A Bunch of Crap
Long before newsrooms became more subdued in the age of political correctness, shouting and cursing were the norm. F-bombs would fly freely, especially as deadlines and show times approached. I’ve always tried to avoid cursing but I must admit that I do from time to time. Never on television, of course!
Anchoring in HK, where I learned Chinese swear words!
When I worked at TVB News in Hong Kong, I anchored the English-language newscasts but the newsroom operated mainly in Chinese. Boy, did I learn a lot of new Chinese words that my parents never taught me. In fact, the terms are so crude I can’t even write about them here. How interesting to experience the same newsroom culture but in a different language.
These days, “crap” is my crutch pseudo-swear word but I am clearly overusing it. I heard my tween daughter use it casually last week. Crap!
So today my marketing pal, Jeff Willinger, told me to try a made-up swear word that he picked up: “shinnamon”. WTF kind of word is “shinnamon”?!?! I told him to try, “Shut the front door!” But why are we trying to rely on alternatives? The actual words are implied.
Let’s all try to refrain from using such language. And don’t curse me out for trying!
Wow here is a subject that is near but not to dear to my heart. I work in construction. So as you can guess in the heavily organized labor world that I am a part of Cursing is just a normal part of your vocabulary. You have to learn the many use’s of a F bomb you need to know that it is a Noun, it’s a Verb it’s a Adverb well it is used in just about every part of a sentence that you can think of. You need to quickly learn these things so that your not offended when you hear it. And that’s just the tip of it.
Its funny that you mention Chinese, As my wife is Korean and much to her dismay I have learned so many ways to say well things that do not translate to English but WOW the meaning does. I guess that 25 years of living and learning the culture you pick up the nuances of there profanity. So to Heck with Political correctness Let the F bombs fly. Oh yeah you need to learn how to leave that all on the job so when you get home your not cursing up a storm.
This is a great site you have keep up the great work
Methinks you learned a few words on NYC too. Oh yeah, that was me learning them from you!
haha…Ok, so far I have yet to hear Jeff Willinger say “shinnamon”. So maybe I’ve only been around him on good days. But I’ve heard you say “crap” before…lol And if you ever swear in Cantonese I would seriously laugh. You would be surprised that I know quite a lot myself.
Having spent 13 years in a firehouse, I’ve heard(and said) some pretty disgusting things. But once my daughter was born, and she was learning to talk, repeating what she heard was her vocabulary. Imagine my surprise when I had to use the horn at someone and my daughter yelled “Watch where you’re going you a******!. My using profanity stopped pretty quick!
FUDGE! hehehhee….
Love this article as it pokes fun on the empowerment of using profanity to express ourselves more profoundly. Or so we think. I think that it is kind of funny and sad at the same time that we indulge in these profanities that we have forsaken the power of words until spoken by our offsprings or even nephews/nieces.
I have used and abused CRAP in my house also and trying to find ways to refrain from it also. It is just like sprinking salt or reaching readily for the soy sauce even before we even taste it.
A bad habit.
And since I am into the visual arts, I find that understating things is a better way to express our thoughts, ideas and emotions but the immediacy of F’ing up and blurting out F words can be quite a release. But I don’t say those….only when I used to work with a bunch of quasi-sailors even in the office.
But yes, perhaps we can refrain from using the F bombs and say:
AAAAARRRGGHHHH!
Back to our primordial and neanderthal ways. hehehehe