I’ve heard people say that people swear/cuss/use profanity because of their small vocabularies. I disagree. There are just situations in which no other word but a profane one will do. The use of just one cuss word can convey emotions that no other word and often, no other phrase, can.
I know that when I slammed my own finger in the car door, saying crap and fudge would just not have conveyed (1) the pain I was feeling (2) the anxiety at not being able to find the keys to unlock the car door and free my finger (3) the stupidity of having slammed my own finger in the door. That situation was calling for a Shit, Fuck, and because I’m bilingual, coño y puñeta!
Needless to say, I swear quite a bit. Every once in a while I make it a goal to stop or at least cut down, mostly because my nephews are young and impressionable, but I never really mean it.
They often catch me swearing and say, “Oooh Titi, you said a bad word.” Thank goodness that they don’t remember I promised to pay a quarter for every time they catch me, I’d be out of laundry money.
November 18, 2010
Moments