I do not recall the first time I said the word fuck but I'm pretty sure saying fuck for the first time got me into a lot of fucking trouble.
I used to get my mouth washed out with soap when I said fuck as a young kid, a good deterrent, that fucking shit is no good at all, not even a little bit. I grew up in a family that did not swear so learning the word fuck happened at school, of that I'm fucking certain so I blame school for the soap punishment.
I'm also certain that my parents thought and maybe said something like, oh fuck, he learned to say the work fuck and now I have to fucking punish him even though I'm saying the word fuck and thinking the word fuck right fucking now. It's possible they didn't say or think any of that of course, but I definitely got a mouth full of fucking soap for saying the word fuck and it probably even stopped me from saying the work fuck for some fucking time afterwards.
I don't swear much at all these days, although one person's idea of a lot might be someone else's not much at all, so maybe I say the work fuck more than others say the word fuck. I don't fucking know and it doesn't fucking matter.
School is where children go to learn. I wasn't there long before I learned the word fuck and then shit went downhill fast. That's right, I learned the word shit too. Before long, I was using combinations of fuck and shit as if I was born to it. Phrases like, that shit is fucked, and fuck that shit, and shit is fucked up, were commonplace.
School, what a great learning institution.
When I got home from school things were different. I couldn't swear.
Actually, I could swear but if I said, fuck that shit, at home I'd get fucked up with some soap in my mouth. I'll be honest, once I received my punishment and right after said, that shit is fucked, and was issued a second round of punishment. Because I was a cheeky little kid I said, that shit is still fucked, after the second round, but I said it super fucking quietly. I was cheeky, not fucking stupid.
So, I don't swear much now. It's not that I think it's wrong to swear, just that I know when it's not appropriate.
I don't subscribe to the belief that people who swear are unintelligent though, I have a double degree that I actually use in my career so while not the smartest fucking person in the world am far from unintelligent. In fact, when I graduated I said, fuck, who would have thought I'd have done so fucking well with my fucking studies. Not really, I didn't fucking say that at all, but I'm sure I said fucking something. I think people who say that about others who swear are fucking self-righteous, ignorant, arrogant cunts. Oh yes, school taught me that word too. Thanks school.
I was thinking about swearing this week when a fellow came to my workplace from another division and in a setting where swearing was not appropriate let go with words like fuck, fucking, fucker, shit and cunt and every combination of the above so many times that even for someone like me who isn't at all concerned by swearing was left thinking, is this fucking shit cunt for fucking real?
As it turns out, the person was spoken to later and issued a written apology to those in the meeting by email and he didn't swear once in the email. I'm not sure that was needed but someone above my position felt it was and so it happened.
Thinking back to a younger version of me, that kid who said fuck and had to eat soap because of it, makes me laugh now because so many more serious things have happened, so many events and situations that make saying the word fuck pale into insignificance. I mean that's the fucking thing, it's just four letters put together and is so prevalent in society now that it's laughable when people become outraged about hearing the word fuck, shit or cunt.
I wonder if there's a world in which kids don't learn the words fuck, shit or cunt. Does a school exist in which that would never happen? I don't think so. Watch most movies and the word fuck is uttered. Shows like Game of Thrones use the word cunt and the word shit is so commonplace that it probably doesn't even deserve swear word status. Kids hear it in so many places, it's natural they'll go to school repeating it.
Swear words are only swear words because people make them so I suppose and getting into trouble for coming home from school and saying the word fuck seems such an outdated concept as does someone saying a person who swears is unintelligent. Fuck that shit cunt. I think it's more important for parents to educate their children on when swearing is inappropriate rather than the impossible task of forcing them not to swear.