. I give him a pass, but others use it to get a shock laugh, and those I can do without. Similarly those that use that language in everyday conversation lose their audience so it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy of negativity.
Anyway, good points. I will reserve my use of an F bomb for when I drop a heavy object on my foot by accident. ;)
This is spot on. Ironically, in an effort to stand out, nearly all self-help books are now eerily similar. Thank you for reading brother! God bless you
Fantastic work. The incredible amount of vulgarity and crassness that is almost everywhere makes it all the more important to do as Saint Paul says. Thank you for your writing!
Thank you for reading brother! And yeah, it’s at times like these that it becomes more and more important to be “radical” and truly try our very best to be examples of uncommon virtue. It’s definitely difficult, but it’s worth fighting for it. God bless and thanks again for reading!
Like you, the mainstreaming of vulgarity, pornography, and profanity has been disturbing me for a while now. It is not good, and is simply another of the countless signs of cultural and political degradation. I don't see how it ends well.
There's a term, semantic bleaching, which describes how words lose their meaning over time. Including profanity, which moves from the forbidden to the mainstream. Our president recently used the f word. Kamala did too. Rashida Tlaib appended an m to the f. These people shouldn't be our role models, but their mainstreaming of vulgarity isn't helping.
Or look at the word Nazi. It's not a vulgarity, but it's a good illustration of semantic bleaching. You can be called a Nazi for almost any belief at this point. It's an all-purpose insult.
I had planned to write about semantic bleaching but forgot about it until I read your piece. Thanks for the reminder!
A long time ago, someone pointed out to me that using lots of profanity while talking conveys a desire to be perceived as strong or tough, as though you have to speak that way to feign strength or to attract people to what you're saying. Noticing this changed the way I understand people who use lots of profanity and it also changed the way I try to speak. If I want to be a strong man, I should have a strong character and mean what I say and not be afraid to follow through with what is right. Using strong words should be used sparingly, if at all.
Spot on brother. I think that happens a lot. It was the same in my case. I used profane language to try to make a stronger point or to try and make my jokes funnier. When in reality it does the exact opposite
I'm very glad that I had subscribed to you a while ago. It seems my main feed here on substack is pushing the kind of vulgar language you are talking about. So, especially by contrast, I really appreciate your thoughtful reflections on virtue. My wife and I both enjoy your work.
Whenever I'm reading an essay and they drop an f bomb, I am almost relieved because it tells me the rest of the essay is likely not worth the time taken to read it. There is a class stratification to language but it's not snobbish. To notice that people who talk and write obscenely are also the people whose society is not worth entertaining is simple pattern recognition. They act poorly in this aspect of their lives so everything downstream of language will be polluted by the disordered use of it.
Thank you for the kind words brother, it really makes me happy to hear that you’re enjoying the content 🙏🏼
And I completely agree with your final point: vulgarity streams down from our speech into our character. It’s impossible to use crude language frequently and not have that affect your personality deeply.
Thanks again for reading and God bless you and your wife. I am very grateful for your support
I like this rule: When they say something objectionable right up front, they're doing you a favor by telling you to stop reading. Don't waste your time.
Not a profanity example, but I just read an essay about the World Series that started by saying that the Blue Jays aren't even a real baseball team (because they're Canadian). Stopped me in my tracks. No need to read further.
Thank you so much for writing this. I grew up in a Christian home with a strong and present father, and he was very strict with us about language. My mother too, in her own way. Words are more powerful than we understand. Both physically and spiritually.
Same here, and only now I’m starting to realize how much of a blessing it was to have parents who taught me to speak properly.
Oh my Goodness! I thought I was the only one with such Thoughts!! Even our articles (altho ur is a lot better than meXD) gives off same vibes..
I just recently published my Article and after that I thought to see wheter others also think like me or not and found your Article and I'm glad!!!! I especially loved the part where you asked about the two different men, speaking in two different ways and How you used it to illustrate the conclusion (even the conclusion itself being thoughtful and Great!) also even I felt the same seeing everyone praise the famous books such as subtle art of not giving f*** even though the title felt always so off to me... I think till now (since I joined recently) This is the best read I have had✨
Thanks a lot for letting me know a part of your perspective as well which gave me even more ideas to continue and made me feel not a weirdo for thinking like this!
Would absolutely love to connect!!!!!
