Language Not Safe for Fucking Work
October 10, 2007 7:00 PM Subscribe
What. The. Fuck. The word "fuck" became the subject of congressional debate in 2003, after NBC broadcast the Golden Globe Awards. Bono exclaimed, "This is really, really, fucking brilliant" on the air. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) decided somewhat surprisingly not to sanction the network for failing to bleep out the word. Explaining its decision, the FCC noted that its (and George Carlin's) guidelines define "indecency" as "material that describes or depicts sexual or excretory organs or activities" and Bono had used fucking as "an adjective or expletive to emphasize an exclamation."
Cultural conservatives were outraged. California Representative Doug Ose tried to close the loophole in the FCC's regulations with the filthiest piece of legislation ever considered by Congress. Had it passed, the Clean Airwaves Act would have forbade from broadcast:
- the words "shit", "piss", "fuck", "cunt", "asshole", and the phrases "cock sucker", "mother fucker", and "ass hole", compound use (including hyphenated compounds) of such words and phrases with each other or with other words or phrases, and other grammatical forms of such words and phrases (including verb, adjective, gerund, participle, and infinitive forms).
This post was deleted for the following reason: as much as this is an awesome post, it is a recent double - post some of these links in the original thread if you haven't already? -- jessamyn
I may be crazy, but I remember at the first MTV Awards, Eddie Murphy said 'fuck' all over the place, to the point where Bob Geldof began his awards speech by saying "Is Eddie Murphy the only person who can say 'fuck' on TV and get away with it."
posted by jonmc at 7:05 PM on October 10, 2007
posted by jonmc at 7:05 PM on October 10, 2007
Fuck
Please delete away admins... didn't think to look at the non-printable version of the URL.
posted by psmealey at 7:05 PM on October 10, 2007
Please delete away admins... didn't think to look at the non-printable version of the URL.
posted by psmealey at 7:05 PM on October 10, 2007
too bad -- that 'cunt' link was bizarre and strangely hilarious
posted by skammer at 7:13 PM on October 10, 2007
posted by skammer at 7:13 PM on October 10, 2007
I don't really think that this constitutes a "double". And fuck it anyway!
Seriously, nice post.
posted by snsranch at 7:16 PM on October 10, 2007
Seriously, nice post.
posted by snsranch at 7:16 PM on October 10, 2007
Man, fuck that double.
posted by Pope Guilty at 7:16 PM on October 10, 2007
posted by Pope Guilty at 7:16 PM on October 10, 2007
psmealy has much more/better links. Whatever the outcome, let us become embiggened.
posted by BeerFilter at 7:24 PM on October 10, 2007
posted by BeerFilter at 7:24 PM on October 10, 2007
Sorry for the misspelling of your handle there, psmealey.
posted by BeerFilter at 7:25 PM on October 10, 2007
posted by BeerFilter at 7:25 PM on October 10, 2007
PS why {Expletive deleted} is {Expletive deleted} and {Expletive deleted} to the {Expletive deleted} so {Expletive deleted} but great fucking post anyway.
posted by Skygazer at 7:38 PM on October 10, 2007
posted by Skygazer at 7:38 PM on October 10, 2007
They may take our lives, but they may never, EVER take our filthy gerunds.
posted by SassHat at 7:38 PM on October 10, 2007
posted by SassHat at 7:38 PM on October 10, 2007
Your fucking tags are cocksuckingly, motherfuckingly appropriate.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 7:39 PM on October 10, 2007
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 7:39 PM on October 10, 2007
FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK
posted by Skygazer at 7:46 PM on October 10, 2007
posted by Skygazer at 7:46 PM on October 10, 2007
I'll be fuckin' sorry when this post goes, because you really did a fucking great job on it.
posted by maryh at 7:53 PM on October 10, 2007
posted by maryh at 7:53 PM on October 10, 2007
I love fuck.
posted by wv kay in ga at 8:02 PM on October 10, 2007
posted by wv kay in ga at 8:02 PM on October 10, 2007
'Motherfucker' remains, to my uncertain knowledge, the only swear entailing automatic ejection of a player from a major league baseball game.
posted by galtr at 8:55 PM on October 10, 2007
posted by galtr at 8:55 PM on October 10, 2007
the words "shit", "piss", "fuck", "cunt", "asshole", and the phrases "cock sucker", "mother fucker", and "ass hole", compound use (including hyphenated compounds) of such words and phrases with each other or with other words or phrases, and other grammatical forms of such words and phrases (including verb, adjective, gerund, participle, and infinitive forms).
