Strollerderby : curse words

Supreme Court Says Keep Cursing Off Daytime TV

JeanneSager — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 18:00:00 GMT

If you can't keep your sailor mouth clean, have heart. You can continue plopping your kids in front of the TV during the day for some curse-free entertainment . . . for now anyway.

The U.S. Supreme Court voted five to four to uphold the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) hold over "foul language" on television between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. The issue came up in regards to "fleeting expletives," the one-off f-bomb dropped on a live show (rather than cussing worked into a scripted program).

So is this good for parents and kids? Maybe.

ABC, CBS and Fox, who have been trying to avoid fines for cussing on their networks, are headed back to yet another federal court to fight their fines on the basis of free speech. And Justice Clarence Thomas, who voted with the majority, has written an opinion regarding what he calls “questionable viability” of two FCC regulations that relate to this topic. Voting against the FCC, Justice John Paul Stevens went so far as to call it "ironic" that the FCC goes after words relating to "sex" and "excrement" (hmmm, wonder which words he's talking about there, don'tcha?) even as “commercials broadcast during prime-time hours frequently ask viewers whether they too are battling erectile dysfunction or are having trouble going to the bathroom.”

I try to reign in my potty mouth around my daughter (I try to reign it in period, but hey, life happens). But is a one-off dirty word on TV really that bad? They're just as likely to hear it in the grocery store or the school bus. I sat in our favorite deli eating grilled cheese sandwiches just last week while a group of four twenty-something guys one table over did everything but smear us in the s--t they couldn't stop bringing up.

And Justice Stevens, I'm with you. I don't want to explain erectile dysfunction to my three-year-old just yet. Somehow, explaining what flies out of a cow's butt doesn't seem quite as bad as that.

Image: WriteForBlogs

Kid Founder of the No-Cussing Club Receives Death Threats

Shannon LC Cate — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 18:00:00 GMT

The son of the authors of Raising G-Rated Kids in an X-rated World has received death threats for encouraging kids to clean up their language. Not just one death threat. Multiple death threats. Fifteen-year old McKay Hatch started his club, which now has over 30,000 members world-wide, in response to his own annoyance at his peers' changing language habits as they grew from elementary school to middle and high school.

Says Hatch:

"The reason it bothered me the most is 'cause it was something they were using every other word, kinda like the word 'the.' They kept using it and using it."

Complete with website and upcoming book, Hatch's club also has a hip-hop video making the Internet rounds. (Watch it below the cut.)

Hatch says he isn't against free speech, and he is forgiving of slips from people who are trying to change their ways. He even offers help in the form of suggested "substitute" swear words like "pickles" and "sassafrass." Yes, this is one brave kid.

The local police and the FBI are involved in an investigation of the death threats. Meanwhile, Hatch declares that the haters--and they are legion, in spite of his club's success--are "just bullies and they want you to be scared. And so I'm not gonna let them win."

Aw shucks kid, go for it!

Middle Schoolers Exposed to Curse Words, Parents Shocked

JeanneSager — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 14:03:00 GMT

Parents of middle schoolers in Fresno, Calif. were shocked, shocked, I tell you, when they learned their kids had been exposed to curse words. Imagine, 12 years old and seeing f*%k in all its glory. Where have these parents been in the past 50 years?

Watching offensive language usage rise in his classrooms, the principal at Tioga Middle School said told teachers to write a list of four-letter words on the whiteboard in each classroom let kids know exactly what words would not be tolerated. Then the mother and future stepfather of 12-year-old Phoenix Hawkins complained. They want to protect his innocence, they say.

The principal's pulled the plan, but I hope Phoenix isn't riding a bus to school. That's where I learned "motherf***er" at 5 and "time of the month" at 7. Maybe Phoenix's parents should consider homeschooling? And no TV, naturally. No books. No movie. Definitely no trips to the grocery store or even outside the house.

Awww, s**t, let's just bring on that bubble.

Source: San Luis Obispo Tribune

Image: Calvin

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When They Can Curse in Context

JeanneSager — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 18:03:00 GMT

Madame didn’t like the bowl of chicken noodle soup. So she looked up at me through those too die for lashes wasted on pre-schoolers. “I want hot dogs.” I held my ground. “You asked for soup. You’re having soup.” Throwing herself on the floor, she screamed, “that’s bulls**t!”

Not just cursing. Curses used in context. Uh oh. Even the goody goody parents have at one time or another let slip a four-letter something or other in front the kids. Someone cuts you off in traffic. "Awww, f**k." Obnoxious lady in the grocery store hits you in the heels with the cart – again. "Son of a . . ." We expect them to repeat them, ad nauseam, at the most inopportune times. Your mother-in-law comes over. “Hey Gwandma, I’m a son of a beeeeeeep.” You had to see that coming.

But cursing in context? This is bad. This is very, very bad.

Oh Well, if I'm up s**t creek, at least my kid will know how to find me. Which makes me wonder - if our kids are going to pick up on bad words, do we really feel any better when they at least use them correctly?

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Strollerderby : curse words

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Kid Founder of the No-Cussing Club Receives Death Threats

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