sorry, but you can't be my BFF anymore

[I'm Murrin]

Ew, Daily Mail?

Yeah, if you read the article carefully most of it is discussing the policy of encouraging children to interact in larger groups, and the expert consulted even says they tell teachers not to break up friendships. Nothing specifically about discouraging having best friends apart from the article's own lead in.

[Lefdmae Deemalr Effaeldm]

It's a stupid idea, but I'm a little suspicious about the story from the Daily Mail since I noticed no one in the story actually owning up to advocating doing this.

I apologize, do you mean the idea the topic started about? Because your post was right after mine, stating an idea, i guess you meant the one in those news, but wanted to ask just in case you meant it, and perhaps didn't mention the winking emoticon)

[Iolanthe]

Oh dear, what a mix-up

The Daily Mail (UK) had the rediculous story about children not having best friends.

The San Francisco Chronicle was then introduced with another daft story about children not being allowed to hug each other.

Damelon thinks the not hugging idea is stupid, and that the story about no best friends is suspicious (I think).

Personally, both stories make me wonder what on earth the world is coming to, and that may be a cliche, but forgive me, I'm too old to change now.

[Lefdmae Deemalr Effaeldm]

I think it's not a question of changing or not, I like changes a lot, if they're for the better or at least something different and not really worse. This is a completely different thing, telling people if they can have best friends and hug or not is next to telling them to think the government is good and cares for people.

No wonder some people get sarcasm attacks)

[lorin]

Ew, Daily Mail?

Yeah, if you read the article carefully most of it is discussing the policy of encouraging children to interact in larger groups, and the expert consulted even says they tell teachers not to break up friendships. Nothing specifically about discouraging having best friends apart from the article's own lead in.

Is The Sun a better source?
www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4203 ... iends.html
Educational psychologist Gaynor Sbuttoni said the policy has been used at schools in Kingston, South West London, and Surrey.

This is an interesting article discussing it's relevance to Ayn Rand's Anthem (which I haven't read but will)
www.theobjectivestandard.com/blog/index ... ds-anthem/

[aliantha]

Ew, Daily Mail?

Is The Sun a better source?

Isn't The Sun the tabloid that Rupert Murdoch reconstituted after the big voicemail hacking scandal?

I haven't looked at any of the other links yet. But yeah, the idea that kids should be told *not* to have close friends is ridiculous.

EDIT: Okay, now that I've actually looked at the stories in question, I agree that MSN mucked up the rewrite of the Daily Mail story. Murrin's right -- nobody in that story was advocating the policy, other than the unidentified school administrators who supposedly put the policies in place (and given that no specific schools were named, it's starting to smell like a "do you still beat your wife?" story to me). As for the middle school "no hugging" story, the hugging referred to is between students -- and I suspect the principal just got a bellyful of PDAs in the hallway, which, given what I know about that age group, makes sense to me. (For our overseas Watchers, middle schoolers are between 12 and 15 years old, if I'm doing the math right.)

Now then, here's a totally unrelated story from MSN that I can get behind:

now.msn.com/money/0320-swearing-work.aspx

[I'm Murrin]

The Sun's a tabloid that's about as biased and full of shit as they come. Every word tends towards overblown melodrama.

The Daily Mail's just plain malicious.

[Iolanthe]

Now then, here's a totally unrelated story from MSN that I can get behind:

now.msn.com/money/0320-swearing-work.aspx

The "F" word isn't used in our house, and both "children" respect this. Neither I nor my husband have ever used it, and I cringe every time I hear a conversation on the bus where the word is used in every sentence. It is also one reason why I won't now watch television, unless it is a video or DVD. It also gave me some trouble when I read ROTE!

"That" word actually makes my stomach physically squirm when I hear it. No apologies, that's how I feel about it. I can guess what the "S" word is (my daughter used it on the phone the other day and spent five minutes apologising!) but what the A anc C words are I have no idea - AND I DON'T WANT TO (apologies for shouting).

I realise that other people don't feel the same, and if I choose to stay on a forum where the word is used, that's my problem not anyone else's.

[Menolly]

Now then, here's a totally unrelated story from MSN that I can get behind:

now.msn.com/money/0320-swearing-work.aspx

The "F" word isn't used in our house, and both "children" respect this. Neither I nor my husband have ever used it, and I cringe every time I hear a conversation on the bus where the word is used in every sentence. It is also one reason why I won't now watch television, unless it is a video or DVD. It also gave me some trouble when I read ROTE!

"That" word actually makes my stomach physically squirm when I hear it. No apologies, that's how I feel about it. I can guess what the "S" word is (my daughter used it on the phone the other day and spent five minutes apologising!) but what the A anc C words are I have no idea - AND I DON'T WANT TO (apologies for shouting).

I realise that other people don't feel the same, and if I choose to stay on a forum where the word is used, that's my problem not anyone else's.

Thank you, Iolanthe. I am the same way, although unfortunately my husband and father-in-law are not. I cringe when the two of them get together and I listen to their conversations.

Regarding the Watch, I will warn you there are posters here who feel they have the right to "freedom of expression," and the Watch's PG-13 standard allows such words. Try to shrug them off as you can. Most of what is shared here is worth scrolling past such language, IMO.

[I'm Murrin]

The "A" word is barely considered a swear by anyone who isn't a professional censor.

The others aren't words - they're punctuation!

[Ananda]

The "A" word is barely considered a swear by anyone who isn't a professional censor.

The others aren't words - they're punctuation!

What is the "a" word? Also, I saw something on youtube that was american that talked about a "c" word and an "s" word. I had no idea what they were talking about!

[I'm Murrin]

Ass. (To our American friends.)

