The fall of Humanity?: A12 year Old Little Leaguer Swore on Tv??!!!

[tucsoncoyote]

Related Link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14468687/

Okay now this really shows how far sports and more importantly Humanity has slid when you read this story.. (and seeing the incident really makes Janet Jackson's Wardrobe Malfunction Look tame by Comparison).

It was during the Little League playoffs in Williamsport VA, that a 12 year old member of the baseball team from Staten Island New York, swore and dropped an "F-bomb" on national TV.. but what followed afterward really wasn't very coach like on the grounds of the coach of the team.. What he did was severely discipline his player with a bit of a slap.

Now this really shows how far humanity has really slid. A pre-teen who's probably never been on a date, let alone kiss a girl, swearing like a drunken sailor with Tourette's Syndrome right in front of a live mike, all because his team got caught in a "Double play". (oh sure he (the player) apologized for it later as did the coach (for the slap), but still the damage has been done.

I mean when I was growing up playing little league baseball, we never really did swear, unless you count "Aw shoot" and "Dagnabit" as swear words. But to drop an F-bomb right on public tv and right in front of an open mike? Makes you wonder if this kid should have been hauled off the bench, taken to the local restroom, and had his mouth washed out with soap...

So my question to the folks out there in TZ land, do you think little league baseball should clean up their act? Or was this just an isolated incident?

After all remember this: some of those little league players eventually will grow up one day to be major league players and if this is representative of anything, well it shows that for a pre-teen this kid definitely had a potty mouth, and the reason for all this? It's because his team got caught in a "Double Play" and put the team in a tight pickle being only down by one run in the bottom of the 9th inning. (but hey like people comment that some shows are "Just Cartoons" Well Little league is "Just a game" (but the way the kid said it, it was very "Expletive Deleted..")

So let's hear Your thoughts on this. After all what's this world coming to when a kid swears on live TV in front of a Public viewing audience who are supposed to think that Little league is supposed to be a "Clean sport"..(Yeah right...)


:coyote:

[Captain Zechs]

Well, to be fair I started cussing at around 5th grade, and what can we expect? When all that comes out nowadays are movies that have little kids dropping words like that. Honestly, if he had no problem cussing there, that most likely means he had no problem cussing at all, so Im assuming his parents knew he had such a mouth. If so, they should have tried to stop it, if not they are not to blame. But honestly, kids should know better, if they are going to cuss, okay, but it's where they cuss thats the problem, there are times where its okay (to an extent) and times where it is absolutely not needed. But then again, in a perfect world there would be no cussing.

[Eddie G.]

Calm down, it's just a curse word. Twelve year olds curse all the time and always have. The f-word isn't some new invention, it's been around for centuries and people have always used it and always will. It's a fun word to say.

[tucsoncoyote]

Calm down, it's just a curse word. Twelve year olds curse all the time and always have. The f-word isn't some new invention, it's been around for centuries and people have always used it and always will. It's a fun word to say.


Okay, Eddie, but still this was a 12 year old baseball player, swearing or rather complaining to his team on National Television about this double play issue by using an F-bomb.. right in front of Millions of TV Viewing people (not just maybe a few kids and possibly a couple of parents or teachers on a school ground, but rather an entire viewing audience) who were probably sitting there in shocked horror, saying "What kind of Manners does this kid have? Who the (Bllep is this kid's parents? and why the (Bleep), is his saying this in a very unsportsman like manner in of all places a (Bleep)ing baseball game? is this what we (Bleep)ing expect from a 12 year old basball player?"


Frankly if yoiu read the article that I showed, it shows one story where the author relates a story about a friend's daughter who is literally shouting f-bombs in the middle of grocery store the next day, right in front of a bunch of senior citizens..(oh yeah and the child was only ... 2 years old! (not 12 mind you Eddie, but just 2 years old.)

Now a 2 year old I will say this.. They will repeat anything like a trained parrot. (Why? because their yet to form "Formative" minds just tend to pick anything up and everything they hear, and they tend to repeat it like a parrot on a pirate's shoulder), and they (Childrean at 2 years of age), don't have the cognative skills to know right from wrong. (heck even at 6 years of age, they startt to learn right from wrong. in fact cognitive skills usually start to form around 7 or so.

