# My potty mouth **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 26, 2014, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-potty-mouth/694104 "2014-07-26T16:31:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Not\_Carlson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bc79bd/32.png) [@Not\_Carlson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_Carlson)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-potty-mouth/694104/1 "2014-07-26T16:31:54Z")
I grew up quite religious. Part of that included the belief that swearing is offensive. And so I rarely ever swore, and then only mild cursing. Way back in high school, a classmate thought it worth mentioning to some of the other students: “Hey, this guy won’t say _fuck_!” Well, since rejecting my religion about a year ago, I find myself swearing constantly. Not in front of others, but when no one is about and I’m just mumbling to myself (as I do), I find myself punctuating everything with “fuck”. It’s all “fucken’ this” and “fucken’ that”. When I’m under any kind of stress in particular, I’ll let out a long string of “fuckittyfuckityfuck-fuck-fuck!!” It’s like fucken’ Tourett’s! Like I’m trying to let out 40 years of pent up _fucks_. Fuck! Has anyone else ever gone through something like this? ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-potty-mouth/694104/2 "2014-07-26T16:38:45Z")
I’m curious: what does religion have to do with it? ---
**Author:** ![Not\_Carlson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bc79bd/32.png) [@Not\_Carlson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_Carlson)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-potty-mouth/694104/3 "2014-07-26T16:46:10Z")
In my former church, kids are tought not to say dirty words because they offend god and man. It’s the whole “Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.” (Matt 15:11) ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-potty-mouth/694104/4 "2014-07-26T16:51:26Z")
You are aware that it’s not just religion, but society in general that has deemed certain language inappropriate for polite company, regardless of religious proclivity? What I’m saying is you’re not off the hook just because you no longer believe there’s an invisible man in the sky keeping score; when you’re out in public, even in a crowd of atheists, you should still watch your fuckin’ mouth. That said, I believe what you’re experiencing is what everyone experiences when they find themselves out from under the watch of authority, in my own case (and I’d suspect in a lot of peoples’ cases) when I left my parents’ house and went to college. The swearing was rampant among everyone, along with all sorts of other bad behavior. You’re just getting to the party a couple decades late. . ---
**Author:** ![Not\_Carlson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bc79bd/32.png) [@Not\_Carlson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_Carlson)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-potty-mouth/694104/5 "2014-07-26T16:54:46Z")
. . . . Why yes, yes I am aware of that. Which is why I don’t sware in front of people. As I said in the OP, my good man, or woman. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-potty-mouth/694104/6 "2014-07-26T16:59:43Z")
Sorry that came out a lot snarkier than I intended. But like I added above, pretty much everyone has this experience, just not at 40. And BTW congratulations on your recent enlightenment. Always nice to see someone hop off the ol’ God wagon. ---
**Author:** ![Not\_Carlson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bc79bd/32.png) [@Not\_Carlson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_Carlson)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-potty-mouth/694104/7 "2014-07-26T17:03:13Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Always nice to see someone hop off the ol’ God wagon. Well, thanks. But the gravel rash sure stings. ---
**Author:** ![Not\_Carlson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bc79bd/32.png) [@Not\_Carlson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_Carlson)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-potty-mouth/694104/8 "2014-07-26T17:04:22Z")
Sorry, I meant _It Fucken’ Stings!!_ ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-potty-mouth/694104/9 "2014-07-26T17:06:31Z")
I don’t mean to pry, but can I ask why you rejected your religion? ---
**Author:** ![Not\_Carlson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bc79bd/32.png) [@Not\_Carlson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_Carlson)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-potty-mouth/694104/10 "2014-07-26T17:32:23Z")
Not really what I was aiming for with the thread, but sure, why not? Basically, I’d been struggling with my beliefs since joining the church as a kid. I mean, I thought the principles were worthy and I wanted to believe, but I just kept running into so many things that just didn’t make sense. To shed some light on my situation, I was Mormon. And boy-hoo, are there ever a lot of things in that church to get perplexed about if you just start questioning it! I won’t get into the nitty-gritty of it though. There is just a plethora of things that don’t sit right with me about the church. If the Mormon church is true, then god is a jerk for making so much evidence to the contrary. And I don’t want to believe in a jerky god. I’m not smart at all, but I try to think logically about things and generally dismiss things that seem like mere superstition or crackpot. Eventually I just couldn’t keep suspending my rational thinking for the sake of believing the teachings of the church. The cognitive dissonance was overwhelming. I actually do still believe in a god, perhaps because it has become engrained in my way of seeing the world. But I have no idea what god is now. (Sorry, I write slow.) ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-potty-mouth/694104/11 "2014-07-26T17:45:26Z")
Maybe it’s a form of deferred youthful rebellion against your religious upbringing? your way of demonstrating to yourself and others that you have rejected your religion? I think a lot more highly of people who don’t swear _in public_, around others who might be offended, and who don’t swear _at_ other people. So I’d rather you don’t go around saying “Fuck you” or “You fucking asshole” to people. But if you want to watch the South Park movie and sing along with “Uncle Fucker” in the privacy of your own home, I see nothing wrong with that. > [@Not\_Carlson](#): > > In my former church, kids are tought not to say dirty words because they offend god and man. > It’s the whole “Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.” (Matt 15:11) Further context: “‘Are you still so dull?’ Jesus asked them. 'Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.” (Matthew 15:16-19) IMHO, “dirty words” aren’t what Jesus was really talking about there. A contemptuous “Bless your heart” or a lying, manipulative “I love you” can be more offensive than the word “fuck.” ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-potty-mouth/694104/12 "2014-07-26T17:45:53Z")
Back on topic, I’m a lot like the OP when it comes to swearing. I very, very rarely swear in front of people. I find it coarse and low-brow. If I do end up in a situation which calls for an epithet, I’ll usually use something amusing (like, from HHG - “Zarking Photon”) or “bloody.” However, if I’m working alone, and things aren’t going well, I will spout a stream of “fucks” like Steve Martin in _Planes, Trains, and Automobiles_… ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-potty-mouth/694104/13 "2014-07-26T17:58:05Z")
Come hang out with my friends and me, we’ll teach you how to make a sailor blush. ---
**Author:** ![Not\_Carlson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bc79bd/32.png) [@Not\_Carlson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_Carlson)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-potty-mouth/694104/14 "2014-07-26T18:06:18Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > IMHO, “dirty words” aren’t what Jesus was really talking about there. A contemptuous “Bless your heart” or a lying, manipulative “I love you” can be more offensive than the word “fuck.” Quite right! > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > But if you want to watch the South Park movie and sing along with “Uncle Fucker” in the privacy of your own home, I see nothing wrong with that. Love that song! That and _Kyle’s Mom_.