bloody hell, this is a fucking shit-ass post!

My grandmother was Polish and lived in Poland. (I didn't really realize what this would mean until I got to Israel where the phenomena of having Polish in your blood is an understood and pitied syndrome, but that's another post!). As a child we would go to visit her and I remember watching television with her more than a few times. In Poland in the 80's, they didn't like subtitles or dubbing. But one man made a killing doing a voice-over of every single part in everything on the television in a non-emphatic monotone (female parts included). That way, in Ghostbusters II, Ray's yelling WHAT THE HELL IS THAT??! at the rumble of the underground slime would come out as a bland "what is that?". Luckily you could still kind of hear the English underneath it. My grandmother's reaction to monotone voiceover man was a sharp intake of breath in horror at pretty much everything he said. I hate to wonder what her reaction would have been had voiceover man put some effort into his job.

The sharp intake of breath trickled down a generation to my mother and was reserved for me for whenever I said anything that might be taken as my being rude. We were banned Grange Hill on the grounds that it was rude. Neighbours was more wholesome but Home and Away was also out. To be frank, we were lucky we got to watch Emu's All-live Pink Windmill Show!

Despite this, growing up in England, I would swear like a sailor with friends just because it was a way to rebel against the way your parents raised you. And saying an exam was a "fucking nightmare" wouldn't offend them in the slightest. It was a badge of commradary, a way to fit in. Still, I would avoid swearing in front of anyone I showed respect to. But I don't live in England anymore and here a lot of people use English swear words and it has lowered the effectiveness. For example, it is not uncommon for a fuck-up to be called a fuck at a meeting ("there was only one fuck…we didn't get the x's on time")(or for you: "hayah rak FUCK achad…sh-ha x-im lo igiyu bezman"). "Shit" is used as a loving expression for when things go wrong. Over time, the shock-value of swearing has dulled. I like ordering a big fuck-off coffee. In the good days, Nicole and Paris would be all Love you, Bitch, Love you, Bitch and that was ok. So all my environmental indications now suggest that swearing is becoming acceptable. And I still swear too.

It's generally considered not a good thing to swear in front of your kids. They are impressionable. Bad language is a sign of lack of education and lack of respect. But I am pretty relaxed, and I don't always remember to not swear in front of my children. In fact, my mother's sharp intake of breath is pretty much the only reason I fear using language around my own kids as we all know how they love to repeat things. But you know, it wouldn't offend me if they stubbed their toe and said "Shit!". I guess it might offend me if they said "Fuck you, you big fat fucker", but that's because talking about someone's weight, that's low.