There is no such thing as a "CURSE WORD"

McKayMachina

i dont know what i would do because i have never faced that type of situation before. a term of enderment has never turned foul on me.
if it offended people i wouldnt say it infront of them, but would use it in my home were the meaning and affection are still pure.

That's a very interesting statement. So would you say personal meaning is more important to you than greater, overall mass-consciousness meaning? I mean, if your term of endearment was "retard" but you completely meant it in a non-ironic, non-sarcastic, 100% pure and sweet way, what if someone, say, overheard you say it when hanging up the phone? What if they got all butthurt? What if they even had a good reason for it?

Would you be understanding while a little bit defensive since it was a private, personal conversation and you didn't mean any harm?

I didn't mean to phrase that as a leading question but I would like to follow it up with a thought of my own: I'd basically tell the person "tough *kitten*". It was my word in that moment. We can share the word with its respective meanings and just not concern ourselves with each others' usage. That's just my approach, though.

McKayMachina

As always I love your food for thought Mckay!

Awesome! I'm so glad you all are participating in this conversation with me. Gives me a lot to consider. Thanks for entertaining all my questions!

chanstriste13

That's really interesting.

So, let me ask you this:

What is your favorite pet name for the person you love or your child? Let's, for the sake of argument, say it's "honeybee". What if, through countless cultural factors, over time, the word "honeybee" came to be regarded as a horrific, offensive curse word? What if it were the most derogatory word you could possibly direct at someone? Would you stop calling your loved one "honeybee" because the majority of the people around you took serious offense to it?

How would you feel? How would your behavior change or not change in a situation like that?

by the time that actually happened, you would probably be dead and gone.

but for the sake of argument, i would probably continue use of 'honeybee' around people that understood my intent, and refrain from using it around anyone that would find it offensive. just common courtesy. not rocket science.

spade117

I didn't read through much of the posts, but I agree with the title of the thread. I have been saying that for as long as I can remember.