The Value of Swearing

I was reading Bob Sutton's blog regarding the "The Evolutionary Value of Swearing", and thought about my own experiences with swearing. 

I was raised with the notion that swearing was always impolite, and that it was never appropriate to cuss in public. It wasn't until the 9th grade when I met and became friends with Tom Amundson, a tall and often angry guy who introduced me to the art of being impolite, through language. Tom was a master of swearing, and his use of the language was the verbal version of a bull(shit) in the china shop.  Tom didn't just use a single swear word, when he swore it was a non-stop shock and awe oil spill of expletives, strung together for maximum impact. Tom's ability to swear was nearly poetic, jazz-like. It was his anti-authority attitude, and his use of slang that opened my eyes not only to swearing, but to language itself. Swearing for Tom was an act of freedom and choice, and it had an affect on the adults around him. I followed Tom's lead, and found that swearing gave me a tool for describing my frustration, blunt instruments dispatched to beat up on the things I saw as unjust, warning flares to teachers and adults that I had my own ideas and to leave me alone. 

But, in the halls of the corporate world, swearing is frequently viewed with muscular destain. One might drop a "shit" here and there in a meeting and most people will not pay much attention to it, however, words used that relate to sex, or sexual behavior with animals or a member of your family will be seen as some kind of crime.  Words are words, it seems to me, but the images they provoke in us seem to be the problem. We can refer to the boss as an "asshole" or a coworker as a "dipshit"  and it's generally not terribly offensive (unless you really like the boss). But drop the fuck-bomb and you'll likely end up with a court date and community service. 

I'll continue to swear amongst my friends, my wife swears with zeal, and my father and I enjoy a long history with slang, particularly as it relates to politics. But I've learned that swearing in a professional setting has little strategic value. I wish it were not so...it would just be a lot easier to call out the bullshit when I see it.