(But let's get back to our 12 year old baseball player here who's cognitive mind has already formed and is tossing this or rather, these words out indiscriminately like he's some tough talking street punk. I mean if you ever watch the tape he says this to his coach, like he's some tough Turk 182 and doesn't care that first off this is a game, but second off, he also doesn't realize that he's doing this on national TV, where all his friends, family and even complete potential people who might hire him one day as either a baseball player, or a clerk or even an administrative assistant, are watching this.

I mean have you (Eddie) or anyone hired a person with a foul mouth? Have you ever watched as they tear apart a customer or lambasted a fellow worker in a fit of frustration by shouting expleitive deletes that others in the office room can hear? No? then that's what you get when you get a sass mouth talking 12 year old, who's making a complete jerk of himself on national TV. I mean I can see this kid 10 years from now, Applying for a job, as an administrative assistant, and the reviewer for the job is reading over this kid's resume, and he sees that he was a little leaguer playing for Staten Island and he recognizes him as the kid who swore on national TV.

I can see this comment or conversation come up:

Interviewer: "So Mr. (Name) I see you were on the 2006 Little League baseball team for Staten Island, (Pauses for a moment), say were'n't you the person who said "We're down one (Bleep)ing run for (Bleep)ing sakes!"

I can see this kid in that office who is trying to actually act professional to land himself a 30,000 dollar (or more a year) Job admitting to this). I mean can you imagine this now 22 year old professional spouting this off to the interviewee?

(Person trying to get a job): Yeah? So what the (Bleep) is it to you that I'm that (Bleep)ing kid who said that 10 years ago?"

What do you think the employee interviewer will do? Just look the other way? Nope... he'll say to the person, "We'll Will let you know if you get the job. Thank you for youir time.", at which point the interviewer shakes hands with the person, and let the interviewee out of the office and then look at the next Potential person who might have better communication skills.

see this is what I am saying, oh sure some of us get frustrated, some of us get angry and upset, but when a 12 year old goes in and starts swearing on National TV to a live audience that his team is down by one (Bleep)ing Run, well believe me no one ignores a comment like that..a lot of times they hear it and will consider that the person is immature. and maybe so Immature that they will think that the person sitting before them isn't a 22 year old professional who's got 2 degress in business administration, but rather

They'll think of the person as a immature spoiled little 12 year old brat..

I mean does anyone want to babysit a 12 year old professional brat in their company, as he lambastes fellow employees in the company by calling them (Bleep) heads? I think not.

Nuff Said.

Edited note: the (Bleeped ) words I added in for Dramatic effect rather then to make a point but it's all part of what would or might happen... But then this is just to make a point.. about how people are acting in today's world where people just blurt out expletives even when the thing they are trivializing is a simple little baseball game.)


:coyote:

[Eddie G.]

Okay, Eddie, but still this was a 12 year old baseball player, swearing or rather complaining to his team on National Television about this double play issue by using an F-bomb.. right in front of Millions of TV Viewing people (not just maybe a few kids and possibly a couple of parents or teachers on a school ground, but rather an entire viewing audience) who were probably sitting there in shocked horror, saying "What kind of Manners does this kid have? Who the (Bllep is this kid's parents? and why the (Bleep), is his saying this in a very unsportsman like manner in of all places a (Bleep)ing baseball game? is this what we (Bleep)ing expect from a 12 year old basball player?" It's just a word. The kid's twelve, he can be a sore loser sometimes, so what? He probably worked really hard and was dissapointed that he lost, he has a right to be a little sore for a little bit.


Frankly if yoiu read the article that I showed, it shows one story where the author relates a story about a friend's daughter who is literally shouting f-bombs in the middle of grocery store the next day, right in front of a bunch of senior citizens..(oh yeah and the child was only ... 2 years old! (not 12 mind you Eddie, but just 2 years old.)

Now a 2 year old I will say this.. They will repeat anything like a trained parrot. (Why? because their yet to form "Formative" minds just tend to pick anything up and everything they hear, and they tend to repeat it like a parrot on a pirate's shoulder), and they (Childrean at 2 years of age), don't have the cognative skills to know right from wrong. (heck even at 6 years of age, they startt to learn right from wrong. in fact cognitive skills usually start to form around 7 or so.I don't get your point here.

(But let's get back to our 12 year old baseball player here who's cognitive mind has already formed and is tossing this or rather, these words out indiscriminately like he's some tough talking street punk. I mean if you ever watch the tape he says this to his coach, like he's some tough Turk 182 and doesn't care that first off this is a game, but second off, he also doesn't realize that he's doing this on national TV, where all his friends, family and even complete potential people who might hire him one day as either a baseball player, or a clerk or even an administrative assistant, are watching this.He's twelve, nobody's going to care or remember it. He's twelve.

