Penalizing Profanity Promotes Use of It Essay

Despite that students now use profanity in their public schools and even more out of school, this could cause more children and teens to use the offensive language around their peers.

Provocative words or indecent words that are either harming or might bring about the listener to promptly hit back or break the peace are considered to be the part of fighting words and offensive speech. Utilization of such words is not considered as a "free speech" under the First Amendment. On the off chance that the listener is indicted for such offensive words assault, this may lead to mitigating situations (Dorf & Michael, n,d).

The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) made a statement “On Freedom of Expression and Campus Speech Codes,” 1994, which states, “In response to verbal assaults and use of hateful language some campuses have felt it necessary to forbid the expression of racist, sexist, homophobic, or ethnically demeaning speech, along with conduct or behavior that harasses…”

If you keep a close eye on the news, you have heard of situations dealing with the issue of free speech on college campuses. This topic has been a hot button issue throughout recent years. Numerous institutions have become more politically correct in an effort to make their students feel safer on campus. Many people, however, claim that “word policing”, or telling students that they are not allowed to use certain vocabulary, is a violation of their right to free speech. In the articles “The Betrayal of Liberty on America’s Campuses” by Alan Charles Kors and “’Nigger’: The Meaning of a Word” by Gloria Naylor, readers are shown just how ridiculous the practice of word policing can be. Additionally, the article “Regulating Racist Speech on Campus” by Charles R. Lawrence III challenges the common arguments in favor of word policing. Based on the evidence presented in these articles, I believe that word policing is preventing college students from having honest and educational conversations on campus.

The University of Wisconsin designed a speech code that sanctioned expressive behavior that “(1) [is] racist or discriminatory; (2) [Is] directed at an individual; (3) Demean the race, sex, religion, color, creed, disability, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, or age of the individual addressed; and (4) Create an intimidating, hostile or demeaning

In 1890 to 1920 imperialism and progressivism rose in the United States, affecting the country and its people. Progressivism and the political, social, and environmental reforms benefited unions, women, and the environment. However, due to the growing concerns with urban social problems a major weakness was the overshadowing of other problems like nonunionized workers, farmers, and the growing racism specifically directed to African Americans.

On February 15, 2010 a woman in Chapel Hill, NC by the name of Samantha Elabanjo was arrested because she told two Chapel Hill Police Officers, “you need to clean your dirty damn car,” and she then called them “assholes” (State of North Carolina). If Samantha Elabanjo lived in Rockville, Maryland the outcome may have been different. To date, there are no known documented arrest for Rockville’s Profanity Law. Rockville, Maryland’s City Code Chapter 13 Article III Sec. 13-53 states, “(a) a person may not profanely curse and swear or use obscene language upon or near any street, sidewalk or highway within the hearing of persons passing by, upon or along such street, sidewalk or highway; (b) a person may not act in a disorderly manner by profanely cursing, swearing or using obscene language; (c) any person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor” (Profanity). Rockville, Maryland’s ban on profanity should be nullified. The law is too broad, violates the first amendment, and is already prohibited in other laws.

The national identity of Australia has also developed strangely when dealing with taboo, especially with the younger Australians. Many youths no longer find many profanities as rude or taboo as the older generations, in particular with words like “fuck”, “shit” and “bloody” which used to be packed with a certain punch. In fact, many of these words are actually used as interjections (“Shit! No way!”),

In the text I am reading, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Jean Louise ‘Scout’ Finch, the protagonist, always plays with her brother and his friend, does not know how to control her anger and being upset, and, unlike a lady, is aggressive in both the way she speaks and acts. For example, “This time, I (Scout) split my knuckle to the bone on his front teeth.” (Page 84). During that time, girls were expected to behave well and wear nicely, but Scout, being a tomboy, acts aggressively as shown in the quote. Other scenes in the book, including the time when Walter Cunningham drowned his food in syrup and Scout acted mightier than him just because he was poor and did not know a lot of things, show that she does not exactly behave the way a typical girl in the 1930’s was expected to behave.

Word choice through the three given pieces of writing: “Let me be the one to curse near my kids,” “Curses!,” “Let my kids swear?” helps convey the author’s voice. In the article “Let me be the one to curse near my kids” the author, Dave Walker, is immensely aggressive towards the audience. “The First Amendment, after all, is among my top 10 favorite amendments. Let freedom bleeping ring…” By using the word choice “bleeping” we get the aggressive tone the author is portraying. “Curses!” is more of a formal piece for many reasons; statistics are their main focus. Unlike “Let me be the one to curse near my kids” it is more aggressive; whereas, in “Curses!”it states, “A survey of public high school students found that more than 75 percent reported

In the past couple of decades till now, there have been countless numbers of hate speech cases on college campuses across the country. Due to hate speech taking on many forms such as written, spoken, and symbolic, the number of incidents have skyrocketed. While many colleges have attempted to regulate hate speech on campus, other colleges have found that they have limited too much speech and that their regulations are starting to go against the first amendment. Three incidents of hate speech on college campuses in the years 1993-1995 occurred in the college campuses of Penn, UCR, and Caltech respectively.

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The use of profanity and of deliberate substitutes for profanity on television does not reinforce family values. In fact, it does the opposite by undermining the lesson about not using vulgar language in most families. Families should have the right to determine what kinds of behavior and what kinds of language are appropriate but television can compete with any family values in that regard. By presenting foul language as acceptable for general use, television programs become arbiters of behavior by influencing the culture outside the

The increasing amount of violence, foul language and sexuality available to children on TV is harmful to their development. What was once a time for children to watch TV with content suitable for their age is now directed for an older audience, Family Hour. Statistics show that this is the time most children are watching television with their family members. Despite knowing this, “Since 2000-2001, the amount of sexual content during the Family Hour has increased by 22.1%” (Parents Television Council 55). A poll done later in March of 2007 asked the general public if they thought there was too much sexual content on television. 79% of those that participated in the poll stated that there was too much.

The things people do or say is their own personal choice. Everyone should have the right to say what they feel without the fear of getting arrested. As people get older they mature and learn what they can say and what should be left unsaid and that is a trust that should be left to the people. I feel that censorship on language is becoming too strict. Students face punishment for saying the wrong thing or wrong word. Yes, I do understand that some things should not be said, but that is where family comes in. As a parent you should teach your child not to say certain things and that they should know better. Freedom of speech is granted to us as Americans and we should be able to express ourselves, but we should know to respect those that surround us.