Assistant Principal -    Pastoral Care

To swear or not to swear

My sister once told me a story about working in an aged care facility and the clients who  developed dementia would sometimes appal their relatives with their use of profane language. The ‘bluest’ of terms would flow readily from their mouths in a tide that swamped the unsuspecting visitors. What was so shocking to the families was that they had never heard their family member utter let alone thought they knew such language. The thinking is that these words have been embedded but repressed within their consciousness and thus the condition unleashes all restraint.

One of the current issues that we face with young people in a school context is the use of expletives, profanities, or vulgarities (take your pick for a formal way of describing swear words). To a large extent our students are a reflection of our society at large, and to be honest it is everywhere.

Twenty years ago The Sopranos first aired on our televisions. Mainstream watching was exposed to the regular use of the ‘f’ and ‘c’ words. Since then there has been a significant increase in the use of such language on television. Films, reality television, comedy routines are now littered with the coarsest of the vernacular. Children grow up hearing and seeing their sporting idols regularly use expletives – even when the sound is muted or bleeped, close up camera shots bring us enraged coaches or frustrated players mouthing their colourful obscenities. Add to this rap music and the uncensored material that the internet has unleashed to children’s phones, ipads and computers. The undeniable fact is that we live in a time when the use of profanities is widespread in our culture.

Interestingly, whilst it may abound in our culture, the legal system still has the capacity to charge and fine individuals for the use of offensive language to the tune of $660 in NSW. Under the Summary Offences Act 1988:

‘4A   Offensive language

(1)  A person must not use offensive language in or near, or within hearing from, a public place or a school. Maximum penalty: 6 penalty units.

(2)  It is a sufficient defence to a prosecution for an offence under this section if the defendant satisfies the court that the defendant had a reasonable excuse for conducting himself or herself in the manner alleged in the information for the offence.

(3)  Instead of imposing a fine on a person, the court:

(a)  may make a community correction order under section 8 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 that is subject to the standard conditions of a community correction order and to a community service work condition (despite the offence not being punishable by imprisonment), or

(b)  may make an order under section 5 (1) of the Children (Community Service Orders) Act 1987 requiring the person to perform community service work, as the case requires.’

A conviction can result in a criminal offence being recorded and thus you now have a criminal record.

Authorities in Australia have long sought to curb the use of such language. In 1788, the first criminal trial in NSW involved a convict who had called soldiers “bloody buggers” and was sentenced to 150 lashes (which I imagine he died from or brought him close to death). During the Victorian era, society became hyper-polite and bodily functions were screened behind euphemistic language – “perspire” for sweating, “making water” for urinating, “confinement” for pregnancy and “accouchement” for giving birth. The prudish period simply masked a darker, repressed society and particularly constrained women into subservient roles. Any woman who swore was treated as a “fallen woman” but today our young women embrace obscenities as much as their male counter-parts.

So the big question about swearing is, ‘why does it matter?’ and replying to teenagers ‘you shouldn’t because I told you so’ simply doesn’t cut it – particularly if we are about educating young people to be independent, empowered, critical thinkers. A very strong, transparent and definitive rationale is required. So here is my attempt … 

As a teacher of English, my thinking around language has been shaped by two key passages. The first comes from a nineteenth century Austrian mathematician and philosopher, Ludwig Wittgenstein who argued that “the limits of my language mean the limits of my world”. In this profound statement he articulates how important language is to influencing our lives. I have always understood him to mean that the more extensive and versatile our use and command of language, the more opportunities it affords us in every aspect of our lives. Relying on profanities to express our anger, frustration or define our interactions with others ‘limits’ and reduces us to narrow and often destructive paths to solving problems. It can lessen us and those we interact with as human beings.

The other was the opening line from an editorial in the Sydney Morning Herald in 1992 – “No-one should ever underestimate the power of words to shape our perception of reality and the behaviour that flows from them.” The editorial was commenting on Keating’s Redfern Park Address where he was the first prime minister to acknowledge that our European ancestors caused irrevocable harm to the first nations people of Australia. The editor was commenting on the racist slurs but it equally applies to sexist, ethnic and homophobic insults as well. I feel that if your vocabulary is littered with ugly obscenities it must skew and warp your “perception of reality” and thus shape your “behaviour” as a consequence. If what you say is repeatedly vile, aggressive and explosive (hence the use of the phrase ‘f-bomb’ to describe one expletive’s impact) then surely this must affect your relationships with others and how you are perceived.