I mean have you (Eddie) or anyone hired a person with a foul mouth? Have you ever watched as they tear apart a customer or lambasted a fellow worker in a fit of frustration by shouting expleitive deletes that others in the office room can hear? No? then that's what you get when you get a sass mouth talking 12 year old, who's making a complete jerk of himself on national TV. I mean I can see this kid 10 years from now, Applying for a job, as an administrative assistant, and the reviewer for the job is reading over this kid's resume, and he sees that he was a little leaguer playing for Staten Island and he recognizes him as the kid who swore on national TV. Where I work we curse all the time. My bosses curse in front of me and I curse in front of them.

I can see this comment or conversation come up:
No, this would never happen in the history things that will ever happen.

[Shawn Hopkins]

I just don't see what the big ****in' deal is.

[Shawn Hopkins]

And remember, they were down by one run in the -bottom of the ninth-. It's not like he didn't have something to be upset about. I said **** the last time that happened to my local minor league team, and I wasn't even on the team.

[K-S-O]

A kid swearing on TV is the fall of humanity?! :confused:

I think you're overreacting to the situation here. Kids swear a lot these days, on and off television. You may not like it but that's the reality.

[Dr. OneWay]

. . . . I'm truly not suprised, nor devasted. Kid's are always swearing these days. Get over it :\

[solarflere]

Overreacting in an understatement. There was a time when a word like pregnant was not allowed on TV. Now words like "Son of a B**ch" are in a PG13 movies. Society is changing. Live with it and get over it. It will continue to happen no matter what.

[Eddie G.]

Kids have always swore, period. They swore when I was a kid and they swore when my dad was a kid.

[Zubby]

I honestly cannot see why anyone could possibly care about this at all. Had I seen it I would have laughed for a second then completely forgotten about it.

Besides, swearing will not be the downfall of humanity.
However, working up a bunch of moral outrage towards a 12 year old who said one possibly objectionable word might set that ball rolling.

[Bubbagump]

I guess I'm in the minority here but I agree with the topic creator. If a kid that young knows how to swear like that and I had a kid in that league you can be sure I'd be calling up the coach AND the boy's parents. Who wants to be exposed to that kind of garbage at such a young age anyway? Maybe I'm too old fashioned but we NEVER did anything like that when I was growing up. Shame on that kid! :mad:

[KuwabaraTheMan]

Are you just out of touch? 12 year olds 'knowing that word'?

When I was 12 and younger me and my friends used the f-bomb and words even worse on a regular basis.

Not in front of parents, of course. But seriously. Kids swear. A lot. Get over it.

[staticblue]

I dont think the big issue is the fact that he dropped the F word. I think the big issue is, society is getting so indesncent these days that they will let anything slide. and that fact that he did it shows that he's probably not a respectful child in pulic off the field. It is true that children curse. Im 22 and I remember cursing when I was younger. But there was no way I was gonna do that in front my parents or other adults. Nowadays young people dont show repsect for anything. And it seems there parents arent trying to curve theur behavior either. This is why we have kids growing up to become chid rapist and serial killers. this is why we have teenagers today shooting up schools.

[Marinite]

My friend's little brother and all his friends started swearing when they were 10. So this is really nothing new, but the fact it was on TV probably shocked a lot of people because of either the whole Janet Jackson thing or this is their first time seeing a kid swear. When you have lots of adult shows on TV, it's kind of hard for kids not to hear these words.

[TheMecca]

12 year olds say the F word all the time.
Hell, I did.

[Dr. OneWay]

I dont think the big issue is the fact that he dropped the F word. I think the big issue is, society is getting so indesncent these days that they will let anything slide. and that fact that he did it shows that he's probably not a respectful child in pulic off the field. It is true that children curse. Im 22 and I remember cursing when I was younger. But there was no way I was gonna do that in front my parents or other adults. Nowadays young people dont show repsect for anything. And it seems there parents arent trying to curve theur behavior either. This is why we have kids growing up to become chid rapist and serial killers. this is why we have teenagers today shooting up schools.

