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I always thought it was God Damn that was considered curse words (Original Post) edhopper Jan 2020 OP
I'm glad to know that, god damn it! dchill Jan 2020 #1
When I was a kid I was not allowed to say "damn," The Velveteen Ocelot Jan 2020 #2
I wasn't even allowed to say shut up. LakeArenal Jan 2020 #3
That, too. "Shut up" was very rude and I'd be reprimanded The Velveteen Ocelot Jan 2020 #4
Unknowingly my mother suffered from mental illnes LakeArenal Jan 2020 #5
Reminded me of my grandma's view on the subject The Genealogist Feb 2020 #9
Damn was verboten in our house - God Damn even moreso rurallib Feb 2020 #10
Yep, I knew - A Missouri Synod Lutheran pastor once Backseat Driver Jan 2020 #6
70 years ago my brother called me a dumb ass in front of my parents. Midnight Writer Jan 2020 #7
This message was self-deleted by its author Iggo Feb 2020 #12
There are numerous categories. Igel Jan 2020 #8
Well, god damn. Iggo Feb 2020 #11

The Velveteen Ocelot

(115,702 posts)
2. When I was a kid I was not allowed to say "damn,"
Fri Jan 31, 2020, 02:04 PM
Jan 2020

or "hell," or especially "goddamn." My family was not at all religious but those words were considered vulgar and nice people didn't say them.

The Velveteen Ocelot

(115,702 posts)
4. That, too. "Shut up" was very rude and I'd be reprimanded
Fri Jan 31, 2020, 02:07 PM
Jan 2020

if I said it to my little brother, which I did often.

LakeArenal

(28,817 posts)
5. Unknowingly my mother suffered from mental illnes
Fri Jan 31, 2020, 02:15 PM
Jan 2020

Forever.
They didn’t know how to treat her so they filled her up with Valium. She was very temperamental. Once at about 11 I told her I hated her during a heated argument.

She pretty much went off the deep end. I can tell you I never said I hated anyone after that she scared (scarred) me that much.

The Genealogist

(4,723 posts)
9. Reminded me of my grandma's view on the subject
Sun Feb 2, 2020, 10:55 AM
Feb 2020

There were certain words that one didn't say because they were vulgar--common--and it was beneath a nice person's station in life to use them.

rurallib

(62,416 posts)
10. Damn was verboten in our house - God Damn even moreso
Sun Feb 2, 2020, 10:13 PM
Feb 2020

Then the government built a dam outside of town and at @ 7YO I was kind of confused.

Backseat Driver

(4,392 posts)
6. Yep, I knew - A Missouri Synod Lutheran pastor once
Fri Jan 31, 2020, 02:20 PM
Jan 2020

told me that any words that replace GD, including that acronym, would be breaking the commandment to refrain from taking the name of the Lord in vain, i.e., Gosh Darn it, Gee whiz, Dang it all, Holy Smoke, etc...

Midnight Writer

(21,767 posts)
7. 70 years ago my brother called me a dumb ass in front of my parents.
Fri Jan 31, 2020, 03:29 PM
Jan 2020

He still talks about the whipping he got.

Of course, he blames me, because if I wasn't a dumb ass he wouldn't have said it.

Response to Midnight Writer (Reply #7)

Igel

(35,309 posts)
8. There are numerous categories.
Fri Jan 31, 2020, 08:56 PM
Jan 2020

Cursing somebody is asking, even implicitly, that God judge and punish them or at treat them badly. "Damn you" has "God" buried in the meaning, since ultimate judgment isn't up to man. "Damn" is "condemn" (same -demn bit in there), and you're basically asking God to revoke somebody's salvation and sentence them to hell for eternity.

Taking God's name in vain is just using his name in a way that makes no reference to him per se or involves him. "God, that toilet needs cleaning." I'm sure that in saying that, you'd not be telling God anything that he either didn't know or had no interest in knowing. It's abuse of the name, not the person. In the interests of not engaging in this completely by accident, some write "G-d" just in case somebody abuses the name--perhaps by spilling coffee on the paper. It's like saying "al hamdu lillah" over and over, it becomes a meaningless express. So I knew atheists who learned and used it but would never, in English, permit "God bless you" for a sneeze or "thank God" to be left unchallenged; and who were greatly chagrined to learn that they'd been saying "praise to God", and then okay with it since the divinity-portion of the phrase was bleached to meaninglessness.

Blasphemy is another kettle of fish, and that's insulting God.

Profanity would be a fourth thing, and that's just using words that are profane, often scatological. "Hey, dickhead, what the hell you asshole doing fucking with that shit for?" No cursing, no taking God's name in vain, no blasphemy. Just being crude for the sheer sake of being offensive, showing anger, often exaggerated and uncalled for, at people just because they are.

Then there are truly taboo words, where you can't even quote other people's use of them or say, "Okay, team, don't ever say _____" without being accused of insulting vast numbers of people with obvious intent to wound. Unless, of course, you're admitted to the club of those authorized to say it because you're beyond judgment.

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