This is not to say that these words do not have a place in our lives – but context is everything. I could never imagine a police officer writing a ticket for offensive language to someone trapped and injured following a car accident. I recall a Friday Night rugby game where a young man dislocated his knee-cap in front of the crowd and as he desperately tried to slap it back into place he let fly with a string of expletives. No one in the crowd was offended because his pain and distress was obvious. Psychologists tend to think that swearing actually helps us tolerate pain – “swearing increases the heart rate and sets off the body’s flight-or-fight response”. Expletives are stored in the frontal cortex which is primarily connected to emotion while ordinary language is found on the left side of the brain – “the parts of our brain that mostly engage with emotions are quicker to respond than the more rational regions of the cortex”. Thus explaining why when we are shocked or surprised by say hitting our thumb with a hammer we tend to respond with an expletive to express our pain. This is where young people need strong guidance – it is not healthy to respond to challenging situations solely from emotion. Taking our time to allow logic and rational thought a place in our decision making is essential if we are to lead a balanced life. If we learn to respond primarily from an emotional position our lives will be distorted and our capacity to navigate life’s complexities will be impaired.

When discussing with one young man his regular use of obscenities, he argued that those offended by his choice of language were “snowflakes”. This metaphor would suggest that he feels the use of expletives are part of the make-up of a ‘hard’ or ‘tough’ individual and that anyone else who does not is ‘soft’ and weak’ and thus not deserving of his respect or consideration. His view of the world seems to be shaped by the highly destructive 'dominate or be dominated’ polarity. Another young person argued that he had learned the terms ‘penis’ and ‘vagina’ in Science and PDHPE therefore it was legitimate for him to use variants of these terms. A perverse turn of logic which is deeply flawed because it fails to acknowledge context and the purpose surrounding the use of language. Furthermore, students learn about war in History this doesn’t legitimate the use of bayonets in the playground.

My experience with young people (and people in general) leads me to two conclusions in this matter. Some people use expletives repeatedly because they feel it is essential to their identity formation as they become an adult. Ironically, the more insecure a person is regarding their sense of self, the more they tend to draw upon some of the most negative attributes of being an adult – one of these being the use of obscenities. The other conclusion I have come to is that some people are deeply self-centred. They care little for how their actions and words impact on others. They tend to believe that their right to express themselves, however they see fit, comes well ahead of the sensibilities or feelings of others. When the two problems coincide in one person you have a toxic fusion that is often destructive of self and those they encounter.

As I have written in the past, one of the core functions of schools is to support young people in developing a secure sense of self. In helping them be confident in who they are as a person by discovering what their interests and passions are; to find their ‘voice’ so that they can express what they believe and why and to give them the skills and foster the dispositions they require to pursue their dreams throughout life. Therefore, I see excessive swearing as an indicator that a young person is struggling with their identity and they need support to help them see that there are more positive qualities that they can embrace if they are to have a fulfilling life.

For the self-centred, they need to learn that civility, courtesy and politeness are the essential ingredients to a civilised community and society. Christine Porath is a professor of management at Georgetown University and has researched extensively the importance of civility in the work place. In a TED Talk she stated:

“Being truly civil means doing the small things, like smiling and saying hello in the

hallway, listening fully when someone's speaking to you. Now, you can have strong 

opinions, disagree, have conflict or give negative feedback civilly, with respect. Some people call it "radical candour," where you care personally, but you challenge directly. So yes, civility pays. In a biotechnology firm, colleagues and I found that those that were seen as civil were twice as likely to be viewed as leaders, and they performed significantly better. Why does civility pay? Because people see you as an important – and a powerful -- unique combination of two key characteristics: warm and competent, friendly and smart. In other words, being civil isn't just about motivating others. It's about you. If you're civil, you're more likely to be seen as a leader. You'll perform better, and you're seen as warm and competent.” 

Therefore, it is important that young people understand that they will achieve much more in life if they are able to be civil and courteous to all they encounter.

Schools are places of enlightenment. They are places where the ideal should be possible and where each person feels safe and secure to explore their potential. This is difficult to achieve when the obscene is thought to be powerful or the vile is considered humorous and the profane is the norm.

Being better every day requires us to be accountable for our words and actions but, most importantly, it requires us to be our best selves. No one can argue that their best self is reflected in language that is offensive, hurtful and ugly.

Mr Mick Larkin - Assistant Principal - Pastoral