Town bans profanity? What the fuck Massachusetts!

[Aksannyi]

Appropriate:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26UA578yQ5g

[Mistress Stowastiq]

I believe that if a business owner as in private property or even public property businesses have a right to enforce if other customers are offended to the point of leaving. Like in a theater or a restaurant if a customer is using bigoted language repeatedly towards an employee or a customer, I think the owner should have the right to tell them to stop and if they fail to stop, insist that they leave.

If you use profanity in traffic court they will escort your ass out in some instances and it will effect your case, ability to be considered part of the attendees for that day.

I don't know if a business owner can legally kick some one out of his business though, if they don't have laws like this one so maybe that is why they did it. I still think it should be specifically defined instead of so general like being some place where you are not offending anyone in a public space or business.

Instead of profanity it should perhaps be specifically narrowed down to give police or citizens the right to react to excessively abusive speech or verbal harassment but I know this would effect the Phelps family and they would fight it because they love that abusive freedom of speech.

[TacoTaru]

It shouldn't be anything, because speech should not be abridged in a public setting. As someone else stated, disorderly conduct is there for a reason. As far as I know a business can refuse service to someone if it's legitimate reason since they are privately owned. Loudly and obnoxiously being profane would be one of those reasons.

[BaneTheBrawler]

This sounds like the equivalent of a town-wide swear-jar. That's something I'd be all for. If it were enforced by peer pressure and honor, instead of the law.

[Ashmada]

I'd make fun of you guys and your crazy politicians, but... we've got that here as well.

And, predictably, it's abused by unscrupulous cops.
And, predictably, the onus is on you to prove you didn't swear. Which is obviously impossible as even if you painstakingly record every conversation you have, a recording isn't receivable in a court of law (IIRC).


Seriously, people need to stop getting fucking offended.
It's beyond fucking belief that liberticide laws can fucking arise out of a fucking moral outrage by fucking christfags with 16 fucking broom handles up their fucking arses.

[Seanr]

I still want to know how the fucking 3 seashells work.

Hey, this guy doesn't know how the shells work...ha

[RandomJoe]

Virginia Beach Oceanfront has signs that say 'No #$@&' all over the place, and they will fine your for cursing. I'm not sure how its any different and its been that way for years. I don't see people up in arms yet I don't see now this any different?

Annoys the piss out of me when I see those damn signs every time I visit the place.

[kuronosan]

Is it bigoted? You would weigh someone that uses profane language as their primary means of expression the same as someone that avoids it for a vocabulary that is considered decent in the public's eye?

You would weigh someone's intellect and ability to carry on a cohesive, meaningful conversation on their use of swear words less than that of someone who never swears?

Good God you're a fucking tool. Not everyone speaks like a sailor when they're speaking, and even if they did curse who gives a shit? They're just words.

You think 'fuck' is worse than 'mongoloid'? You think 'shit' is worse than 'excrement'?

If you answered yes, you're absolutely the definition of a fucking tool.

[Yugl]

You would weigh someone's intellect and ability to carry on a cohesive, meaningful conversation on their use of swear words less than that of someone who never swears?

Good God you're a fucking tool. Not everyone speaks like a sailor when they're speaking, and even if they did curse who gives a shit? They're just words.

You think 'fuck' is worse than 'mongoloid'? You think 'shit' is worse than 'excrement'?

If you answered yes, you're absolutely the definition of a fucking tool.

If that's all you know about them, why not?

[kuronosan]

If that's all you know about them, why not?

Because judging a book by its cover is fucking stupid.

[Seanr]

If that's all you know about them, why not?

Perhaps they do not care to share anymore of themselves. You're saying if you met Stephen hawking and he was cursing up a storm you would deem him an idiot?

[Yugl]

Because judging a book by its cover is fucking stupid.

To you and Seanr: That's why it's a inductive, not deductive, conclusion. Errors are the consequence of certain heuristics and this pertains to one of them. To make this clear, it seems he's weighing on probability. Weighing on probability is not necessarily bad either. In the medical sciences, drugs often have a probability of success. While offering anecdotal problems with the drug may refute the guaranteed effectiveness of a drug, such cases are not guaranteed (PASSIVE VOOOOOOOOOICE) to refute the statistical advantage of the drug's success.

Edit: And to make sure I've covering your question, I'll answer you in this manner. If I believed that swear words implied a higher probability of the individual being a moron and all I knew about the Stephen Hawkings was that he uses nothing but profanity in his language, then I would believe, prima facie, that he is an idiot. Contrary to that hypothetical, however, I do know more about him, he doesn't use nothing but profanity, and I don't think degree of profanity usage correlates with cognitive capacity (I doubt anyone cares to do a study on this and I'm not psychic).

[Churchill]

Jaybar is a fucking cuntbag.

And yes, I do mean that in the pejorative sense.

[Nevex]

Is it a problem anyway? It's not like anyone needs profanity.
They could ban it on the internet itself for what I care.

[Tajin]

Is it a problem anyway? It's not like anyone needs profanity.
They could ban it on the internet itself for what I care.

Missing the point for 100 Alex

[Khajit]

but the origin of fuck means "to strike" which puts it in the same category as the other words mr fry. The youtube video I watched says so.

[Milkster]

People who agree with this law are extremely too uptight. Censoring speech is ok guys!

[Lucavi]

Abridging speech is never OK, or reasonable. Perhaps you're aware of the first amendment? If someone is being truly disruptive, there's already something for that: disturbing the peace/disorderly conduct/etc. Creating laws that specifically target speech that's deemed "profane" (by who, exactly?) is, not to put too fine a point on it, anti-american.

Checkmate; we have disturbing the peace for loud people swearing, and we have disorderly conduct which can overlap easily. There's no reason under the sun to specifically make a law to punish what isn't threatening or hate speech.

I thought Right Wingers hate big government and hate freedom restrictions. Why aren't they up in arms about this? Is it because they feel that Government can't be big enough where it concerns with "morales"?

[Ashmada]

[Lenus]

I'm all for this law, there is a time and place for that language and in public isn't one of them. Can use it at your house, friends what ever. From working in a walmart and living in a city with well ... baltimorons, I would welcome it with a huge grin/smile.

Not to mention after watching junk like Hardcore Pawn, Bait Car, South Tow heck even Cops and campus police society as a whole has deevolved into nothing but neaderthals. "Those shows are a guilty pleasure -.- "

Time to rebuild Pleasentville?

Like someone else has said it's another sorce of money for the town/city.. here in baltimore they've pushed through not 1 but 2 soda taxes in not even 3 months ( or this year at least) so yeah screw this mayor and govenor, just another turd in the pile they've dumped.