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Why Don’t We Curse Like Sailors?
It is a commonplace observation that the left is far more comfortable than the right when it comes to painting pictures in the vivid purple of obscenity or the lurid pink of sexual lewdness. Whether it’s the Daily Kos (every day, comments section or articles, take your pick), or The View’s (former) member Joy Behar’s frequent F-bombs, or B-list comedienne Janeane Garofalo’s rants about “tea-bagging rednecks,” or charming discussions of hate-sex with Michele Bachmann on Bill Maher’s show or — well, there are a hundred examples here – it seems that the left doesn’t simply describe things in obscene terms; they think of things that way. Vulgarity is, to borrow from Christmas Story’s Ralphy, their natural medium.
My question is: what are we missing out on? And why?
The difference between liberals and conservatives as regards profanity seems to be taken for granted. I have never heard anyone ask where this difference comes from. Is it that something in liberal ideology is more philosophically accepting of obscenity? Or is the psychology of average liberals somehow different from that of conservatives? Or is it a question of class? Are wealthier, more educated people less inclined to use gutter language?
The left doesn’t have a monopoly on profanity, but they easily have a controlling share. I think it extends beyond the public realm too. If I meet someone and within a half-hour of accumulated conversation they use everyone’s favorite blue word in casual conversation, I conclude that they must be a liberal. (I am being a snob here, because I am excluding from consideration a whole class of people who use four letter words as a staple of expression).
Let me begin my sketch of an answer with a quotation from G.K. Chesterton:
It is the very definition of profanity that it thinks and speaks of certain things prosaically, which other men think and speak of poetically. It is thus a defeat of the imagination, and a volume full of the wildest pictures and most impious jests remains in its essential character a piece of poor literalism, a humdrum affair.
Or, as my father used to say, people who use obscenity do so because they lack the vocabulary to express things more properly. This very conservative critique of profanity has extraordinarily deep roots in our society – roots that go beyond our current liberal-conservative dichotomy. According to this understanding, The New York Times and The New Republic are very conservative publications. They do not permit obscene language in their pages or their online comments. You have to descend one or two steps from the polite society of these types of journals until the language schism between conservative and liberal is evident. By the time we are in the realm of The Daily Kos and (no insult intended) RedState, the language schism has turned into a canyon.
Perhaps the simplest explanation of the difference is that the left views itself as a rebellion against established, bourgeois values – in essence, it retains the adolescent rejection of parental norms – and one of those values is a prohibition of sexually explicit or barnyard locutions. While the leftist may grow beyond his adolescent years, he remains true to the revolutionary spirit of youth. The left always lionizes the peevish, ignorant young – look at the Cultural Revolution – in large part because of their incapacity to deal with their own mortality…but that is a different book in the making.
On the other hand, we in the conservative world of Ricochet are very careful to censor the raunchiness of our contributors…with occasional exception*. Our rationale is fairly simple: we don’t want to produce a document that we would be embarrassed to have our teenage daughters read. As someone who has three teenage daughters, this is something of a yuk. First of all, they are reading and watching stuff that would make truck drivers blush. Second, Ricochet’s appeal for teenage girls is – I am sorry to tell you all – slightly deficient. (I am not saying that the fault of that lies entirely with Ricochet).
Before proceeding, I want to be clear that I am all for the Ricochet speech code. We are a class act and we should look and sound that way…and I don’t expect that a lot of teenage girls will be coming by one way or another.
But I began this fugue by asking what of this world of liberal smut we are missing out on. Because Chesterton also says that every vulgar notion and joke invariably contains a “subtle and spiritual ideal.” The conservative voices who are willing to stray into the raunchy and profane in service of a justified ridicule of the Obamas, Hillary, Warren, Pelosi and all the rest are subtle and spiritual indeed. And we need them. I am talking here about writers (all too few of them) like P.J. O’Rourke and, more recently, Greg Gutfeld.
