Curfews

[Torkess_theCommie]

Why can't you have 1/2 of a nationality? Two homes, two parents of different countries, 2 passports. Simple.

notsure

Doesn't make you half, just means you have duel citizenship.

But you can be half a nationality.

[Schme]

You can't be a half citizen. You can be half a nationality.

If, say, you're mother is cree and you're father is white, then you can be. But you can't be, for example, half American and half Canadian.

[Talapus]

You can have citizenship in more then one country.

[Stan]

Sure. For instance, people I work with that aren't Americans...when they have children, the child has dual citizenship. When they're 18 they can decide which country will be their "home" country.

[Nalaris]

And until then they don't get a "home" country?

Schme, I didn't call you a moron, but when someone swears that's my automatic assumption. Fortunately, I know enough about you to know it's not true. I'm officially declaring you a not-moron. Happy?

[notsure]

Nalaris: It kind of feels like that sometimes.

notsure

[Joshuamonkey]

I can't say I really care if you're upset, man. I don't mean to offend in saying that, it's just that it's foolish to be offended by something not meaning to offend you. It's like being personally offended by someone being gay. It makes no sense. Nothing I can do if that's how you choose to be. Again, no disrespect intended.

There is disrespect intended. Saying that there is no disrespect doesn't take away the disrespect. When someone says no offence, but... Usually what they say is offence, and they mean it to be.

Swearing is offensive to my religion. There is no need for swearing, you just like doing it.

[Mykey]

This variant does not approach me. Perhaps there are still variants?

[Joshuamonkey]

Swearing isn't a religion. Not really.

[Nalaris]

Uh...notsure, could you elaborate? I've no idea what you're talking about.

As for swear words...look, they're offensive, that's why they exist. We don't teach our kids 'only use this word when you really mean it', we teach our kids 'don't use this word, it's bad'.

[Joshuamonkey]

Kids are more mature then older people in that area. Some people think they are 'mature' enough to use swear words, but that isn't possible.

~by the way, 400th post.

[west]

As for swear words...look, they're offensive, that's why they exist. We don't teach our kids 'only use this word when you really mean it', we teach our kids 'don't use this word, it's bad'.

Who's "we"? Cuss words are an integral part of any language, and have many rich layers of connotation and meaning. Most English ones are just Ango-Saxon variants of words which in the Romantic thread of our language aren't considered cussing. "pissing" for "urinating", "f*cking" for "copulating", "shitting" for "defecating." Most of them have to do with the biological necessities of life, and making them into swear words serves certain purposes.

1) You're saying that one origin of English words is better than the other. "vulgar" used to mean "common"--the Norman invaders of England spoke French, so they used the French (which became the Romance thread of English) and the conquered used Saxon (Germanic) words. "Don't use vulgarities" means "don't be common" which means "don't speak the language of the conquered".

2) Institutionalizing a prudish distaste for the biological realities of life. By mandating upper-class euphemisms you're perpetuating the mythos that the common people are dirty and animalistic, and "proper" people are squeaky-clean, and were born with neither assholes nor sex organs, and are somehow the better for it.

I, for one, refuse to be bound by that antiquated, classist and racist prohibition.

As for Nalaris' case that swearing in front of him will make him swear, thus making him into a hypocrite: well, Nalaris, this just demonstrates the continued unwillingness of people to take responsibility for their own actions. If you don't believe in using "profanity," you're welcome not to, and you're welcome to ASK people to stop doing it in your presence if you want, but mandating that other people follow a certain moral code just so you won't be offended is ridiculous. How does that make you better than the Taliban, enforcing Sharia law on people who don't want it?

And in any case, boys, you shouldn't be training your kids to do anything. Because you're too young to have kids.

Oh, and Joshuamonkey, who the hell are you to say that anyone who swears is "immature"? No offense, bro, but you're a kid. Those words might come back to bite you in the ass some day.

I'll gladly stop cussin' in your presence if you ask nicely. Something about personal insults and holier-than-thou-ism just sets my hackles up.

[Solfius]

I enjoyed your comments on the origin and cultural significance of expletives, West

[Joshuamonkey]

What matters is what is means now, not the origin of where the word came from.

[west]

Well, that covers the first half of my post. Shall I repeat the other half?