I'm pretty sure you blog readers know exactly what the missing letters are.
It takes a lot to offend me. Growing up, that whole, "sticks and stones" rhyme stuck with me and presently, it really takes some kind of racial slur and just the right combination of intentionally hurtful words to get to me. However, I realize that not only do people have different standards of offense than me, and that actual publication of these censored words result in a different effect than just hearing them out loud.
Editors really need to make careful decisions regarding language in stories because someone is bound to be offended regardless of how careful one is with these cuss words. However, experienced editors already know that it is impossible to completely satisfy every reader with a publication because someone will always find something that bothers them in the paper. I do think that as with most other editing decisions, one question that should always come to mind when deciding to not censoring certain words is whether or not publishing them is really worth the consequences.
I suppose it is generally safer to censor the cuss words. Those of us who swear like sailors and are desensitized from this will get what you're saying.
Everyone does have different sensitivities, and my view is mainly that we hear so many of those words on a daily basis...it's not helpful to cloud the atmosphere with any more of it.
ReplyDeleteI also feel like the more swears are used in media or films the more those words are used by children and the public and become gradually engrained as a normal/common part of society. Then people just begin to passively ignore swears that happen around them even if it annoys them.
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