harmful versus nit picky

            After reading the articles I was somewhat shocked.  I like to think that our society puts laws in place to better us as a whole however; some of the restrictions were absolutely ridiculous.

            First of all, language.  Personally, I don’t like excessive swearing, I think there are much better ways to articulate your emotions.  I think swearing can be somewhat offensive and first and foremost without some restrictions on the choice words, our children will grow up learning to express themselves in a less than acceptable way.  Further, it is no secret that the use of some words makes the use of others either more acceptable or easier to say.  For example, towards the closing pages of Huck Finn the “n” word no longer stood out on the page, it was no longer a shock to see or even read; the same will happen with the use of other words, we will familiarize ourselves with them and they will become common place in our vocabulary.  What’s worse is the risk of already controversial terms becoming more offensive, for example, the “b” word becoming the “c” word (which I might add is already frequenting our language).

            Television is obviously a place where we see these words used frequently. Lets be honest though, is the use of these words truly necessary or would the same effect be there if say actors replaced “crap” for “shit”.  It seems to me there are better ways to express emotions than the use of these words.  Likewise with words we don’t think of immediately as being swear words but many consider equally offensive and just as controversial.  Words such as “gay”, “fag”, and “retard(ed)” really have no business being associated with negative connotations.

            It seems to me with our society facing problems such as these there would not be uprisings about baggy pants or tattoos.  The fact of the matter is that excessively baggy pants are not hurting anyone and at some point the people who choose to wear them will most likely be forced to wear more professional attire.  Tattoos are equally as trivial, personally, I have a tattoo and I love it, it is an art form that I am very proud to wear.  Most people who sport tattoos feel the same way and pick things to put on their bodies that mean something to them.  Telling someone they are not able to have a tattoo on their skin is along the lines of people they can’t wear makeup or provocative clothing but obviously this is not regulated. 

            Baggy pants and tattoos really have no affect on others.  They are trivial things that people wish to ban.  Language and smoking can have very negative effects on others.  It is well known that second hand smoke can be just as harmful to a nonsmoker as smoking is to a smoker.  Similarly, the use and acceptance of certain words can have negative effects and risks as well.  At the end of the day our society needs to be more concerned with harmful issues rather than fashion or art.