The S word has been used in this thread already. I could tell you the C word, but "this is a family forum".

[Iolanthe]

The "A" word is barely considered a swear by anyone who isn't a professional censor.

The others aren't words - they're punctuation!

Ass? That's a horse. You mean arse. I had a friend who used to say she had gone "arse over tit" - apologies - meaning she had fallen over.

I have a special word that I say if something happens and I need to let off steam. At the moment it is "pig". Perhaps I should say "Oh comma", or "Oh semicolon" instead?

Thanks for the backup, Menolly. I did wonder whether I would be the only one. My brother in law did once use that word here, but his wife told him off. He hasn't said it again!

[Lefdmae Deemalr Effaeldm]

Spoiler

Ass.

(To our American friends.)

The S word has been used in this thread already. I could tell you the C word, but "this is a family forum".

They could also mean

Spoiler

asshole

, though that's pretty close and perhaps both count as one.

And, please, could you cover these with spoilers? So that those who don't want to see them may not see.

The "A" word is barely considered a swear by anyone who isn't a professional censor.

The others aren't words - they're punctuation!

What is the "a" word? Also, I saw something on youtube that was american that talked about a "c" word and an "s" word. I had no idea what they were talking about!

Of course, there may be more confusion, and I'm not acquainted with any professional censors, but most likely "c" word is

Spoiler

cunt

and "s" word is

Spoiler

slut

Though for all I know some people may use that instead of

Spoiler

shit

[Sorus]

I was raised with the understanding that it was acceptable to swear when you were angry, but unacceptable to use profanity as part of your normal vocabulary. It doesn't bother me when other people use it. I have a tendency to absorb made-up words, which are often more satisfying than the standard ones.

[I'm Murrin]

And, please, could you cover these with spoilers? So that those who don't want to see them may not see.

My kneejerk reaction to this kind of request is "Snape kills Dumbledore", but I'm cruel and sarcastic, and you're probably right.

[Vraith]

how interesting. I'd guess that in the states right now, and for a while, the C word is second only to the N word for offensiveness, and not by much.
But pretty much everyone I know and grew up with uses the F word [and flavorful variations] as often as comma, period, and exclamation point combined except in the most rigid/formal circumstances. For me, it's just instantaneous mood/tone thing...whatever strikes my fancy in the moment without even really thinking about it.

On an amusing, at least to me, note...in an undergrad class, in the middle of a pretty fun debate, the professor jumped in and hushed everybody and very seriously/sternly said "We don't use the W word in this class." We were then informed that it was

Spoiler

"Wrong"

and treated to a mini-rant that was really, all in all, tedious, hypersensitive, and too many words.
Apparently the situation or similar isn't actually that rare, considering the number of times I've heard like tales from other peeps.

[Lefdmae Deemalr Effaeldm]

...

Spoiler

Ass

? That's a horse. You mean

Spoiler

arse

...

Both are used, if I'm not mistaken, that's a local dialect question.

...
I have a special word that I say if something happens and I need to let off steam. At the moment it is "pig". Perhaps I should say "Oh comma", or "Oh semicolon" instead?
...

That may even help the others in the situation get a smile and get over it)

...
Thanks for the backup, Menolly. I did wonder whether I would be the only one. My brother in law did once use that word here, but his wife told him off. He hasn't said it again!

I'm not too avid about it, but I generally don't like such words used, not because I can't stand them though, it's more like I enjoy beautiful language and manner of speech and think in most cases such things don't really improve it; and also that it may spoil the atmosphere, the way some place or company feels. Good we have the spoilers here)

I was raised with the understanding that it was acceptable to swear when you were angry, but unacceptable to use profanity as part of your normal vocabulary. It doesn't bother me when other people use it. I have a tendency to absorb made-up words, which are often more satisfying than the standard ones.

Made-up word like non-swearing ones used for substitutes? Well, that's better at least, and some I've heard are funny on their own)

I don't like swearing for anger though, it seems to me that staying cool and calm and trying to find a way out is usually better, even if nothing can be done already, calmly thinking out what to do with this and how to behave later feels better to me. I usually use and appreciate the use of such words on a specific purpose, like when I answered to Ananda's post, explaining which words those could be.

And, please, could you cover these with spoilers? So that those who don't want to see them may not see.

My kneejerk reaction to this kind of request is "Snape kills Dumbledore", but I'm cruel and sarcastic, and you're probably right.

Maybe it's me being and making everyone use spoilers since I had to at the risk of my post moderated out, PG-13 or no.

how interesting. I'd guess that in the states right now, and for a while, the C word is second only to the N word for offensiveness, and not by much.
...

That's likely not as much because it's swearing, as because it's usually considered racist in one case and sexist in another.

...
On an amusing, at least to me, note...in an undergrad class, in the middle of a pretty fun debate, the professor jumped in and hushed everybody and very seriously/sternly said "We don't use the W word in this class." We were then informed that it was

Spoiler

"Wrong"

...

[I'm Murrin]

You know I never quite get the made-up-swear-word-on-TV thing. Particularly in the cases of words like frell and frack, the word is so neatly swapped, and so very clearly demonstrated to have exactly the same meaning as the substitute word (used in every equivalent context), that they may as well never have swapped it at all, and I'm surprised the censors let it slide on a technicality (reacting not to the meaning, but to the specific word, which seems a bass-ackwards way of censoring).

[Lefdmae Deemalr Effaeldm]

...
bass-ackwards way of censoring).

Maybe the censors get payed for filtering only the specific words and just don't care) Also it may not call for the instinctive unpleasant reaction mentioned by Iolanthe. And some are funny a bit, though not the ones you used as samples.