Kevin's Watch

Office setting, schmoffice setting. Travelin' Guy (the lawyer I've worked for for 15 years) throws F-bombs in the office all the time.

I do agree there's a time and a place for it. I don't swear at work (too often). I didn't swear around the kids when they were younger. And in formal writing, I don't do it at all.

Work in a more corporate setting with an active HR department and see how fast someone that cusses frequently gets an HR complaint and eventually gets let go. Eventually (in a more corporate setting) it will limit your career as you are seen as someone who cant manage yourself. If you cant manage yourself, how can I trust you to manage others?

When I worked for a much smaller company it wasnt a big deal and it was more prevalent. As the company changed from a smallish sized place to a multibillion dollar corporation with literally thousands of employees, that all changed. Not all at once for sure, but change it did.

Linah, AHAAHAHHA I will try it sometime and see how that works out.

Funny story, the company is owned by Italians and some had come down from Italy to check out the new 'returns' center. An Italian is in charge of that center. After the visit I asked him how it went and he said in a very thick Italian accent "We are shit, they said we are shit" I cracked up....apparently it didnt go well.

Haha, one of the reasons I've always tried to avoid corporate environments.

(In my last job, a young chap who fancied himself up and coming did once complain about my swearing during a meeting. The MD told him to grow a pair. )

--A

SB, I hate to break it to you, but the law firm I work for *is* a multibillion-dollar firm with thousands of employees. Worldwide, even. And Travelin' Guy is a partner in the firm, which gives him a bit of leeway. But he was like that even before he made partner.

But in general, I agree with you about swearing in a work environment.

aliantha wrote:SB, I hate to break it to you, but the law firm I work for *is* a multibillion-dollar firm with thousands of employees. Worldwide, even. And Travelin' Guy is a partner in the firm, which gives him a bit of leeway. But he was like that even before he made partner.

But in general, I agree with you about swearing in a work environment.

I didnt say people didnt get away with it. But regardless of who you are, you if you curse a lot, and in front of your employees, you are one or two complaints to HR from finding yourself in deep doodoo. As a lawyer I'm sure he knows that and knows what he can and cant get away with.

Of course I'm not talking about a casual word here or there, but rather someone that finds that they cant get through a sentence without dropping a F bomb.

I think frequent "f-bombs" in casual conversations is worlds different from an abusive tirade against an individual co-worker or department.

I think the latter will wind you in trouble with hr, swearing or no.

Sort of the same with my kids.
I don't want to direct any kind of abusive speech at them, polite or no.
we, I don't think, mind much if a friend who swears a lot in his or her usual social circles says a swear word or two in front of our kids (usually unintentionally).
It's the intent....

Linah Heartlistener wrote:I think frequent "f-bombs" in casual conversations is worlds different from an abusive tirade...

Absolutely agree. I just swear. I don't swear at people, other than people I know well in jest.

--A

Avatar wrote:

Linah Heartlistener wrote:I think frequent "f-bombs" in casual conversations is worlds different from an abusive tirade...

Absolutely agree. I just swear. I don't swear at people, other than people I know well in jest.

--A

Agree.
I HAVE done a tirade or two...[has anyone not?]...but usually when I've done so, intending to harm, the "cuss words" were probably the LEAST offensive/insulting parts...
and I wonder if that might not just be generally true?
I mean...if I shouted at you what a stupid M(*&^R you are, and a fat, useless C(*&47-9R, too---is it really the swearing part that is the bad part/offends you most?

I am in total agreement with this. Abusive language is abusive language, whether it includes cursing or not.

We cuss a whole bunch at the prison. I am by far the worst about it.

sgt.null wrote:I won't take the Lord's name in vain. (JC and GD) and I am not often scatological.

On a tangentially related note, dropping a "jc" or a "gd" is not technically "taking the Lord's name in vain". The act of taking the Lord's name in vain refers to the act of swearing, in front of witnesses, something along the lines of "I swear, as God is my witness, that I will (or will not) do x" when you know, deep down, that you don't really mean it or, after a little while, you revert to doing (or not doing) x and hoping no one notices or mentions it. In other words it means trying to invoke the name of the Almighty to back you up when you aren't being serious or truthful with yourself, much less others.

Another incidental note: his name isn't "Jesus Christ". "Christ" is a title, not a name and "Jesus" is the Anglicanized (or Latinized) version of the Greek version of his name transliterated from the Aramaic. It was more along the lines of "Jeshua", if I recall. My wife knows more about it than I do.
The Almighty's name isn't "God", either. "god" refers to any deity and we capitalize it when referring to Jehovah. The fact that I dare write it down proves that I am not Jewish.

Interesting bit about taking the Lord's name in vain, Hashi. That makes sense, of course. And people in the old days (say, during the Salem witch trials...) certainly weren't backward about suggesting that God damn someone or something they didn't like to everlasting torment, etc. So I see your point that just saying "damn it!" isn't that big a deal.

Hashi Lebwohl wrote:Another incidental note: his name isn't "Jesus Christ". "Christ" is a title, not a name and "Jesus" is the Anglicanized (or Latinized) version of the Greek version of his name transliterated from the Aramaic. It was more along the lines of "Jeshua", if I recall.

It's Yeshua, iirc. And Jesus is a fairly common first name among Mexicans.

Hashi Lebwohl wrote:The Almighty's name isn't "God", either. "god" refers to any deity and we capitalize it when referring to Jehovah. The fact that I dare write it down proves that I am not Jewish.

I'm not sure anybody but Jewish scholars ever learns God's true name, yes? He's referred to as Yahweh, which has been Anglicized/Latinized into Jehovah. I think that's how it works, anyway. I don't think Yahweh is his true name, either.