I dunno about the killers thing, but yes, kid's these days are less respectful to EVERYONE, not just adults, and end up having a bad adulthood. But we don't know that kid. Maybe he's a very respecful fellow, but just couldn't take it anymore and yelled the f-bomb. Truly, I have had those moments where I feel as if I'm gonna explode, but I have chosen wiser routes. Even good kids can seem un-characteristic at times. And TRUST ME, sometimes the parents try all they can. My brother skipped a lot in high school, he drove a car while drinking when he was 14, and he smoked pot in the basement. My parents tried everything they could to stop him, but he did it anyway. Don't blame the parents. Some of them do try. My parents taught all three of us well, but my one brother failed to care. Sometimes it's the kid who can't see what their doing is wrong, not the parents. :/

EDIT: Oh, and by the way, he turned out fine. He lives in Philly with his girlfriend, and graduated college, and he has I good-paying job. No killer in that :P

[Czar Gato]

I was going to say that you were overreacting and all that, but it appears everyone else already said that. I definitely recall hearing other kids say "naughty" things when I was younger than twelve. Like staticblue mentioned, I'm more surprised when kids say that kind of thing in front of their parents (my friends and I were all very careful about when and where we ran our mouths of as kids), but in this case he was probably upset and "caught in the moment", so to speak.

Personally I get much more annoyed when very young kids- like, before preschool- parrot curse words and their parents act all "omg shoxxorz!", when these kids are so young that almost all of their exposure to such language would be limited to their parents and siblings, maybe television. Parents need to watch what they say around their young ones more and make sure their older children do as well.

[straw_hat]

You can declare the fall of humanity when we all start having to live underground due to nuclear fallout. Until then something as a kid saying the f word on TV is extremely petty.

[peacebyanymeans]

I dunno. This is a serious situation here.

I mean, god-forbid a word is spoken.

This is big, big news. Total disaster it is. Israil/Lebanon war? Phhh... Iran and North Korea aquiring nuclear weapons? Big whoop. 12-year-old kid says a naughty word on TV. OMG! OTHER TWELVE-YEAR-OLDS COULD BE HEARING WHAT THEY ALREADY HEARD BEFORE! OH NOES!

[tucsoncoyote]

See this is why I love setting up these kind of talkbacks. It does make some people think. It also makes people act with emotion. but the issue is like CatDogfan pointed out. It's a question as not to why the kid dropped the F-bomb per se, but rather why in the world was he being disrespectful to not only his coach, but also to his teammates as well (and to public in general.

After all you got to think also about the other issues at hand. and I'm going to bring a few up right now. It seems that Competition in today's world is a "Win at any cost" Issue. It's that you either win or you don't and it seems that when you lose you have a tendency to put the issue out in the means of frustration.

Now Frustration here is a key factor . Granted the 12 year old was frustrated that his team ground into a double play. but Taking that frustration out on his team mates verbally was almost like walking into a dugout with a baseball bat and just waylaying the people who messed up..

And this brings up the issue here of another factor. Disgruntled athletes and disgruntled workers. I mean for those who work does you boss beat you over the head with a base ball bat, or yell at you if you mess up? Of course not. They tend to try and reprimand you on your actions and try to do it in a constructive manner.

Now Let's take a look here at this incident from a different point.. the Player who said this really was way out of line sure he voiced his frustration, but then what did the coach do to reprimand him? The answer is this.. he hit/pushed the kid... bad idea.. In fact just recently in a baseball game (and this was a Major league game (not some little league issue) a Manager and a Player (a Pitcher) were at odds with each other. The Player thought he was in the right, where as the Manager who is the guy who thinks a lot about what to do, tells the pitcher he needs to be replaced. the end result of this cause the Pitcher to storm off the field in a huff. and then as the Manager followed this guy to the shower to cool him down, instead did something that caused the pitcher to go off and to attack the manager. (Or supposedly attack him.. details on this are still a bit sketchy.)

Now put both of these in context here.. in one case the Player vented his frustration and the coach (Inappropriately) reprimanded him in the other the Play vented yet again and the Manager (Appropriately) Reprimanded him.. and got jumped in the process.

Imagine if Scenario one had happened but instead of the 12 year old getitng pushed or if he was pushed, retailiating and taking it out on the coach that inappropriately reprimanded him with a metal bat... Seems that this goes from just a simple misreprimanding to a brutal beating does it not?

After all there's an old saying that I hear a lot.. 'Usually when push comes to shove, then shove comes to armageddon' (And this applies whether is' baseball, business, or downright Military conflict... (And this goes out to peacebyanymeans who is worried that the world will come to an end. (After all All those "Oh noes" might eventually become .. See what happens when something is misspoken that it comes to a shove and then the other person shoves back and then the next thing you know.. the nukes start flying..

