Let me start by saying that I'm not trying to censor anyone. As a writer, I would never presume to tell anyone what to say, or how to say it. I come to Daily Kos many times a day to "take a break" and "let things percolate" (read: procrastinate and play fast and loose with deadlines), and to peruse interesting, intelligent posts in a community that shares my values and political leanings. And being a writer, I love words. A beautiful, well-turned phrase can simultaneously bring tears to my eyes and make me boil with envy. A smartly written reader response to the David Brooks column about Lieberman and the "liberal inquisition" was so perfectly expressed, it stuck with me for hours ("Holding him accountable at the ballot box for this fiasco isn't an inquisition, it's democracy.").
But during recent visits to Daily Kos, I find myself frowning and turning off, not because of the meaning of what is said, but HOW it is said. In other words, I'm reading the words fuck, shit, etc. more and more, and I'm wondering if some of us might choose another way of letting out anger, frustration, and amazement. Now I know that sometime only "fuck" will do. I use it myself in speech and in books when the plot calls for it. But like anything, profanity loses its impact when you hear it over and over again. When so many wise, informed people resort to constant profanity, the message, important as it is, is lost on me. I counted the word fuck over 60 times in the President Bush Strikes from Behind diary alone, and many posters used it repeatedly (granted, there were a shitload - oops - a lot of posts). Let me make it clear that I have no problem with the content on Daily Kos. Sometimes I just wish it didn't sound so much like it was being generated by very smart frat boys.
Must we resort to raw profanity so often? I know language used on the other side is just as bad or worse (and often involves direct calls for stalking and/or physical harm). But is there no other, more interesting way to express our feelings? Perhaps we could use different words, just for the sake of variety, or, if nothing else, humor. Bollocks, maybe, or arse. Cock can be good for a laugh, and is also a animal. Bitch has already started some flame wars, so we'll leave that one alone. I'm partial to nuts, which could refer to the scrotum, or to cashews. No one can ever get you on that. Or come up with your own - there are many great ways to let off steam and make a point, in English and in other languages. I'm not suggesting that anyone abandon their own style of posting to write in the manner of say, Dickens, or William Bennett. Just that we Kossacks not become a community of potty mouths.