I thought I was the only one!! I feel the same way. Many people argue that swearing helps bond, but more than that I feel like it makes people seem less intelligent because they can’t think of better words to us. I’ve left stores because the sales associate was swearing too much in an attempt to seem relatable and cool. I’ve gotten cussed out by a man in my friend group because I asked him not to swear so loudly with so many children around (we were at Panera!). The inability to find a way around vulgarity shows a lack of maturity and security, as if your only way to bond with people is to be vulgar — there’s nothing else about you that’s relatable? There’s nothing else that would cause people to want to bond with you?

I loved your analogy about swear words being like knives in the conversation — it feels that way because what was more than likely a casual and innocent conversation has been tainted with the worst words you could possibly use! You really couldn’t think of anything else?