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Wednesday, March 29, 2006
New poll: Americans swear allegiance ... to swearing
Are we living in an Age of Profanity?
Nearly three-quarters of Americans questioned last week -- 74 percent -- said they encounter profanity in public frequently or occasionally, according to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll. Two-thirds said they think people swear more than they did 20 years ago. And as for, well, the gold standard of foul words, a healthy 64 percent said they use the F-word -- ranging from several times a day (8 percent) to a few times a year (15 percent).
And it's not just at the bar. Or on TV. (Or on the Senate floor, for that matter, where Vice President Dick Cheney used the F-word in a heated argument two years ago.)
Irene Kramer, a grandmother in Scranton, Pa., gets her ears singed when passing by the high school near her home.
"What we hear, it's gross," says Kramer, 67. "I tell them, 'I have a dictionary and a Roget's Thesaurus, and I don't see any of those words in there!' I don't understand why these parents allow it."
In that battle, Kramer has a willing comrade: Judith Martin, who writes the syndicated Miss Manners column.
The problem, Martin says, is that people who are offended aren't speaking up about it.
"Everybody is pretending they aren't shocked," Martin says, "and gradually people won't be shocked."
Profanity seems to divide people by age and by sex.
Younger people admit to using bad language more often than older people; they also encounter it more and are less bothered by it. The AP-Ipsos poll showed that 62 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds acknowledged swearing in conversation at least a few times a week, compared to 39 percent of those 35 and older.
More women than men said they encounter people swearing more now than 20 years ago -- 75 percent, compared to 60 percent. Also, more women said they were bothered by profanity -- 74 percent at least some of the time -- than men (60 percent). And more men admitted to swearing: 54 percent at least a few times a week, compared to 39 percent of women.
Wondering specifically about the F-word? (For the record, we needed special dispensation from our bosses just to say "F-word.") Thirty-two percent of men said they used it at least a few times a week, compared to 23 percent of women.
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