So in the end, a small incident like this turns into a major conflagration without even as much as a reason to do so.

Get the idea? good.

:coyote:

[Eddie G.]

The kid was angry. People get angry. It's human nature and they curse when they get angry. It happens, it's not a big deal, nor is it a reflection of anything really wrong with society.

My friend's little brother and all his friends started swearing when they were 10. So this is really nothing new, but the fact it was on TV probably shocked a lot of people because of either the whole Janet Jackson thing or this is their first time seeing a kid swear. When you have lots of adult shows on TV, it's kind of hard for kids not to hear these words.If you've been a kid though then you've heard kids swear. Kids curse, get into fights, and eventually experiment with sexuality. It has nothing to do with the media, it's human nature. Anyone who says that kids didn't curse when they were kids is either lying, or just doesn't remember.

The problem with our society is that we treat movies and TV and something that accurately represented the timeperiod it was created in. Just because things like drugs, violence, cursing, and sex outside of marriage weren't shown in the media doesn't mean they didn't happen.

[Romanesque]

I guess the "everyone does it, so it's ok" mentality has officially won...
(Eh, what am I talking about? It won long, long ago.)

--Romey

[Eddie G.]

I guess the "everyone does it, so it's ok" mentality has officially won...
(Eh, what am I talking about? It won long, long ago.)

--RomeyThe thread was calling this the downfall of humanity meaning that at one point in recent history kids didn't curse, or get mad, which is just untrue.

Beyond that, there is a difference between defending an action because it's part of human nature and defending an action because other people do it. People going along with the Holocaust and opression of Jews and minorities in Germany is a case of group mentality causing people to let something disgusting happen. A twelve year old calling homosexuals **** and black people ******* with malicious intent is a case of group mentality. While people accepting that twelve year olds curse when they get mad is more a case of not being a drama queen and taking mankind for what it is instead of having it live up to some impossible standard.

Anger is part of human nature, you can't stop it. Sure it's nice to have a control on your emotions and be cool, but sometimes you just lose your cool and as long as you're able not too hurt others and apologize later then there really isn't anything wrong with it.

[Mr. Pedro]

You know it's a slow hurricane season when TC envisions the fate of the World hanging on the words of some 12-year old brat causes a tussle with his Bobby Knight-wannabe coach.

I suppose we should all be hoping for something a little more benign like war, AIDS, poverty or famine. :rolleyes:

[Romanesque]

The thread was calling this the downfall of humanity meaning that at one point in recent history kids didn't curse, or get mad, which is just untrue.I'm aware. Based on this one incident, the "downfall of humanity" reaction isn't deserved, but excusing the kid's behavior isn't any better. The majority has already responded their way; I didn't see a need to repeat what's been said.

Beyond that, there is a difference between defending an action because it's part of human nature and defending an action because other people do it.As far as this thread is concerned, I fear I haven't seen that distinction.

Anger is part of human nature, you can't stop it. Sure it's nice to have a control on your emotions and be cool, but sometimes you just lose your cool...You can't stop human nature, but you can manage it. Twelve year olds will get angry, yes. Twelve year olds will lose their cool, yes. Human nature and a child's lack of adult self-control are explanations, but neither is an excuse.

So far, I've read all the responses here as excuses. People don't see anything wrong with swearing. "Everyone does it." Honestly, I don't think the (relatively) modern acceptance of swearing is the problem. It's the attitude behind it. My ever-saintly great grandmother used to swear like a sailor, as she always did, but the attutide behind and toward the language was nothing at all like what I see today.

--Romey

[Eddie G.]

I'm aware. Based on this one incident, the "downfall of humanity" reaction isn't deserved, but excusing the kid's behavior isn't any better. The majority has already responded their way; I didn't see a need to repeat what's been said.

As far as this thread is concerned, I fear I haven't seen that distinction.No, you're not reading things in the right context. Think of it this way, if someone says the spread of STDs have increased in the last half-a-century. This is a false statment because new STDs have been acknowledged in the last fifty years or so it only makes it seem like there has been a rise in STDs. Now, just because I'm saying that STDs have always been around, doesn't mean I still don't think they're a problem. I'm just saying that the initial statment is inncorrect.