What, no tits?
I'm proud to have memorized all seven for a media censorship class years ago.
posted by Brittanie at 9:05 PM on October 10, 2007
What, no tits?
I'm proud to have memorized all seven for a media censorship class years ago.
posted by Brittanie at 9:05 PM on October 10, 2007
Well, your fucking post is better, maybe you spent more fucking time putting it fucking together? Don't feel too fucking bad about it.
posted by zardoz at 9:19 PM on October 10, 2007
posted by zardoz at 9:19 PM on October 10, 2007
Anyone offended by the word 'fuck' can go fuck themselves.
posted by mike3k at 9:19 PM on October 10, 2007
posted by mike3k at 9:19 PM on October 10, 2007
I am a mother pheasant plucker.
I pluck mother pheasants.
I am the most pleasant mother pheasant plucker,
to ever pluck a mother pheasant.
posted by Samuel Farrow at 9:20 PM on October 10, 2007 [5 favorites]
I pluck mother pheasants.
I am the most pleasant mother pheasant plucker,
to ever pluck a mother pheasant.
posted by Samuel Farrow at 9:20 PM on October 10, 2007 [5 favorites]
And this is why I come to Metafilter. It's all fucking, all the time.
Plus it's nice to see a bunch of erudite and articulate people, who have mastered the arts of expressing themselves in the nothing more than the written word, come together and acknowledge that some people are just fuckin' cunts.
posted by quin at 9:21 PM on October 10, 2007
Plus it's nice to see a bunch of erudite and articulate people, who have mastered the arts of expressing themselves in the nothing more than the written word, come together and acknowledge that some people are just fuckin' cunts.
posted by quin at 9:21 PM on October 10, 2007
Bono was just lapsing into idiom. In many parts of Dublin, Fuck" can be used as a noun, verb, adverb, adjective, pronoun, conjugation, preposition, interjection, and so on. In fact, it's so common that we had to come up with some variety: "feck" and "fook".
True story. I was watching a movie in the US one time with a fair load of Scots in it which the distributors had felt compelled to provide subtitles. Anyway, one of the characters referred affectionately to an adorable little boy as a "daft wee cunt", which the subtitles helpfully informed everyone meant "you silly boy", or something along those lines.
posted by meehawl at 9:39 PM on October 10, 2007
True story. I was watching a movie in the US one time with a fair load of Scots in it which the distributors had felt compelled to provide subtitles. Anyway, one of the characters referred affectionately to an adorable little boy as a "daft wee cunt", which the subtitles helpfully informed everyone meant "you silly boy", or something along those lines.
posted by meehawl at 9:39 PM on October 10, 2007
I'd just like to note that tonight's episode of South Park featured Bono sucking on Swiss man-titty. If there ever has been a better argument for television censorship than having Bono suck on Swiss man-titty, I don't care to know what it is.
posted by Kattullus at 10:16 PM on October 10, 2007
posted by Kattullus at 10:16 PM on October 10, 2007
Fuck. The fucking fucker is fucking fucked. Fuck!
posted by DreamerFi at 10:53 PM on October 10, 2007
posted by DreamerFi at 10:53 PM on October 10, 2007
It is my sad duty to inform you all that America is full of prudes. After 10 in most civilised countries, you can curse all you want on TV (and show nudity, etc). Land of the free? Feh.
posted by chuckdarwin at 11:45 PM on October 10, 2007
posted by chuckdarwin at 11:45 PM on October 10, 2007
After 10 in most civilised countries, you can curse all you want on TV
Can you show cocksucking and motherfucking as well?
posted by psmealey at 3:58 AM on October 11, 2007
Can you show cocksucking and motherfucking as well?
posted by psmealey at 3:58 AM on October 11, 2007
The best part of the Clean Airwaves Act is that it lists every single part of speech its authors could think of...but they missed adverb, which is what Bono used.
posted by jewzilla at 6:20 AM on October 11, 2007
posted by jewzilla at 6:20 AM on October 11, 2007
Last week bananafish and I were in Salzburg, and she noted that we were 20 minutes from Fucking. I was sadly disappointed when I checked a map.
posted by jewzilla at 6:35 AM on October 11, 2007
posted by jewzilla at 6:35 AM on October 11, 2007
Why are we posting this again?
Because "we" missed the original link.
posted by psmealey at 6:42 AM on October 11, 2007 [1 favorite]
Because "we" missed the original link.
posted by psmealey at 6:42 AM on October 11, 2007 [1 favorite]
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posted by Samuel Farrow at 7:01 PM on October 10, 2007