Glad to hear you liked the article brother and you're definitely not the only one! Thank you very much for the kind words, God bless you and keep fighting the good fight. The cultural war is fought at the level of the words we use as well
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/erikakoenig_the-vulgarization-of-language-activity-7390422609512861696-qjcx?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&rcm=ACoAAAOlyogBIrAyomacYYiNQXlrRHf7nkDnwB0
God Bless you 🙏🏾🕊️
Thank you for sharing the article Erika! I appreciate it and I'm very glad you liked it. God bless you!
You are most welcome ✨🙏🏾
Juan, when I was in private welding school I was immersed in the vulgarization.
It was so annoying to say the least‼️
I thank you for noticing what’s happening and writing this article.
I truly believe vulgar language is about bringing violence into our communications with each other.
Violent language is often times worse than than physical abuse.
It is psychological and emotional.
Additionally, people become like the materials they are working with. Carpenters work in wood which is softer than metal.
If you work in steel and aluminum imagine what that material does to your being.
In my experience I have decided to befriend steel and aluminum.
I have decided to have immense respect for these tough materials which are of the earth!
I found when I approached my relationship with these hard materials as one of learning from them, it changed everything.
We cannot beat wood and metal into submission!
We must learn from the materials we are in relationship with.
So, the vulgar language comes up and out as humans come in conflict with their materials.
And of course for many other reasons also.
Anywho 😄 thank you for bringing this important topic to the front burner 🙏🏾🕊️✨
My dad once told me "If you have to use profanity in your argument, you have a bad argument." He works in construction, and as a result, has countless stories about how his lack of profanity has been a subtle but profound witness for Christ. Over the years, I've lost the discipline of my wording - I'd like to use my career field as an excuse, but as you pointed out, it can all boil down to laziness if we're honest with ourselves. I often forget there's a spiritual factor to this equation - nothing happens without consequence.
Sometimes I get indignated with myself because of this. My speech in comparison with the books I read, content I write and media I consume is so poor that looks shameful. Thanks for the article, I'll try to be less vulgar and put more thought in my wording. I hope you also can do it man gl
Yeah, same here, especially since english is not my first language haha. It's a worthwhile purpose to pursue though, so hopefully both of us can improve on it
This article is 💯 timely and needed ✨🙏🏾 I’m posting on my LinkedIn account now ☺️
Wow! What an amazing ans Spot On article! I could not agree with you more! I am looking for ways to bring this to rhe pulpit!
Amen, Brother!
Deacon Ken
Thank you brother, that really means a lot! God bless you and thank you for reading and sharing!
Free speech is one thing, shock speech is another. The F* books are using shock to gain attention so they can stand out amongst the millions of self help books. It’s a device. Similar to comedians who used it at one time to stand out. After a while, the shock wears off and to your points, the user is left with few words with meaning. Certain comics, like Chris Rock use F bombs as part of their cadence. I give him a pass, but others use it to get a shock laugh, and those I can do without. Similarly those that use that language in everyday conversation lose their audience so it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy of negativity.
Anyway, good points. I will reserve my use of an F bomb for when I drop a heavy object on my foot by accident. ;)
This is spot on. Ironically, in an effort to stand out, nearly all self-help books are now eerily similar. Thank you for reading brother! God bless you
Thank you for the response. Yes, we are in a phase of in your face self help. This too shall pass ;)
Fantastic work. The incredible amount of vulgarity and crassness that is almost everywhere makes it all the more important to do as Saint Paul says. Thank you for your writing!
Thank you for reading brother! And yeah, it’s at times like these that it becomes more and more important to be “radical” and truly try our very best to be examples of uncommon virtue. It’s definitely difficult, but it’s worth fighting for it. God bless and thanks again for reading!
Agreed. This is a problem that has been getting worse for years now.
100%
Like you, the mainstreaming of vulgarity, pornography, and profanity has been disturbing me for a while now. It is not good, and is simply another of the countless signs of cultural and political degradation. I don't see how it ends well.
Yeah, I agree. It's too obvious not to notice how it connects to overall cultural decay
Love this article
Thanks for reading Connor, appreciate you!
There's a term, semantic bleaching, which describes how words lose their meaning over time. Including profanity, which moves from the forbidden to the mainstream. Our president recently used the f word. Kamala did too. Rashida Tlaib appended an m to the f. These people shouldn't be our role models, but their mainstreaming of vulgarity isn't helping.
Or look at the word Nazi. It's not a vulgarity, but it's a good illustration of semantic bleaching. You can be called a Nazi for almost any belief at this point. It's an all-purpose insult.
I had planned to write about semantic bleaching but forgot about it until I read your piece. Thanks for the reminder!