Is taboo language acceptable on television? I say absolutely not! John McWhorter says in his essay Letting Words Fly, that allowing this language is just being human and real. I disagree. I shouldn’t have to be exposed to foul language when I turn on the television and more importantly, children should not be exposed to taboo language.
I realize that children will hear bad words somewhere, but I believe the more they are exposed to them the more they believe it is acceptable and will pick up the bad habit. That is how it becomes the norm when more and more people are participating in something. We don’t use that kind of language in our home and I try to limit that kind of language around me in the workplace. I tried to monitor the types of shows my kids watched growing up, the music they listened to, etc. I felt that was my job as a parent to teach them how to act respectably. If taboo words are allowed on television then it makes parents jobs that much harder when they are trying to teach their children right from wrong. Kids also pick up on these words very quickly because they are usually said emphatically so it draws their attention.
We had a small panel that was interviewing a prospective employee recently and that individual cussed during the interview! I immediately had to wonder how this person would conduct himself in the workplace and with customers. Whether people agree with it or not, using taboo language gives most people a negative impression of you.
The “F” word is one of the worst in my opinion. I just cringe when I hear that one and I ask myself “doesn’t this person have a big enough vocabulary to come up with some other word to describe how they are feeling?” I work with a few people who like to use this one and I find it completely unprofessional and degrading.
So back to the original question of should taboo language be allowed on television? I say no. I don’t think people who cuss would feel offended if they don’t hear cussing on television but there are a lot of people who are offended by cussing so I think it’s better for everyone to not allow it. If you choose to use that language or don’t mind being around it then that’s your choice but everyone else should not be forced to be exposed to it when they turn the television on.
I'm not a parent, but I do babysit and tutor, and I'm sometimes appalled at the language these six and seven year olds use. I always insist on them not using it when I'm around, but using other silly words instead. This idea actually came from a classmate of mine in self defense class. He's about twelve years old, and I heard him say "Sugar!" right before he got tackled. I thought that it was hilarious, and started teaching "my" kids to say stuff like that instead.
ReplyDeleteI hope when I'm a parent that my kids will develop a similar attitude towards profanity, so that they can express themselves differently than your interviewee. There are thousands of words to describe in the English language, and th F-word is by far the most over used. I counted the amount of F-words used on a two hour bus ride with a bunch of high schoolers to a science convention (so these were smart kids), and it was approaching quadruple digits. I was floored. These were the brightest kids in the school, and they used that word so freely? All I could think was "Aw, man. Society is screwed." Maybe if the media didn't make it so cool to swear...