On the power of swearing

First, watch the video of a mother bear trying to guide her four cubs as they cross a busy road. One thing that adds to the merriment is the commentary of the woman describing the scene. As you watch the video, perhaps you will not only be amused, but also shocked by the women’s language, especially since it was spiced up by the words “Jesus Christ”.

<Mother bear guiding cubs across the wrote with Scottish commentary>

This reminded me of the power of swearing. The most powerful and commonly used swear words are those that challenge the most cherished beliefs of a community. Therefore, in highly religious societies, religious swear words are the most frequently used. In the video “Jesus Christ” is a powerful swear word, apparently used frequently in Catholic Ireland. In Quebec, under the dominance of the Roman Catholic church, the preferred swear words were “sacristan” and “hostie”. These words targeted the sacred Mass ritual of the church.

Why is this so? Because the whole point of a swear word is to express one’s frustration, to shock and to get attention. Therefore, the more holy and revered is the source of the swear word, then the more likely it is to achieve the swearer’s purpose.

In America, reflecting its puritan heritage, words with a sexual connotation are often the preferred swear words. Thus, the F-word is frequently used to shock and get attention.

However, there is a caveat to all of this. Swear words are most effective when used very sparingly. People will be taken aback and shocked when a person who rarely swears suddenly decides to do so. By contrast, excessive use of swear words diminish their effectiveness.

When I was in the army training to be a technical military officer (yes, I was in the Canadian Officer Training Corps [COTC] for two years during my university days), we had a sergeant training us who had a limited vocabulary. He was especially deficient in his choice of adjectives, so “fucked" was his favourite adjective. I then learned that most everything could be fucked. Boots could be fucked, trees could be fucked, even fields could be fucked. The excessive use of this adjective caused us much merriment but after a while it did not command much respect or attention.

Therefore, swear if you must, but please only do it only rarely.

The ultimate swear word

I remember when I first heard this word. It was during the Vietnam War protests in Iowa City. We had all dropped out of our studies to protest the killing of four students at Kent State University. Those four students were protesting this ghastly war. At a mass outdoor rally at the University of Iowa, one of the speakers raged against these “motherfuckers” who were carrying out this obscene war.

I was shocked, and that was the point, I was supposed to be shocked. This war was so shocking. The use of this swear word illustrates my point. If the swear word ventures into a most awful place, then the swear word has achieved its objective. If one ponders the concept of fucking one’s mother, one enters a dreadful place. That is the power of swearing.

Rebellious Seeker

May 23, 2021