The OP's post said that humanity is on some downfall because we all curse now, even little kids. This is just not true.

You can't stop human nature, but you can manage it. Twelve year olds will get angry, yes. Twelve year olds will lose their cool, yes. Human nature and a child's lack of adult self-control are explanations, but neither is an excuse.No, anger is natural, to deny anger goes against humanity. I'm not saying that it's okay to hurt others, or to be angry all the time. This kid said **** because he worked really hard, failed, and needed some release. He didn't hurt anyone, he didn't yell at anyone, he just said that they needed on more run. It was a slip of tongue. It doesn't need an excuse because there is nothing to excuse.

So far, I've read all the responses here as excuses. People don't see anything wrong with swearing. "Everyone does it." Honestly, I don't think the (relatively) modern acceptance of swearing is the problem. It's the attitude behind it. My ever-saintly great grandmother used to swear like a sailor, as she always did, but the attutide behind and toward the language was nothing at all like what I see today.Okay, simply tell me this, what did the kid do wrong? Don't give me any lecture about humanity in general or whatever, just tell me what this specific kid did wrong.

[AnimatedSnow47]

As an optimistic humanist, it certaintly isn't the downfall of humanity.

However, I do agree with the poster that it is a sad thing. I know I'm in the extreme minority here, but I'm 21 and have never said that word, even in private. It's been over a decade since I've cursed (last time was when I thought a tornado was going to hit my house, so it was excused by my parents) and I don't plan on cursing any more.

Firstly, there are millions of G-rated words in the English language! Break out of the norm and use them! Plus, this being an animation site, I'm surprised other's haven't done as I have and used animation exclamations like 'Jenkies!' or the like as obsecenity replacements. I also like to talk like a Pokemon (a few loud 'Pika! Pikas' are great for venting anger harmlessly.

Second, as part of being a good person--and a gentleman. It's just classy to not drop the f-word or the a-word in every sentence like so many of my peers are fond of doing. I don't think people are bad just because they use the occasional bad word, but I just personally don't use them at all. And, nearly everyone I talk to (except for a few villianous bullies, natch) says its a good thing.

So, I say thumbs up to all who don't use those naughty words! :)

[SAMaine]

In reality, this isn't the fall of humanity, as humanity has gotten better over time. However, this IS pretty sad. Sure, kids have cussed as far back as cussing was invented. It shows that kids today have no respect for authority. Personally, I think the coach should've said, "You out! To the showers, and don't come back to this game." And should the kid refuse, pick him up and carry him to the showers himself.

[Punisher]

You know, if it was me in that situation(and mind you I was an all-star at age 12) and there was a mic in front of me, I would've probably said a lot worse. Those who have tried getting to the little league world series know how frustrating it can be. I mean, I had to get driven almost four hours to go to a state tournament only for my team to get eleminated the next day. I was upset then, but I can only imagine how bad it must've felt in the LLWS.

[FireStarterLE]

not the end of the world, kids do it all the time (most of the time to think they are the biggest thing they know and to be cool ... yeah whatever). But hey if that's the kind of person he wants to be when he grows up we shouldnt worry about it

[Romanesque]

No, you're not reading things in the right context. Think of it this way, if someone says the spread of STDs have increased in the last half-a-century. This is a false statment because new STDs have been acknowledged in the last fifty years or so it only makes it seem like there has been a rise in STDs. Now, just because I'm saying that STDs have always been around, doesn't mean I still don't think they're a problem. I'm just saying that the initial statment is inncorrect.A peculiar analogy... though perhaps hard to prove. STD's have been around as long as sex, but there really isn't the data there to demonstrate rates of infection in ages gone by. We can, however, look at recent trends and extrapolate somewhat. Language use is a lot easier to track. If you have evidence that kids in general have always been as foul-mouthed as today, you're welcome to present it. Do look beyond our parents' generation, though.

The OP's post said that humanity is on some downfall because we all curse now, even little kids. This is just not true.I've acknowledged that and said what I thought about it. It's not the downfall of humanity, but it certainly reflects something about us. Interpret that as you will. I'm trying to move beyond this one kid, here.

No, anger is natural, to deny anger goes against humanity.Where'd you dig up that little nugget of absurdity? =x

To deny the existance of anger is one thing, to give into it is another. The use of offensive language in anger is one way of letting your anger take control. Nobody was hurt in this case, fine. In some people's book, that means no harm done, nothing wrong. Don't look at the broader picture. Just don't go there.