There is a big difference between liberals’ lazy, non-stop, filthy language (as my sister says: “you eat with that mouth?”) on the one hand, and the well-timed, guided missile strike of a devastating curse on the other. That favorite blue word I alluded to earlier can be brilliant and hilarious and spiritual when used properly. There is an adolescent, after all, inside of all of us.
Maybe it is time to start a Ricochet-Blue. If someone does, please contact me, because I’ve already written in my mind (while writing this article) pieces on Liz Warren and Valerie Jarrett that I think would fit in nicely. And besides, it would be nice writing for a blog that teenage girls might take a second look at.
* I believe the technical Ricochet style manual says: “except in the case of recent Jeopardy winners”…or something like that.
Published in General
Why Don’t We Curse Like Sailors?
Because I paid good money for this vocabulary and I intend to use it.
And because reducing a progressive to a state of quivering, spittle-flecked rage in so doing is more fun than flinging f-bombs.
I enjoy “colourful metaphors” aplenty, but I prefer to be creative and make up my own and/or use obscure/anachronistic ones.
For example, I’m a pretty big fan of scheiße when I stub my toe, or whatever.
I have very little problem with scatalogical cursing (i.e. The Seven Words You Can’t Say On Television). I draw the line at blasphemies though.
When we finally convince Troy to let us do a Ricochet After Dark podcast, Michael is going to be a staple participant.
Liberal profanity is a substitute for actual thinking.
Liberals appear to me to be what I call stop-at-step-one thinkers. Example, solving poverty. Liberal reasoning goes,
Step 1: give the poor more of rich people’s money. Problem solved. <Stop here.>
Step 2: (never reached by liberals): What incentives and disincentives are created by the solution?
Step 3: What happens when that money runs out?
Step 4 and on and on, Liberals’ thoughts never intrudes. Why should they think it through any further when the problem was solved at step 1?
If anyone challenges their failure to think past step one, then out comes the pofanity and the calling of vile names.
As a former sailor I will pass on my favorite description of the language spoken by those plying the seas: we use f-bombs as commas.
As for teenage girls, my own teenager daughter has read quite a few things I’ve recommended here and enjoyed them. Some of the cultural topics drew her interest and inspired good dinner discussions.
German is a language custom designed for swearing, isn’t it? ;-)
I used to swear more when I was younger, but now frequent profanity just strikes me as being somewhat juvenile, so I’ve been trying to cut back. I like what Jim Gaffigan said about writing, that if a joke relied on an expletive to be funny, it’s not completely written. While I’m not a comedian, it’s something I’ve taken to heart.
Why Don’t We Curse Like Sailors?
Perhaps because most of us aren’t sailors? Cursing isn’t only culturally liberal, it’s also part of military culture, which appeals to cultural conservatives. Ricochetoise who’ve served often leave comments hinting that, at least inside their own heads, they are cursing like sailors.
Also, the CoC, which itself can make a handy curse word.
It took about thirty years for me to add the word ‘crap’ to my working vocabulary. I might yelp out one of the other indelicacies if pressed, but that’s about it. I’ve always had an aversion to profanity or obscenity. I like that Chesterton quote; I’ll have to remember it.
A different point: I’ve been playing MMOs for some years now, and the general chat usually includes a profanity filter. It will automatically mask words that show up in its database of banned words, and I generally appreciate it. But what really honks me off is when the chatters circumvent the filter by deliberately misspelling their profanity. Sometimes they’ll go to some lengths to circumvent the filter. They intend to offend.
I think this intentional mainstreaming of profanity is going on in the popular culture of well, side-by-side with the degrading of sexual mores and the narcissistic celebration of one’s appetites.
I always enjoy your entertaining columns, Michael. I too had noticed how crude and profane the left is, and I think you are correct that it is their way of being “edgy” even when it is no longer edgy. I agree that these sorts of things carry much more punch when used rarely and creatively. But the coarsening of the culture greatly saddens me. I think there is a connection between that and the general devaluation of all things decent, family and life among them. Making those connections would take a book, but I think they are there.
So why do I not curse? My objections are 1) religious and 2) aesthetic, which I’m not going to examine, but also 3) civil. Common decency requires that we consider how our actions and speech will affect others. At some point we may have no choice but to give offense. But I can’t see how profanity can ever be justified.
