[Margaret Pilkington]

Swearing is definitely on the increase.......and I think it is because we(the general public) in the main, accept it.
I do not like swearing. I think it is commonplace, and many women now swear as much as men used to do in the tap rooms in days gone by.

I was on public transport recently when some young men got on the bus. It was apparent that they were going to a football match.
The bus had a varied mix of passengers....youngsters, middle aged men and women and some 'oldies' like me.
The young men effed and jeffed their merry way......without any regard for the children or the women on the bus. They used language that would make a crow blush and was definitely inappropriate for the situation.
I would have like to have gone to them and asked them to moderate their language, as I personally, found it offensive.
My husband dissuaded me from this course of action as he felt they could turn nasty.
So what did I do....I fumed quietly that I had to put up with this...and then I put my earphones in so that I couldn't hear them anymore.

I am sure that we all know the words...and they may have been the common fabric of language back then....but haven't we really devalued ourselves when we use this bad language in other than desperate circumstances?
And isn't it nearly impossible to give our youngsters a good upbringing when they cannot fail to hear this bad language even on TV, radio and in the media?

If the bad language was taken out would the context of the conversation be radically altered?........I think not.