We'll not comment on lack of restraint, self-control, and respect. Except that I just did. Oops. Ok, again, one kid, one incident, one word. No big deal. But it's not just one kid. It's one kid as an example of everyone else, to me. An example that no one cares about, because "everyone does it".

...but it's not really everyone, it's just most people. A majority that doesn't care whom they offend in casual speech or in anger, because in their mind, everyone does it. Lack of restraint, lack of self-control, lack of respect. Kids, parents, people my own age. I get it, people enjoy their swearing.

Yet you can't swear everywhere. Your choice of language is limited on these forums, for instance. It's limited for a reason. If swearing were so benign, would it still be off limits in some places? If you believe, as some do, that the only reason for banning certain language is that some people are simply prudes, then you might see it that way. I'm not saying that's necessarily how you see it, but I'm giving an example of the sort of attitude I see in most people. Certain words, and the way they're said, do have power, do lend themselves to abuse, do represent a lack of healthy restraint, and people can be justifiably offended by it. I believe that point needs to be defended.

It was a slip of tongue. It doesn't need an excuse because there is nothing to excuse.Obviously, we fundamentally disagree over whether or not a slip of the tongue needs to be excused...

Okay, simply tell me this, what did the kid do wrong? Don't give me any lecture about humanity in general or whatever, just tell me what this specific kid did wrong.You've pretty much forced me to lecture. I hate having to hedge every other sentence to make myself clear...

He gave in, if he even felt the need to restrain his language to begin with. It's a matter of disrespect, toward the coach and / or the spectators, moreso than the language itself. If I've lectured too much about the language, it's because the language is a manifestation of that disrespect. There's no need to metaphorically hang the kid for it, of course, but he was crude, he was disrespectful, and the whole thing was uncalled for. That's what's wrong with it.

No one was killed, no ones "feelings" were hurt, and no harm was done, but the exact same attitude, with the same sort of language, in a different situation, could have been worse. If you're thinking, "But it wasn't a different situation," then you're completely missing the point.

--Romey

[Captain Zechs]

But the thing is, it is a word, and I honestly do not see why people feel the need to get so upset over it. I dont think it is a problem to use a word to express an emotion, or ourselves for that matter.

[Romanesque]

But the thing is, it is a word, and I honestly do not see why people feel the need to get so upset over it. I dont think it is a problem to use a word to express an emotion, or ourselves for that matter.
Words have meaning. We give words meaning. If words didn't have a certain meaning, we wouldn't use those words. Meanings tend to be worth getting upset over. Self-expression isn't the issue here.

There are some very good, real-world examples that I can't use... because the language doesn't belong here, even as an example. My argument's somewhat crippled in that respect.

I take issue with the idea that it's "everyone else's" problem. You can't just use whatever language pleases you and claim, "If you're offended, it's your problem, not mine." Again, it's a matter of respect toward those listening. That kind of attitude epitomizes disregard for others. At best, it's rude, like with the 12 year old in question. At worst, with the same attitude, you wound someone you didn't mean to. You may never even find out about it. Often, things will be somewhere in between.

--Romey

[The Guitar Slayer]

Dude. The kid dropped the f-bomb, not the A or the H-bomb. I know kids who've been dropping the f-bomb since age 8 and doing the action since they were young teens. Welcome to the young adults of the 21st Century. He's an idiot for doing it on TV (which means he got caught, which is never the way to do things). He's probably getting reamed out at home, soap in the mouth and everything. Doing that on national TV and as a representative of the team -- yeah, I'd want to slap him upside the head too. I wouldn't do it, even though it was sort of a weak slap and probably a desperate act because the coach knew he was miked.

For some reason, I am reminded of the "mother of all curse words" storyline in "A Christmas Story." And I see no connection between a kid running his mouth and the philosophy of mankind.

[Romanesque]

One overreaction and all finer points get lost. You guys are no fun. =P

--Romey

[tucsoncoyote]

One overreaction and all finer points get lost. You guys are no fun. =P

--Romey

I tend to agree... especially when this deja vu event is happening all over again!..(and I'm not talking about swearing either.. I'm talking about the potential of having Ernesto pulling a 'Katrina;. (See Post 75 in the thread) (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=167758&page=4)

after all doesn't a potential Natural disaster supersede a 12 year old swearing? (and does it even supersede other events going on in the world?

Guess not..

yep they're not fun..

