General Chat

Old Betty R near us would give anybody her last penny
She would bend over backwards to help anybody
even though she is in her 90s
Her swearing and cussing would match any troopers

Everybody round here looks beyond her language
and loves her to bits for how kind she is

:-D :-D

good for you, C xxx

I have to admit that, at this very moment, I am on the verge of swearing in a very unladylike, but affectionate way, at my beloved.

He has Parkinson's and has got the 'fidgets' at the moment. He is here, there and everywhere - on every possible chair - constantly crossing in front of the TV which I am trying to watch - and generally driving me nuts! However, I will do my best to maintain some dignity by keeping my mouth zipped! :-D :-D

Guinevere ..........


you are quite correct.

The thread began by asking if "we" were prudes in the sense of disliking overt sex jokes.

It then spread to a dislike of swearing as used by the YOUTH of today


Tourette's, and any other ailment, was not mentioned until Joy asked if any of us had known a Tourette's sufferer.

That was why I originally suggested that raising Tourette's was a bit of a red herring .............. as none of us would ever think of castigating any sufferer of that, a brain injury, or as I cited, a Down's Syndrome boy.


However, I would add that even a severe Tourette's sufferer MAY be able to control the symptoms.

There was a very famous surgeon in the province where I live who had Tourette's, and shook almost uncontrollably in "normal" life, and also often had difficulty controlling his language.

He was able to control his language when seeing patients, and completely controlled his tremors when in the operating theatre. He was very well regarded, and patients would ask to see him despite his problems because they knew that he had some kind of inner control mechanism.

I don't think he or anyone else ever managed to work out how he did what he did!

http://articles.latimes.com/1999/oct/07/entertainment/ca-19590


He was appointed to the Order of Canada in December 2013, and part of the citation read .............

"Dr xxxxx is one of today's appointees to the Order of Canada. The B.C. surgeon is being recognized for his work as a physician and medical educator and for his efforts to raise awareness about Tourette syndrome. He has done all of this while dealing with the symptoms of his own case of Tourette syndrome"

Cynthia (whose thread it is) went on to mention swearing - and most of us understood what she meant.

its was not about swearing either
it was about rube joke to be honest :-D

maybe it should be about people been rude to each other to ;-) ;-)

The thread isn't about Tourette's, though, is it? That was made very clear.

Did you know somebody who is deaf and has Tourette's
will also sign the swear words when communicating :-(

The amount of people swearing is shocking. However some children grow up in an environment where swearing is common place and so from an early age some children learn to use these words in everyday conversation. It doesn't make it right but these children are just copying those who are often their primary care givers.

A two year old child was in my first workplace with his mother and started using a four letter word so mum tells him not to use that word whilst using two other expletives herself to make the point. I know the mother well and she has no medical conditions that may cause swearing.

In my second workplace two mothers come in with their children one aged 14 and one 15 again one of the mothers in her 40s feels the need to use a colourful selection of expletives whilst explaining to her 15 year old what her clothing choices are. Cue shocked look from the other mother and her 14 year old.

Whilst I can acknowledge that Tourette's can be a hidden medical condition I also realise that when there's a group of 6 or more young people walking down the road swearing, the law of averages says that they are highly unlikely to all have this syndrome .

Well this thread took a sharp turn to somewhere bizarre.

I'm very, very old and have never met a single person with the form of Tourette's that makes them swear. The people I see swearing loudly in public are very aware of what they are doing. I think those were the types under discussion.

yes, but Joy was referring to my post ..............................

Sylvia, I was replying to Joy's post, not yours......... ;-)

Joy .............

I was not in any way intending to dismiss Tourette's syndrome

I was trying to point out that I think most of us are now sensible enough to be able to distinguish someone who cannot control their actions or speech because of illness from the idiot people who do it for shock value.

I also know people with Tourette's and brain injuries, etc etc .............. and I assume that most of us are aware enough now to recognise their problems, and to make allowances


The discussion on this thread, I thought, was about swearing by young people who cannot say anything without adding f**k or s**t every other word .............. either because they want to shock people or because they think they have to.

Because of that, I thought that raising the issue of people who cannot control their speech because of illness was a bit of a red herring, largely because I thought most, if not all, of us on here would be aware of that.

I'm sorry if you thought I was "dismissing them", as that certainly was never my intention.

Ah...thank you Det, I was going to mention the Tourettes comment myself.

Those affected by this condition usually also exhibit signs such as tics and involuntary movements. Use of unacceptable language may also be a problem with some.

Obviously, not everyone who swears has Tourettes.


There are very many hidden disabilities unfortunately.

Maybe they have Tourette's or a family member
and didn't like it lightly dismissed

I know somebody who had a massive heart attack
and swear uncontrollable due to brain damage
not visible till they open their mouths

because people swear for what ever reason it does not make them a bad person

DET is quite correct

I said that I thought that citing Tourette's syndrome was a bit of a red herring in the current discussion of swearing.

............. and that I thought that most of us were now aware enough to be able to distinguish between someone who has an illness such as Tourette's, or the Downs syndrome man I see on the bus who uses swear words incessantly, and to ignore that, from the ones who are using swear words for shock value.


I guess someone did not like what I said!

Or I hit a sore spot.


Bob ............. I don't see how someone with COPD or emphysema fits into what I said .......

........ yes, it is invisible until oxygen tanks have to be carried, but it does not so far as I know cause uncontrolled swearing.


I also have an "invisible" disease ............... I have severe OA, and a deteriorating spine, but you wouldn't know it to look at me, apart from the fact that I now use a cane to help me walk. I may swear inwardly at times as the pain gets bad, but I don't vocalize, at least not in public!

most definitely, Joy,

Emphysema COPD (for one)is not visible

in that case
I must say not all disability's are instantly visible to the on looker

No - it was politely commenting about Joy's statement re Tourettes swearing. The comment was along the lines that most of us can identify those who swear because they have Special Needs/a Syndrome, and those who think its 'clever' or know no difference