AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums Talk Belize Chat Area What constitutes profanity?

lara & iluv have very interesting points. ( iluv, very funny last line) but, if a kid said "i hate this frickin' class", i do not think that is profanity. bad attitude, yes, profane? not at all. tho the implication of the curse is there, the curse isnt there. sorry nova, i understand what you said, but i dont think darn is damn, tho i use them interchangably. darn is perfectly acceptable to me.

but, as was stated, if the rules are not clearly defined, how can one know if they broke them?

i am always impressed by the general intelligence of the board members. you guys make me think.

Things seem to change. A few months ago my grandson was visiting and had Nickelodeon on the kitchen tv. A short piece, cartoon fashion came on. Just a couple of minutes on farts. I sat there A) not believing what I was hearing, and B) trying to grasp the fact that it was on a childrens network. I was also struck by the fact that the grandkid just glanced at it for a few seconds then went back to his drawing. Things have definitely changed.
P.S. Personally, I don't think Law's statement would qualify for profanity as such, just a snotty comment.

I think I'm still learning to use this new board. I meant to post in response to Law's list of words her kid might have used, or rather the words whe was asking about specifically. I accidentally replied to Nova and my comment wasn't directed to damn or darn, etc., so maybe it will make more sense in this light.

Ok, interesting perspectives here. As an attorney, it's not my job to make value judgments. My job (at least part of it) is to determine whether a violation has occurred. Yes it is a technicality, but most of the time that's what penal law is all about. In this instance there is a school rule which prohibits the use of profanity on school grounds. There is no list of words and no definition of profanity. My client received a homework assignment he didn't like and said, "I hate this crap." My position is that this does not constitute profanity. I believe Lara is correct, the school rule should be deemed void for vagueness. Yet if my client had said, "I hate this sh*t," I don't think I would have an argument, because the general consenses is that word constitutes profanity.

I'm all in favor of following school rules. But I don't think a kid should get in trouble for language which is commonly and generally used in public.

Now as for the attitude issue, if the allegation had been that he was uncooperative and refusing to participate in class, or that he failed to turn in his assigned homework, etc, I would concede he was in violation of his probation terms. That conduct could have been alleged, but it wasn't. What was alleged was violation of school rules by use of profanity. As it stands, I don't believe my client is guilty as charged. He may be guilty of something, but not of what's been charged.

Nova, as for your statement that my client might not "deserve" to be saved - I strongly disagree. No one should ever be convicted of something they didn't do just because they might have done something else. If you expressed any hint of that attitude in a case I was involved with, I would immediately, with all due respect, excuse you from the jury panel. Any prosecutor worth anything would do the same.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts!

Law, you are the only person in the world that has ever gotten me to google "crap".

Gee, why didn't I think of that?
What did you learn?

There is no such thing as profanity. Only expression. As long as you are not forced into hearing/seeing/experiencing the speach/action/presentation, it is not profane. If you enjoy the experience, it is fine if not, don't do it again.

How old is the client? What grade are they in?

The public school environment is one of forced attendance. Compliance to arbitrary rules cannot be expected except by sheep. People yearn for freedom and seek it out whenever possible. If the (warning legal term/babble approaching) ALEGEDED profanity was directed at a school official it is a call for freedom, if towards a fellow student, it is a personal matter between 2 sovereign individuals and should be settled civilly in person or in court.


Dam* (figure it out) I can't believe I posted this.

Law, just a bunch of crap that I don't really need to know

Hi Steve! Schools are entitled to regulate behavior and making rules about acceptable language is appropriate. I just believe the rules should be clear and if they aren't they shouldn't be enforced in some arbitrary and capricious manner.

My client is 15 years old.

Gee, thanks Bobber - now I have to go look it up myself!