Watch Your Mouth! Using Bad Language

Posted on August 14, 2019May 30, 2020 by Jill Vanderwood

Categories: Advice from Grandma - One Generation to Another, Things that Matter

Swearing, Bad Language and The Insulting, Harmful Way People Speak to Each Other

This morning I was at the park, picking cherries, when I heard someone swearing and using profanities. The bad language continued and I figured it was coming from the park restroom, where I could see a mop bucket by the door. This was a Parks and Recreation worker speaking this way, in a public park where preschoolers come with their parents.

As the loud yelling of offensively bad language progressed to the ‘F’ word, I spoke up. From some distance away, I yelled, “You have bad language!” The swearing stopped, along with any talk at all. I watched out of the corner of my eye, for someone to come out. I was trying to figure out who was swearing in public.

An I phone with an angry face--Using offensive language — Watch your Mouth!

After a while, two teenage boys left the restroom, along with the trash and the mop bucket. These boys were on the job and driving a city vehicle. That kind of bad language could have cost them their job.

This brought me back to a time, years ago, when I had a plumbing problem. The kitchen sink was clogged in an apartment we rented. The sink wouldn’t unplug, and a plumber was called. The guy who showed up was new on the maintenance job.

The plumber the complex sent for the job decided to take the pipe apart. The dirty sink water, along with the Drano that was used, got out onto our kitchen carpet. The guy not only ruined the rug, he also started swearing and using bad language in front of me and my young children. I called the office and reported him. Apparently, it was his first and last day on the job.

A child playing in a sandbox-- using offensive language around children — Where preschoolers come with their parents.

I learned about swearing by challenging my older sister. When I was in the fourth grade, I kept seeing the ‘F’ word written on park benches and I asked my older sister what it meant. She said, “It’s a bad word.” She probably didn’t know what it meant, at the time.

I said, “I’m going to keep saying it until you tell me what it means.” I then proceeded to say the word.

After the second time I said the ‘F’ word, my sister tackled me to the ground and put her hand over my mouth. She threatened me with her fist, “Don’t you ever say that word again!”

I didn’t say it again!

A man taking a pipe apart — https://www.facebook.com/MaladPlumbingRepair/

When I got a little older, my friends began to swear

My friends thought it was cool to swear! One day in the sixth grade, I was mad at a friend and threatened to tell her mom she was swearing. She was very worried, and I never heard her swear in front of me again.

I was afraid I would slip and swear in front of my dad

I didn’t pick up swearing—because I knew that if I swore and it became a habit, I would one day slip up and swear in front of my dad. I couldn’t take that chance. My parents were very religious and very strict.

A person making a fist--Watch your mouth--using offensive language — Watch your Mouth!

I could just imagine being at the dinner table and someone would take the last piece of chicken, which I wanted. I would let out a string of expletives and the whole family would gasp. My dad would invite me to leave the table and go with him into the other room to be scolded. My brothers and sisters would try to hear what my dad was saying to me. I would be so sorry, but that wouldn’t be enough, I would definitively be grounded. No. I could not take that chance.

These days, there’s acceptable and unacceptable language. The way you talk when you are around your friends, may not be acceptable on a job. Think about slipping and swearing on a job, or at school! There would likely be consequences.

Jill Vanderwood