Feeling a bit under the weather so I left work early. As I got onto BART (subway) two young girls (I’m guesstimating teenagers), one with a small son (couple of years old, he was toddling) got on the train with me.
I’m sick and have a headache so this undoubtedly affected my reaction but I found myself pretty annoyed by their conversation, which consisted of a loud, nonstop stream of swearing. Fuck fuck fuck nigga nigga asshole bitch motherfucker etc. This was going on all the way through the Transbay tube (easily overheard, and for those of you who ride BART you know it’s hard to make out anything when going under the Bay). I’m not exaggerating the conversation.
It’s a free country. Speak your mind. But maybe think about what your kid is hearing, or what other people’s kids are hearing, or that just maybe everyone else doesn’t want to hear it.
Not worth an argument or anything, I got up and moved to the next car where it was nice and quiet.
I’m 39. I cuss like a sailor when I’m in the mood and it’s an appropriate time and place (hanging out with my buddies drinking beer? Fine. Dinner at Mom & Dad’s house? Nope. Around people I don’t know? Not a chance). Am I getting old and crusty before I’ve had my mid-life crisis? I’ve never even yelled at those damn kids to get off my lawn! Plus I don’t wear tan shorts, black dress shoes and white socks together.
Or was I just reacting to really fucking odious behavior on their part? I’m thinking that was it.
I taught high school (World History, US Civics) here in Salt Lake for 6 years, and the constant stream of profane, vulgar, racist garbage from the mouths of 13, 14, 15 year olds kids was probably my biggest pet peeve. These kids could not (would not) complete a sentence without swearing, all for no reason at all. They cursed without being aware they were cursing…
I am also 39, and am no prude; I dont know if I would have said anything, but I know the annoyance of being subjected to language like that in public, and maybe we as a socitey would be better off if we told the little punks to shut up!!!
I had the same thing happen to me on a bus ride home. Four or five guys sitting in the back of the bus, talking loudly and while I couldn’t understand a lot of it there was a bunch of cursing in the same manner you described. I could only shake my head and wonder what they were thinking.
That would have been awesome. I imagine you would gotten a “WTF” look or been called a racist.