FCC OKs the *F* Word in Some Situations

Bono

I remember the time that Anthony Edwards said $**t on ER - it shocked me but as it was on late at night, it was no big deal to me.

Isn't everything alright if Bono does it?

I'm not ok with that.. I've always thought the whole concept of "bad words" was based on asbolutely nothing, but I also think that it would disrupt too many people. I also think the use of the word as an adjective is unprofessional and makes one sound like he is either 1)uneducated or 2)trying to hard to be cool. Not knocking Bono, just that particular statement.

It was original an acronym in old English used on stockaids for adulterers. If stand for For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge.

There is nothing wrong with the word.

YES!!!!!!!!

lol.. I cant help it, I'm the biggest U2 fan on the planet, have been for 15 years.

I think honestly it just slipped out for him.. he doesnt have to 'try' to be cool but I dont see anything wrong with the word if its used in a certain context and not in a derogatory way. But then again, I have a mouth like a truck driver so maybe I'm biased

Ady,

I've heard that before but I never really new how the word came into use. Thanks for the educational tip!

Very neat little bit of info Ady!

I'm with Sicy btw. Not being a huge fan of U2, but on things just slipping out. We were raised to respect our elders and I will never forget the first time I said the alternative for poop in front of my mother, I was 23 or so at the time, but it was just ingrained in us to not curse in front of older family members. Mom laughed her head off at the face I made when I realized what had slipped out of my mouth! I definitely wasn't trying to be cool for Mom, like I said it just slipped out.

The f-word has the okay to be on Australian TV and Radio after 9:30pm.

I can understand that it can be seen as offensive by people but there is nothing stopping people from changing channels, watching something else like a DVD, or (god forbid) switching the tv off. It's not like the f-word is everywhere you look or lurking in the shadows waiting to pounce on the unwary. You still and always will have a choice.

And for the parents out there who object, I do understand but the fact is, if your children don't hear it from the airwaves, the schoolyard will suffice. I think it would be a wasted opportunity to continue with the fuss instead of explaining to your children why there is a fuss and why some four letter words are not polite and shouldn't be used lightly or at all.

My parents never said bad words infront of their children so it is uncomfortable for me to say them. But I understand the influence movies, TV and radio have on everybody.
Since I live in a country that admires and enjoys American entertainment media, I get a little rattled when I hear people (young and old) utter sh*t and f**k like it is so cool. They are probably imitating and having fun and perhaps don't understand how offensive the words can be. For sure they are not as bad as the local lingo equivalent.
So perhaps it is a good idea to watch what you are saying in public. You don't know how many people are listening and being influenced by them.

I'm a huge Bono fan

Look how hot this man is!!


He's a wonderful person with a good heart. Yes he's a rock star but he's not a bad boy. He's had the same wife for 21 years (his high school sweetheart, not a supermodel or an actress!) and they have 4 kids. He campaigns for the poor kids in Africa. He wears a rosary around his neck. His music is great! Him saying the F word does not give me a bad opinion of him at all. He used it in a good way, not like F you, but this is f-ing brilliant like he was happy. So yes I'm on his side!

I don't swear - it is a choice I made. But I honestly take no offense when other people swear. The only word I object to is if someone gets called a @itch as that is an insult to female dogs - they are very loyal and loving usually.

Now that I professed my love for Bono, I'm going to proceed with my rationale on this thing. You know, my parents never said bad words in front of me either. But I have little kids, and I can see trying to shield them from 'dirty words' these days is like trying to hide them from electricity! It is pointless to resist! Kids regurlary blurt it out in school and it's no big deal anymore. Most teachers ignore it or just say 'watch it.' I'm talking about elementary kids! Kids in the street are telling each other to f- off before they even get to school. It's everywhere. And what's the big deal? Are they all going to become murderers or something because they hear this word? It's really not such a federal case anymore. Everyone is just going to have to get over it because it's not going away.
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The fact that it is so common now is actually making it lose its punch. Bono's father once said, one F- has power, but the more f's you use, the less they matter. I don't think there's many people even shocked by it anymore.

Now, for those of you who just insist this word is going to ruin kids, let me offer these things to think about:

1. The kind of person who wouldn't want their kid to hear the f word probably would have dumped them in bed long before Bono uttered the word at about 9:40PM eastern time (all other time zones got it censored out)

2. Most kids who were awake, and young enough to be surprised by it, probably wouldn't be paying attention to a music awards show anyway.

3. If they were awake and they did hear it, if they've never heard it, they probably wouldn't even notice, or even go 'mommy what does that word mean' unless someone acted shocked or pointed it out to them.

4. A rock star said the F word on TV. That is not the worst thing hurting kids in our society today. It really didn't matter at all.

So I really don't think this is that big a deal. Things have come a long way since I was a little kid and you couldn't even show a toilet on the Brady Bunch. The bleeps are getting fewer as more words are allowed to be said on TV and f will probably have its day too. There is no way to hide from it, whether or not you approve. Making a big deal out of it like this parent's group is doing is only making people joke on them and want to say it more.

Let me give you another example, cat related:

A few weeks ago, I was in a gas station that sold novelties in the back. I was looking at them and was disgusted and upset to find 'road kill' air freshners, the kind that hung from your rearview mirror. They had possums, skunks, squirrels, and all kinds of run over animals, eyes bulging or x'd out, stomaches squashed. It was terrible. Then I saw a cute little orange kitten with his sweet little pink paw pads up in the air and his tongue hanging out. I wanted to cry. These idiots who are making this stuff are sick, and will only encourage dumb people to think it's cool to run over animals. I wanted to post it here to be boycotted and I wanted to call PETA to campaign against it.

