Colorful Language? Keep It Classy, People
Curse like a sailor?
We all have those moments of utter frustration that make us spit out some of the most vulgar words we can conjure up. Sometimes it brings a wave of relief, a rush of serenity, and can make you feel like you’ve gotten your point across THAT much more. Whatever, do as you please, sometimes a good “f*** it” is what you need in a time of stress.
But here’s the catch. We need to be mindful of where we expose our inner sailor, and we really need to watch our language while others are around. Not only can using vulgar language be offensive to others, but it can reflect poorly on ourselves (I know you’re thinking, “thanks, mom” right about now).
Professionalism
What comes out of your mouth is a reflection of yourself. Your voice and your choice of words represent your entire self, so everything you say can be thought of as a vocal resume. You never know who is around you, and the last thing you need is to have one of your professors overhear you speaking vulgarly about school or something pertaining to your life while you’re at the mall.
Sensitivity
We all know those “magic” vocabulary words that are considered politically incorrect; and yet are still tossed around just as freely and commonplace as “like” or “I can’t even.” Not only is throwing around the “f-word” and the “r-word” incredibly offensive, they are used improperly 99% of the time and are just a horrible way to represent yourself. Is it REALLY that difficult to find a better word to use in place of the word “retarded?” Besides the fact that this word is mistaken as a synonym for “stupid,” it’s just disrespectful. The same goes for using the “f-word” (not the four letter one) when trying to insult someone. I do not care what your beliefs are towards the gay community or how much of a baby someone seems to be acting; this kind of language should NEVER be used. Ever. How hard is it to dive into your mental thesaurus and apply a word that actually makes sense and doesn’t completely offend an entire group of people?
Be Aware
It’s never made sense to me how careless some can be about the choice of words they use, nor has it ever made sense to me how unaware some can be about their surroundings when using such vulgar language. Bottom line: you never know who is surrounding you. It could be a future boss, a current boss, and fellow employee, or even a person that a poorly-used word actually pertains to (like a woman with a mentally-challenged brother or a gay man) and therefore offends. We need to start speaking more intelligently and be more mindful about the settings we choose when we absolutely have to let out some steam.