Of course, I also must acknowledge that languages evolve over time. Words and usages change, and so be it. But sometimes it’s a change for the worse, and the mainstreaming of cursing qualifies as ‘worse’ in my opinion.
Oh, catch me in private when something greatly frustrates me -whether it is fiddling with knotted shoes or a computer game that is obviously being cheap and cheaty, or the occasional spat with the libertarian contingent here -look, sailors -you may use them as commas, but I can compose entire haiku of only the one word.
But I will not do so in public. In the immortal words of Captain Pellew -“Damned if I’ll let him see he’s made me angry.” More than that, though, self-control is a virtue.
Frankly, I’m spending more time trying to develop the habit of simply putting the game, shoe, or conversation aside -something the Code of Conduct here and the written conversation actually helps with. When I want to bawl out someone I can remember that it would be against the CoC, and even if I start writing the comment I can think better of it and simply close the window.
At which point maybe I load up a game, and I am telling you the computer cheats -blatantly and obviously the… better close the window…
No one is ever offended by not cursing.
I curse, just rarely. It’s more effective that way.
My grandfather was the most gentle man I have ever known. He not only never cursed in front of us, but almost never even raised his voice.
One day at dinner my grandmother had said something that he had so strenuously disagreed with that he declared bull**** in response.
The conversation was over. He used his profanity so sparingly, that when employed, everyone knew how serious he was, and the topic was closed for discussion.
Liberals use of profanity and degrading language regarding their political opponents shows a lack of respect for others. It fits in with progressive politics where what is mine is also considered the “communities (my income, kids, food I eat, etc.).” Some call it liberal lack of tolerance of others in the name of tolerance. Contemporary progressive political solutions to problems are old (wealth transfer systems like socialism), and the failure to grasp those have been tried and did not work is frustrating. Frustrated people lash out.
Conservatives believe in the ownership of private property, which include material goods, land, body, and thoughts. They also believe in respecting others right to ownership of private property. It creates a disadvantage for conservatives because for the time being, liberals can have their cake and eat it too in current political/cultural rules.
That’s a great example. If a word is used for everything it loses meaning. When a person is prudent and proper in the use of words, they mean a lot more. For most people, the word “awesome” doesn’t really mean awesome anymore. But if someone like George Will or William F. Buckley uses the word “awesome,” it’s a big deal because they would only use the word for something that really was awesome. The same applies to the F bomb or BS.
Thanks Merina!
I myself almost never curse…except when I am in my car alone. And then I let loose. Maybe the coarsening culture is partly a matter of so much more information of all kinds flying around. I am more sanguine than most about this. I have four kids who, I believe, have grown up pretty straight and tall. And their friends are good kids too.
I’m less worried about the coarsening culture (Myley Cyrus is boring. Mumford and Sons is cool) than I am about the essential hedonism at its core (a good, though dated example of what I have in mind is the film Pleasantville which is worth seeing just for the horror of it).
quite a boast! Like to hear it!
As I mentioned above, when I drive around (I commute into and out of Boston every day) I have taken to just simply blurting out the most purple, paint-peeling insults of my fellow motorists. Since I am or will be prone, before too long, to (increasing) senior moments where I, for instance, forget that one of my kids is sitting there in the car with me, I have to be more vigilant!
It’s all in the rhythm and the intonations. Though technically a haiku is 5 beats, 7 beats, and 5 beats, any set of adjacent primes will work -2/3/2 or 3/5/3. Given the differences between Japanese and English, I’ve heard it argued that 2/3/2 is really closer to the form.
Then it’s just a matter of determining whether to use the gerund or present active forms for 2 beats, and getting the intonations correct to communicate whether you are using the nounal, adjectival, or verbal form.
Finally, you must pick you tone from line to line such that it is clear you juxtaposing two different types of anguished frustration. Perhaps five of fury, seven of frustration, and finally 5 of grudging acceptance to symbolize the union into angrish.