:coyote:

[Kenshirou]

Meh, cussing has never and will never bother me. I think what the coach did was wrong, though.

[Romanesque]

...after all doesn't a potential Natural disaster supersede a 12 year old swearing? (and does it even supersede other events going on in the world? Guess not...Personally... I think the fact that bigger things are happening in the world is a poor excuse for overlooking the smaller things. There will always be bigger things, and there will often be little you or I can actually do about it. Since all we're doing on this forum is talking about things, no issue is too small. We have massive threads dedicated to the most inconsequential topics, and I'm darn proud of it! :p

Heck, we're on a site dedicated to animation... yet we're not ditching it in favor of solving world hunger. Isn't world hunger more important than entertainment? Couldn't we at least focus on entertainment that helps solve world hunger? Nah. There's a time and place for everything... even for swearing 12 year olds and the cultural issue of swearing in general.

Now, please excuse me while I think of a good pointless topic that's worth a new thread. ;-)

--Romey

[Zubby]

Some people have posted here stating that the issue isn't that a 12 year old swore, but that the current generation is less polite, less smart, less articulate, etc. then generations past.

I don't really buy it. Every generation tends to think that generations after them are going to cause society to collapse. The same argument was being posited about the 'lost generation' of the 1920's, and for every generation that's come after them.

The truth is that societal norms and mores shift from generation to generation. That shift can seem unsettling to people who aren't part of the current generation. No generation has brought down society yet (although the baby boomers came pretty close in the '80's...) and I doubt one ever will.

[One Radical Dude]

I'm going to have to join the "minority" here. The way I see it, the majority of folks that have responded have the "if the majority does it, I think it's okay by me" mindset. I'll agree that I've heard a lot of youngsters in the 7th grade and above use profanity -- there's no denying that. When you hear 2, 3-year-olds having foul mouths, yeah, I do have a problem with that. I certainly wouldn't want any child of mine to say such words at that stage. The earlier they learn, the more likely that they're going to using it in more sentences than not in the future. To say "people get angry" or "everyone says it" is no excuse for any kind of crap to come out of people's mouths. Yeah, I learned profanity as a youngster, but not at 2-years-old. I also didn't use bad language in every sentence. Today, I might use a few (mainly if I trip or something), but not the worst words. :p

Anyhoo, it is a small deal, but some of the smaller things that go on in the real word can turn into something big. What's next, am I going to start hearing people saying (I apologize for saying this, but...) "so? it's okay to play with a female's titties [edit: didn't think this was not edited] in the 6th or 7th grade classrooms. It's a popular thing that the guys are doing."? If you don't at least see the fact that society is going southward, then I must ask, "are you living in the real world?" Just because a youngster swears and it doesn't bother you doesn't mean it doesn't bother others. It's not necessarily the words themselves, but to learn and use profanity regularly at an early age, to me it encourages children to be disrespectful to people.

Anyway, I'm done with this topic for now. I respect the view of the 'majority' of the people that replied here, although I strongly disagree with their statements. :p

[Romanesque]

In my own, quite personal opinion, people in general have always sucked, but the way they express that quality, and how accepting their society is, does change greatly. I believe a pretty good case could be made for today's society being more readily accepting of rude behavior, even if people's tendencies have remained the same.

For the record, I don't think the previous generation was so hot, either.
Who do you think has been raising these darn kids?

Every generation tends to think that generations after them are going to cause society to collapse. The same argument was being posited about the 'lost generation' of the 1920's, and for every generation that's come after them.Even if true... what's it prove? Such an observation is still consistent with society actually getting worse. However, I don't agree with your generalization that every generation thinks the next has taken a turn for the worse. That's merely been the predominant view for the last several generations.

Bear in mind that no one's really claiming that nothing has gotten better, either. Change happens. You can't deny that. If you acknowledge that change happens, you have to accept that things can factually change in one direction or another. (Unless you don't believe in making value judgements... in which case, this whole argument is pointless.)

The truth is that societal norms and mores shift from generation to generation.A fact which is still consistent with certain aspects factually changing for the better or worse.

No generation has brought down society yet (although the baby boomers came pretty close in the '80's...) and I doubt one ever will.Societies do collapse... it just doesn't happen every day. ;)
Today's society could concievably be far far worse... thankfully?

I wonder... do you, personally, believe the previous generation was more uptight than ours?

Romey
--Sorry for the poorly constructed reply. Bah, it's late.