I was considering writing on a sales concept that I have been researching recently, but I have had something much more heavily on my mind today. When I have a thought or idea in my head, it is very hard to stop thinking about it until I tell someone or write it down. Consequently, you get to hear my thoughts vs my research today.
My thoughts are about crass humor and cussing. Both in general and in the workplace specifically.
Frankly, I don’t understand it.
First off, I think it’s important for you to know that my stances on cussing, in general, are more conservative than most people. Basically, I never think that it is okay to curse. Not when angry or upset, not in a joking manner, not when defending yourself. I believe the same about crass humor. This comes from being a Christian. I believe whole-heartedly in the Bible being the word of God, and when there are passages that say this:
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. – Ephesians 4:29
Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. – Ephesians 5:4
I simply just can’t justify cursing or crude joking in any circumstance. I understand that even some Christians have disagreements on this, and I also understand that someone who doesn’t believe the Bible or doesn’t claim to be a Christian could care less about these things. I do think that if we really dove deep into these passages, even someone who wasn’t a Christian could understand some of the reasoning behind them, but that’s not even what has been on my mind.
The following thoughts have all been on my mind as I’ve been in the kitchen of a new restaurant I am working in:
Cursing has lost its meaning
I kid you not, in the restaurant that I am working in, I would say at least 20% of what comes out of people’s mouths are swear words. They literally don’t even mean anything anymore. They’re more of filler words than anything.
Your vocabulary has been cut in half
Because of the above mentioned, people have severely cut their vocabulary because they so often just resort to swearing instead of actually thinking of the correct words to use.
It becomes much easier to degrade people
This is a much deeper issue, I know. But if you are always swearing, then when you start talking about people, it is almost impossible not to talk about them in a derogatory way. This one is a bit subtle, and I’m still formulating my thoughts on it.
Crass joking has taken the place of meaningful conversation
It seems like everything you could possibly say can now be turned into some kind of sexual innuendo, and because of this, it has become incredibly difficult to have a meaningful conversation with someone
Crass joking usually objectifies people — especially women
This one really hits me hard. While I can handle everything else fine, and I understand that many other people don’t have the same convictions as me on language, I don’t understand how people are okay with this – especially women. Often times I find that the women even initiate these kinds of jokes and I am dumbfounded as to why this is an entertaining pastime.
I am of course biased as to what I believe is acceptable speech, but it seems to me that the habit of swearing and crass humor don’t add value to everyday life. They only take away valuable conversation.
My final thoughts on this subject are not complete. These are just my initial thoughts and questions as I have been in the restaurant all week.
I’m interested to hear others thoughts on this subject. Do you feel that swear words add value to conversation? Do you think there are places that they should still be used? Do you think crass humor does harm or is it just another form of light-hearted humor?
Let me know either in the comments section below or email me at joeyhwickham@gmail.com