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Opinion Published Monday Living January 27, 2003

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TV Listings Four-letter words on TV now get less static

Obituaries BY DANIEL P. FINNEY AP Update WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

RELATED STORY In 1973, comedian and social critic George The Jay Page Carlin identified the seven dirty words you » Swearing milestones couldn't say on television. Your Legislature RELATED LINK

Letter-of-Intent Thirty years later, that list - even on network » Cuss Control HS SportsZone TV, not to mention cable - is much shorter. Academy More News Extras U2 frontman Bono cut loose the ultimate profanity - the one that refers to sexual intercourse - in Archives accepting an award for best song during the Golden Globe Info Center Awards Jan. 19 on NBC. Ozzy Subscriptions Osbourne, wife Sharon and kids Jack and Kelly were bleeped 19 times by ABC censors while hosting the

Careers American Music Awards earlier this month. ShopOmaha ® Sharon, Ozzy, Kelly and Jack Osbourne Restaurant Guide hosted this year's American Music The Osbournes' potty mouths Awards. The family members, known for are nothing new, as anyone E-Coupons/Offers their liberal use of profanity, were censored 19 times during the Jan. 13 knows who has watched their AutoMall ABC broadcast. "reality" series on MTV. But that their appearance on a prime- Real Estate time show was eagerly promoted by ABC, a network owned by family- Classifieds friendly Disney, confirms a cultural shift in Americans' feelings about profanity. Money & Investing

VisitOmaha! Cursing crowds into the dialogues of most movies, the lyrics of many songs and everyday conversation. Advertise With Us

Community Partners "It took centuries to make some of these words taboo, and it's going to take one generation to wear them out," said Robert Thompson, http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_np=0&u_pg=57&u_sid=634477 professor of popular culture at Syracuse University in New York. "When this generation becomes grandparents, there is going to be no way to shock the older generation."

Critics of this proliferation of profanity say it coarsens the English language and could even harm society.

Sarpy Co. News "When Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wanted to have a serious discussion about racism, segregation and other social problems, he didn't pepper his speech with this kind of language," said Barbara Dilly, an anthropology professor at Creighton University in Omaha.

The language of swearing is harsh, said Jim O'Connor, president of the Cuss Control Academy based in Lake Forest, Ill., and it can lead to a more coarse, vicious and violent society.

"What happened to courtesy? What happened to manners? What happened to civility?" O'Conner asked. "Swearing is angry language. We get too angry too easily these days. We need to calm down and think about what we're saying."

Corrine Gregory, a child-behavior expert and program director of the Polite Child, a suburban Seattle-based group, said a society that accepts swearing in everyday language makes it more difficult to educate children on manners.

QwestDex "We are becoming numb to the effects of swearing, and that is most definitely a bad thing," she said. "If you look at the bigger picture, we're Member Services becoming immune to so many violent, horrific and coarse types of Current Advertisers things. We are becoming less and less civilized, and our language is the first key to that." Mapquest

Weather Naughty words certainly didn't originate with TV and movies: The Bus Routes ultimate profanity dates to the 13th century. And Lenny Bruce swore his way through the comedy circuit in the 1940s and '50s, decades before Carlin, Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy and Chris Rock.

But TV and movies have become coarser. Andy Griffith didn't unload a string of profanities on Opie when he got out of line in fictional Mayberry in the 1960s and '70s.

The trend toward swearing on network TV started in the late 1970s and early '80s "with a few 'hells' and 'damns' sprinkled in," said a spokeswoman for the Parents Television Council, which denounced the networks for the incidents involving Bono and the Osbournes.

"But in the last 10 years," said Melissa Caldwell, director of research for the Los Angeles-based council, "there has been a constant pushing of the boundaries until now parents have very few family viewing options on broadcast television."

Historically, said Thompson, the Syracuse professor, swearing was something - like rock 'n' roll - that young people used to define themselves against authority.

"Now that has no meaning, which may mean they have to look to other ways to express feelings of anger and dissension, including, I'm sorry to say, guns and knives."

Just how much profanity harms society is a matter of some debate, but Dilly, the Creighton professor, thinks the words - or even their proliferation - aren't the problem. The problem, she said, is that our cultural discussions tend to stop at the propriety of profanity rather than moving on to more serious or important topics. http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_np=0&u_pg=57&u_sid=634477 "If the amount of energy we spend on trying to stamp out profanity on TV was used for other causes, we could accomplish a lot of great things," she said. "We hear those words and we stop thinking, and lack of thought is a real dangerous thing."

Tame your tongue

Recognize that swearing does damage. Profanity is the language of intimidation. It's hurtful and offensive to others. Think positively. Swearing stems from anger. Look for ways to be happier. Cope, don't cuss. Ask yourself if swearing will actually help the situation. Use alternative words. English is a colorful language, but chronic cursers repeatedly use the same, unimaginative words that have been around for centuries. Think of what you should have said. After you blurt an expletive, simply say the tamer word you wished you had said. Over time, these exercises will train you to think and act differently. Work at it. Stopping will take practice.

Source: Jim O'Connor, president of the Cuss Control Academy

What people are Post your comment saying ... And more women and... - West Coaster Swearing or use of cuss... - Calmness there only one good... - Do little Dave If you want to keep the... - Boundaries The Ozzies should not... - 4 Keeps The reason cussing is... - Clean Mouth I agree. The frequent... - one observer As a child, I grew up... - John Why didn't they list... - econdude The producers and ABC... - bbnut

West Coaster wrote:

And more women and children are using the filthy language than ever.

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