Profanity Police Memphis

Profanity Police Memphis

www.wmctv.com

Rhodes, who has lived on the streets for nearly 10 years, said she's seen and heard a lot - including a lot of bad language.

"Everything," she said, "and I'm not a cusser, so I don't speak such words."

Those who do may find themselves off the streets and behind bars.

(visit the link for the full news article)

I can agree that public outburst of profanity is getting out of control. You can't take your kids anywhere without some one yelling out profanity. But, should a person be arrested and sent to jail for using profanity in a public area?

I have been to downtown Memphis many times and see these bicycle cops everywhere. Beale street is nothing but a huge party most every night and I have seen and heard it all. I have even seen the police openly drinking beer in one of the clubs in uniform. I have actually had a run in with one of these guys and it almost landed me in jail. These guys mostly have little man syndrome and have blown up egos from there new found authority.

So, if you visit downtown Memphis in the near future, don't be using any vulgur language.

www.wmctv.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

They wanna come over here to the UK , where kids around my way are always shouting " you *Snip*" "*Snip*""*Snip* and you it can be quite *Snip* at 2 o'clock in the *Snip* morning I can tell you. I feel so much better now for letting off steam.

Sometimes I even open my window , (being on the 6th floor of a block can be helpful :lol to shout out " *Snip* home you little *Snip* your nappies need changin"....

I'd love to know what the shcools are teaching the kids these days, whast hte curriculum in the UK now?
How to steal cars, how to have knife fights , and how to mug old ladies, pee up doorways, spit at range, and my favourite - finger language , its like sign language but only uses one finger ( the middle digit).

Mod Edit: Do Not Circumvent the Censors.

1b.) Profanity: You will not use profanity in our forums, and will neither post with language or content that is obscene, sexually oriented, or sexually suggestive nor link to sites that contain such content.

Terms and Conditions

[edit on 12-11-2008 by MemoryShock]

reply to post by DataWraith


Totally off-topic but:

When all you can give your children is a piece-of-# rock with no viable future nor freedoms, why are you then surprised when the children say "Screw this bull#! I might as well steal all that I can before it all goes down in flames and then I can move to some other country, just like my wiser ancestors before me."?

Maybe the kids today just don't believe the lies which you and your generation did. Those same lies that brought us to this economically ruined fascist nanny state.

I say it is a matter of perspective:
It isn't that the kids today are that much worse than the kids of yesteryear; It is that the governments (local and national) and the corporations of today are so much more overbearing and petty.

The children are (subconsciously) reacting to and acting out against a systemic problem within the structure of modern society but they are not the problem itself. Look deeper.

Jon

reply to post by Voxel


Wow .. . I have never thought of that. You get a pretty blue star


Now I have something to think about today

excuse me but if i want to drop an fbomb in public or raise a big stick about a treasonous president isn't it protected by first amendment rights? yes it might not be pretty to hear some of this language but its the price we pay so we have the right to speak our mind with out worrying about ending up in prison or worse for it.

My point exactly! Isn't making certain words illegal to say, breaking the constitution and the first amendment. I witnessed an arrest about two weeks ago where a person tried to steal gas and was caught. The police (in Memphis) yelled at the person, "get the F___ out of the car"! "Get on the F_______ ground"! According to the law, these police officers were committing a crime and should have been repremanded.

Free speech is not so free in Memphis!

[edit on 12-11-2008 by Mudman21]

lol, if the point of teh post is to point out that cops can swear freely but when a member of the public they can arrest them for it. Its the biggest hyporcicy and i agree!.

if its about people not liking other people swear, really, is it worth even discussing, the simple fact that a word can be taken so seriously is beyond me, their only words, they dont hurt anyone except people who have nothgin better to do than get offended by swearing.

of course, its not good to be somewhere with kids and theirs loads of swearing goin on, but thats just the way it is, we cant do it, everyone has the right to swear or say whatever they want, if you get offended then go tell them about it and youll find, if theirs kids about ect, people WILL normaly watch what their saying, and stop when they realise their is kids about.

i enjoy the fact that if i stub my toe i can swear to my hearts contenT

A reminder that while profanity may be a right in public, it is not acceptable to post profanity on this board. It is a private board and our behavior must conform to the wishes of the owners.

1b.) Profanity: You will not use profanity in our forums, and will neither post with language or content that is obscene, sexually oriented, or sexually suggestive nor link to sites that contain such content.

Terms and Conditions

Thank you in advance for your understanding and cooperation.

reply to post by Mudman21


Memphis has a swear jar LMFAO!!!

This, although some might not like it, is still an expression of one's right to free speech. I can hear the ACLU gearing up to jump all over this.

[edit on 12-11-2008 by Aggie Man]

reply to post by boaby_phet


Great attitude. You obviously do not have children or care about what children hear in a public environment. Take the kids out of the equation and it becomes a simple matter of mutual respect and civility. It's also a matter of self control. Learn to cuss under your breath. Hold it until you get into your car or get home.

Admittedly, I used to swear like the proverbial sailor and all of my buddies at work swore just as much if not more. It all changed when I had kids. I still slip every now and then. My wife keeps me in check when I don't check myself. I am certainly more aware of my surroundings when in public than I used to be.

