Seriously thoughtful When Reasonable People Take Positions

[GeoffC]

On another note, since when did swearing become part of polite conversation - or otherwise.
We as a family were were quite shocked at the language used on the recent "Apprentice" show.....

[pshrynk]

I was watching something the spousal unit had on last night called Southland. Usually shows will at least veer away from using profanity. This one just bleeps them out. There was another program which was a comedy that used bleeps that lasted maybe five episodes before being cancelled.

[HarryT]

The general rule in the UK is that programmes which start before 9pm are not allowed to have any (real) swearing, but after 9pm (which is called "the watershed" - the time after which children are assumed not to be watching), swearing, full frontal nudity, etc, are all allowed.

[Ceili]

Originally Posted by YGG-

I haven't been specific enough : the case would be while having dinner by one's place (private occurence); & my feeling was our "disagreement" was pretty tame (can I say that?)...My friend's remark really struck me as "you just don't express disagreement w/ your spouse in front of other peole" --now, maybe it's him, but I've heard other comments in the same line.

I remember my parents almost Never arguing where they could be overheard (could be the reason I thought they rarely argued ), at the same time we were told that you didn't argue in public-take it outside and talk in private. We grew up this way and, when we moved to an area where we were the oddity (irish? ahh... interesting) this became a big issue. I actually got Into a fight with a stupid girl because I wouldn't argue with her in front of all her friends That was back in school days and not one of my fondest moments.

Also, possibly a bit off topic, but not... my da had a way of speaking without moving his mouth at all... and it was at those moments we Knew we were in the most trouble No one would see/hear him but us... and that signaled time to escape!

So, maybe cultural, maybe not... but for me it definitely seemed to be.

[ProfJulie]

Probably it is a cultural thing. My mother and father hardly every argued...they just had long, drawn out periods of not speaking at all (I refer to them now as cold wars). Sometimes these periods stretch out over several months and even spanned a year or more...can you imagine?

[zerospinboson]

Originally Posted by ProfJulie

Probably it is a cultural thing. My mother and father hardly every argued...they just had long, drawn out periods of not speaking at all (I refer to them now as cold wars). Sometimes these periods stretch out over several months and even spanned a year or more...can you imagine?

I imagine that's one of the reasons why divorce was legalized some time ago.

[kazbates]

Originally Posted by ProfJulie

Probably it is a cultural thing. My mother and father hardly every argued...they just had long, drawn out periods of not speaking at all (I refer to them now as cold wars). Sometimes these periods stretch out over several months and even spanned a year or more...can you imagine?

Sometimes I wonder if it's a family thing. My husband is from the gentile South where you NEVER argue in public and his family hardly ever voice disagreements with each other. My family is very vocal and boisterous and we discuss EVERYTHING, usually at the top of our lungs!! When I'm angry, I want to talk about it right then and there! My husband always wants to wait until we're behind closed doors (it does give me time to cool of a bit). It took a long time for me to get used to that, but at least he talks to me. His parents and siblings still don't talk about their feelings.

As for the swearing, as a parent of a young child, it is extremely frustrating when we are walking behind a group of young people (and not so young people) and the conversation is peppered with profanity. I always say, "to each his own," but I would hope that people would take into consideration the people around them when they are in public.

Kaz

[tompe]

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

Unfortunately many Americans get a narrow and inaccurate view of ourselves through that same media, and those in other countries often have exactly the same problem. That same media tends to shape our thinking or ourselves and others, depending on what they show us.

I used to watch BBC World News (non American version) all the time. When staying in the US and something happened it was extremely hard if BBC was missing from the hotel to get good reporting that made you understand the background and could place the events in a context. So my conclusion was that if you only watched television news you are better informed about things living in Europe then in the US.