No cursing...

South Pasadena has proclaimed a no cussing week. Apparently, cursing is a precursor to violence...

For his part, Hatch hopes his No Cussing Club will lead to cuss-free zones in other cities. He believes it could be a quality-of-life issue, and that there may be less violence if people behave better.

"You have to start with the little things," he said.

I really do applaud a kid trying to make a difference in the world, and I could see a quality of life argument being made if people were constantly screaming FUCK! in public -- but come on. How about a little embrace for our humanity and its derivative profanity. I'm sure it is mostly just me being a potty mouth that gets me worked up over this lunacy, but there is also a tinge of the All Powerful Moral Imposition from above...

My mom and dad always taught me good morals, good values, and not cussing was one of them," said McKay Hatch, the founder of South Pasadena High School's No Cussing Club, during a recent break between study hall and tennis practice.

"I've cussed before, I'm not gonna lie to you," Hatch quickly added. "But I try not to cuss any more."

This, "I've done it before, but am trying not to do it again" smells of the paternalistic and anti-humanistic tendencies of certain institutions I have been exposed to in my life... and let me tell you, they hate freedom more than any hippy or liberal out there. Next time try proactively helping those that need it, that might help a community's quality of life a bit more than banning a few "super bad words."

Another little piece to this issue, that the article doesn't address, is whether or not the "No Cussing Club" offers alternatives... I'm sure they do, and I'm sure it's those ridiculous sounding "good word" combos that carry the same inflection as the "bad words." This is just silly, the underlying feelings are the same, the intent is the same, but somehow using a good word makes this all ok?