Then I thought, wait. Right now, these sick things are rotting away in the back of some unknown gas station, the pack is full and no one is buying them. But if PETA starts getting on the news protesting it, the sales will go up, millions of jerks will buy them just to annoy PETA, and it will only bring popularity to them that they don't deserve.

So my point is, the bigger deal that is made of something, the more attention it gets, the farther it's going to go. So in the words of one of Bono's songs, let it go.......

The world is not going to end and kids are not going to get any worse if a commonly used word is heard on TV. Even if it weren't Bono I'd feel that way.

I tend to think that kittyloveu2 is about right. Lots of little children pick up rather nasty phrases and repeat them at home, if ignored to a great extent they stop and move on. The f word is quite prevelent over here-often slightly changed (using an e instead of a u)
Most of the time i dont mind but sometimes when it is every other word i do feel like saying just give it rest! Its not offensive just boring! Brush up on your vocabulary and maybe you wont need to use it at all. The word i really really hate is the c word. Wow i sound like a prude just using initial letters but i dont want to cause offence.

kittyloveu2 I love you! LOL Check your private messages

I, like Ady, don't swear. I must confess that when I hear someone swearing every other word it does get to me. It's like fingernails across a blackboard. I can overlook a stray swear word, escpecially the f word or other words like it. What I really hate is when they use the word "Jesus" as a swear word. You don't hear people using the word "Budda" or "Mohamad" as swear words - it would not be acceptable. So why do people think it is OK and non-offensive to people who believe in Jesus Christ to use his name as an expletive.

As for Bono, I generally like him and I think it was probably said without thinking. I can overlook it.

As a serious U2 fan I have to jump in here too!

I think that it is not so much of WHAT you say as it is HOW you say it!

Bono is such a talented man who has an incredible way with words.

Anything that comes out of Bono's mouth is so sexy, even if it is a dirty word!

LOL!! How can you resist this face??



For all you U2 fans.. have you been to http://forum.interference.com ? I am an admin there and spend just as much time there as I spend here

The 'F'-word seems to have become an all purpose verb, at least it was when I was working in the business world, less than a curse word.
People use euphemisms all of the time to replace 'curse' words. I'm not sure why that is more acceptable, or even why certain words have become curses. My now deceased aunt used to call someone a 'horse's neck', when she meant they were a horse's a$$.

I think there are words however that are more perjorative in nature, from their first use. I'm thinking here of certain words used to refer to various portions of people's anatomy, mostly womens'. I find those offensive.

I also agree with the poster who finds using 'Jesus Christ' as
an epithet offensive most of the time, especially when it is used in anger. And yet, if somone exclaims 'Good Lord' , it doesn't particularly bother me!

I say the "F" word all the time. I too, have a mouth like a truck driver, so it doesn't bother me if they allow the word. Almost everyone either uses the word, or hears the word used on a daily basis. What's the big deal about hearing someone say it one TV?

I guess times have changed quite a bit since Jim Morrison, the Door's lead singer, was arrested for public indecency during a concert in Florida (I think) when he touched a portion of his anatomy through his tight leather pants.

I love Bono & U2, although I think Bono looked better when his hair was long (see the Rattle & Hum film). But on a pure sexiness basis,
I'd take Morrison in a flash. He was after all, the guy they called the 'Rock God'. But I guess like James Dean, he had the peculiar 'benefit' of never growing old. While Bono's 20+ years of marriage and 4 kids adds to his reputation as a very decent human being, it does take a bit away from his raw appeal.

But then again, neither of them are Sean Connery post-Bond, with his goatee and minimal hair, who may be the sexiest man ever, at least for my generation!

LOL, fun thread!

Re: the etymology of the dreaded F-word, the "for unlawful carnal knowledge" thing is a myth (as is the similar myth regarding its stemming from "Fornication Under Consent of the King). You can read about this and the real etymology (probably from Dutch, Norwegian or German sources) here, courtesy of the wonderful Urban Legend debunking website, aka Snopes. WARNING: not a work-friendly link due to the name of the page, so don't visit if your computer is visible to others -- or if you just don't like reading the f-word!

Sicycat, I love you too:hug:

Thanks to all Bono lovers!

Lucia, this is for you

I agree 110%!! Sicy, I've been a fan for that long, too. I think Bono is one of the sexiest men on the planet, and his niceness adds to that for me.

LMAO!!!

FCC can bite my a**! LOL!!! Actually, I was raised to not curse, but at age 7 I remember clearly screaming out 'F*** you' to this punk kid that was bothering me during recess and the teacher putting me in detention for a few days. That made me want to use it even more LOL!!!! And that was a long time ago when you knew not to curse or you get the switch (long stick that you had to go out and pick from the tree) on you. Now I curse a like a freaking sailor, sometimes if I'm ticked off about something it's pretty often, if I'm angry like my car being towed when he could have towed 10 cars around me parked illegally for the five minutes I stepped away, then it's every other word. Which really irritates my husband. In the long run, I have to watch my mouth around my son who is starting to learn some words, so I feel better if I can write it instead of saying it LOL Didn't think that it may offend anyone here, but I will curb it and hopefully you all can forgive me whoever took offense to it
Or bite my a**

Or as I like to think of it...

You call me a B--ch like it's a bad thing.