So I couldn't help thinking about censorship recently. Being an English major I find it humourous that some words are considered "bad," so much so that they need to be bleeped out whenever someone on TV/radio says them, and if they have the audacity to say them on live broadcast they get slapped with a rather hefty fine. This leads me to wonder what happened to "Freedom of Speech" how free is my speech if i can't drop an F bomb wherever and whenever i feel like it? Speaking of the "F-bomb" lets use it as an example of why the concept of profanity is absurd:

1) the word "fuck" has a variety of meanings today, the most common meaning (i think its most common anyway) is "intercourse." Now, there are about a jilliondy words that refer to intercourse in some way (sex, intercourse, baby making, making the beast with two backs, humping, etc) none of which are beeped on television. So why is the f word so bad? Why is it banned but other words and phrases with the same meaning allowed?

2) You can't say the F-bomb on TV, but you can say a jilliondy other things that are close enough to it that you and everyone watching knows what you really mean. Examples are "frick, frig, friggin, facking, etc." Do frick and frig actually mean anything? or are they just "replacement words" for the f bomb? Now, why do we really need a replacement for a word? It stands to reason that if you're using them interchangeably, and one of them is "bad" wouldnt the other ones be bad too? So why dont they bleep frig?

3) Who actually decides a word is bad in the first place? First of all, where does the f word come from? Who originally used it? And when that person used it, who came along and determined that that word is naugty and should not be used in polite conversation? I mean really, who is even offended by curse words anymore? It's not like you can drop the F bomb all over a strange woman and she passes out anymore. People use the word CONSTANTLY. Working in a factory, i know people who use it every other sentence, or every other word in a sentence. So whats the big deal? Who actually cares anymore?

Basically i think that profanity has a certain natural life cycle. 1) word coined 2) word used to describe generally unpleasant things 3) word deemed a "curse word" and is discouraged in polite conversation. 4) due to the cool-factor of doing things you're not supposed to people use the word more and more in every day conversation. 5) word is used so often by so many people that those who object to it are desensitized (and probably dont even know why they object to it anymore) and stop caring 6) since no one cares anymore its no long cool to say it, word stops being used.

I wish i could think of an example to support my claim, but really we've been stuck in step 4 since i was born. Basically the F-word still gets bleeped, which means that using it still makes you cool. So, in the end, i find that the FCC is merely perpetuating the use of the F-word by keeping it cool by banning it. I think it would be interesting to see what would happen if the FCC suddenly reversed its position and declared that any word could be said on TV by anyone at any time. I think initially no one would air it for fear of public backlash and boycott. Then i think one show would use it as a ratings ploy, "Watch Lame TV show, now featuring the first use of the F word on public broadcast." Then it would get used more and more until using it really doesnt affect ratings anymore. At that point i think we would have reached step 6, not only on TV but as a society as well. So in the end, ignoring the "curse words" is really only perpetuating their use.

EDIT: Amazingly this site doesnt censor the word Fuck. Good work Gauntlet. Way to do your part in the fight to stop fucking assholes from using words like "fuck" and "ass."