This week’s Mediahuis Irish regional newspapers’ column
Michael Commane
I never heard either of my parents say the f… word, indeed, my parents did not use bad language.
I watched a few minutes of RTÉ’s drama series Blackshore and in that short time I heard a number of fs… being said.
There are people who will say they are simply words. But have you ever noticed when you hear people raising their voices and fighting on the street when they use bad or obscene language how awful and vulgar it sounds?
And then there’s the daily use of obscene words, the f word is used in every second sentence, used as a noun, adjective, verb, every possible part of speech.
Comedians tend to use dodgy words and it seems to get them more laughs.
Is there anything wrong with vulgar or obscene language?
I’m sure I’m using more bad language today than I did 10, 20, 30 years ago. And that’s not a good idea. I certainly know my parents would not approve of some of the words I have said.
Come Ash Wednesday I often find myself scratching my head and wondering what I should or should not do for Lent. This year I made a timid decision to try to stop saying all bad words. We are now into the fourth week of Lent and guess what, I’m not doing too badly.
Any time I do say an expletive these days I’m reminded of my Lenten intention and reprimand myself for what I have said. Especially at home when I curse in my own space I’m simply not happy with my behaviour.
I was made aware of the horror of bad language last week. I was walking to work. Rain was forecast and just as I was leaving home I noticed a drop of rain, which meant I decided to take an umbrella with me. The rain stayed away so there was no need to use the umbrella, at least to protect me from he rain. It was morning rush hour, heavy commuter traffic.
I was on the footpath passing an entrance to a large apartment block when a black SUV came right out in front of me. I spontaneously and immediately lifted my umbrella in the direction of the car to tell the driver to stop and that I had right of way. Had we both kept going he would have knocked me down.
On seeing the raised umbrella he opened his window, and in a rage, screamed expletives at me. He was verbally abusive. I was shocked but not shocked enough to run away. Instead I simply said that his foul language was in keeping with his general bad behaviour and dangerous driving. That made him even more crazy, shouting more expletives at me as he drove off in a most aggressive fashion.
It all sounded so violent and angry. The moment he drove off I was saying to myself what must life be like inside his home. How must he treat his partner and other members of his family. Does he use that sort of language at work, every time things don’t go his way?
That driver in his SUV has been a great help to me to continue on my Lenten resolve, indeed, to give up all bad language for good.
Is Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) correct when he says death is the only thing we haven’t succeeded in completely vulgarising?
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