Get married and have kids. You will see the world in a different light.

You know what's messed up? Cops are hypocrites. I know of two that openly drink beer while driving, on and off duty. Yet they'd be the first to pull a citizen over for doing it.

More intrusive police action where it is not required.

I remember when the police used to swear at us when they pulled us up for no reason on the street.

Go and chase real criminals. Go and hunt down the baby killers and kiddy predators... stop wasting your time on people using their right to free speech.

It is the taboo nature of certain words , which empowers them .
Sometimes eloquence is not what you have in mind when communicating ....passionately.

Are Irish people the only ones who use "cuss" words ... to colour a conversation, inject a little spirit into the subject matter ?

I suppose like everything , its all about the context .
Most people modulate the content of their conversations , be that at a funeral , standing in a queue or in the throws of passion .

A question for any U.S contributor;
So is cuss ,derived from the word curse , or just a Southern vocal inflection ?

Originally posted by jibeho
reply to post by boaby_phet

 

Great attitude. You obviously do not have children or care about what children hear in a public environment. Take the kids out of the equation and it becomes a simple matter of mutual respect and civility. It's also a matter of self control. Learn to cuss under your breath. Hold it until you get into your car or get home.

Admittedly, I used to swear like the proverbial sailor and all of my buddies at work swore just as much if not more. It all changed when I had kids. I still slip every now and then. My wife keeps me in check when I don't check myself. I am certainly more aware of my surroundings when in public than I used to be.

Get married and have kids. You will see the world in a different light.

It's not about the swearing itself, it's about the fact that people could be put in jail for exercising a fundamental constituational right. Yes, it is disrespectful to swear like a sailor in public, but there are many worse things that can be said without the use of vulgarities. What if there was a law that said you cannot say anything negative in public because you are bringing other people's hopes down?

I cannot even fathom how anybody would believe it's ok to censor words because of their connotation. What's the difference between me saying the S word or saying crap? This is just absolute illogical insanity, and makes me want to go to Memphis and start swearing in front of cops left and right (although I will refrain from doing so)

Thes bicycle cops aren't even really cops. They are a hired private security force. They are not allowed to carry a gun, only pepper spray. They do however have the right to arrest.

I don't know if reading the post's on this site has brought this more to my attention, but it seems like a lot of cities are starting to hire more and more of these "private" security forces.

reply to post by Mudman21

According the city of Memphis' Disorderly Conduct Code, it is illegal to use, "abusive or obscene language intending that it be heard by members of the public and uttered with the intention to disturb the hearer."

We probably don't have this code in Seattle. People use the F word here as an acceptable adjective in every day speech. You can't go an hour in public without hearing it. I'm new to the area, so its a little shocking to me still.

My family and I were at my son's softball game a couple of months ago and one of the field attendants used this word in every sentence. He said it loudly, often, and in front of many people. It was extremely offensive, but oddly enough only my family seemed to be bothered by it.

It's a totally different culture here. I don't think I'll ever get used to it. I hope my sons don't acclimate to the point where the F word is normal speech to them.

As for the police that were yelling the F word during an arrest, it is unprofessional and sad that they had to resort to that word to accomplish their job.

That has got to be about the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard in my life. They are supposed to be cracking down on aggressive panhandling, but instead they are arresting people for saying four letter words? Seems to me if they are that bored, then the panhandling must not be that big of a problem anymore so their services are no longer necessary.

Of course, that's just me and I have as much pull in Memphis as I do in the White House.

im 20 years old.. and back i school it was and as far as i can tell always has been a battle between whos got the best comebacks.. most brutal words... meanest vocabulary...
you may hit 90 on your test score but when you hit the quad you n your mates come armed with a verbal assualt weapons of mass destruction...
back in 2000-2005 i ruled my school that way with an iron fist... n not just cuss words or creative wordplay.. when it came to teachers arguing cemantics the same rules applied...
but theres a time n place.. if theres kids.. take a step back or lower your tone... etc etc..
but if im in my world.. or theres noone to really care around.. n i get told to lower it without a good reason..
then you can go get your guts #ed... # THAT
its a part of free speech and expressing yourself..
a wise dude once said people only swear because they dont have the words to express whats on thier minds.. whih is definitly true... well what does that say about what todays kids and society cant express and have on thier minds?
when i was a kid i swore so much i didnt know i was doing it... but id get a mean slap in the face if i did it around home... we all got it from school... from friends..
from the art form we created to see who could dominate who... an artform which ascended all and it didnt matter which cool group you were in.. which classes or your age.. if you had the machine gun mouth, and the abilty to hold ground and return fire without resorting to violence... to batter your oponent with your verbal taunts till you reach a stand still.. then your victory was yours and people would acknowledge..
BUT you dont bring others into who dont belong in it.. wether it be directly.. or by hurling insults n trashmouth while outsiders (parents, citizens) were around..
but thats just the way we did it

reply to post by UmbraSumus


As I believe, cursing is using God's name in vein. Profanity is the use of words deemed vulgur by our society. Cussing is southern slang for cursing. We in the south have done a fair bit of word butchering thru the years and a lot of it has imbedded itself in our vocabulary as actual words.