Sometimes a fourth line consisting of a single sharp stinger is necessary to really communicate the point.
Certainly demonstrates the versatility of the word.
I am working on my own version now!
Profanity has a time and place component to it. When I was in the sixth grade (1967/1968) I inadvertently used the word “darn” in class. My very strict teacher upbraided me for it. I lived in a town in the Southwest that was fairly religious. How times have changed.
As I became a young adult in the 1970’s, and profanity became more acceptable, I followed along. I’ve finally toned down in the last 7-10 years. A reason it took so long is I never married and have no kids.
And age has a lot to do with it. I think that older liberals stop using it also. Sure Bill Maher still uses profanity. But he’s also trying to appeal to a younger crowd.
I’m not offended by profanity. I think that in 1968, people that were my present age were. I’m just tired of it.
I listen to the Adam Corolla podcast. He actually talks about a lot of everyday conservative values, such as hard work, dedication to your craft, and even child rearing, though it’s a stretch to say that he’s a political conservative. But I wince at his blunt sexual allusions, and the profanity on his show. It gets in the way of what otherwise is some pretty good content. I’ve concluded that he too is trying to appeal to the younger crowd.
So I don’t think that profanity is primarily politically related. It’s age related.
Exactement! Precisement! and really good, too. Ex-Navy guy here and trust me, I can verbally take the paint off the bulkhead (“wall” to real people). And your second point is so very true.
First, qualifications:
1. Commercial Fisherman
2. US Navy enlisted sailor
3. Shipyard worker
4. Commercial pier worker
5. Baccalaureate in History
There are certainly Ricocheti more qualified to address this issue than myself, but not many. Real sailor swearing is most functional in very small groups to quickly address very contextual issues known to all present. That is also its limitation as a vocabulary because the swearing become incomprehensible when additional people are added, the situation changes, and people lose focus.
As conservatives, we seek to make statements that apply to many, last through many changes, and matter later. These are priorities the Left has largely abandoned to their cost.
Perhaps we should instead be asking how we can exploit the weakness their degenerative language presents.
F’n A!
I’ve mentioned it before, but I’ll mention it again: I highly recommend the Wordsworth Dictionary of Obscenity and Taboo, if you can find a copy at a decent price. I believe it is out of print.
Not only does it feature idiosyncratic obscenities from other English-speaking nations (the Australian stuff is great), it also provides etymological information that really makes you look at some of our more common obscenities in a new light.
http://www.amazon.com/Dictionary-Obscenity-Taboo-Euphemism-MacDonald/dp/1853263710
Cursing is like throwing trash out your car window. In both cases you are forcing others to deal with unnecessary ugliness. It shows a complete disregard for others.
“One man’s rubbish is another man’s treasure.” – Chamber’s Journal (1879)
The best-known profanity-friendly conservative site I know of is Ace of Spades HQ, and even there the shade of blue has lightened over the years. (The comment section is a different matter: it’s a (frequently hilarious) HazMat zone best avoided by the squeamish.)
Perhaps it’s just me, but the context matters. AoSHQ has a comedy-club feel (midnight show) at times, and when the language is used judiciously and in service of the shtick, it’s more bearable than when it’s the blue buckshot fired endlessly in foam-flecked anger I see on sites like Kos and DU.
I tend not to use those words, and I appreciate the civil tone here. Commenting at Ace’s place is like riding the rapids. But as a fan of George Carlin, Robin Williams, and others: when wielded skillfully? I can forgive much.
The answer is: Sometimes conservatives do cuss like sailors. The big difference is that we keep it out of the public arena, whereas the left wants to main it mainstream language, thus coarsening the culture to their advantage.
When I get together with my old friends (and I mean old – I’ve known three of them for 53 years) and watch football, we cuss up a storm. However, we do it among ourselves. Yes, there are times when in public we say a few choice words, but we keep it down and among ourselves. The last thing we want while eating at McDonald’s is for Granny at the next table to get up and start beating us with her purse . . .
I’ll bet Hemingway was.
Kinda like … sailors.