"The winter of early 1981 was a simpler time, a gentler time. Like so many college students, I was watching Saturday Night Live in the living room of my small dorm when the SNL cast member Charles Rocket dropped an f-bomb on live television. I looked around at my fellow students. Did we just hear that? The show was already struggling with ratings, and within a few weeks, Rocket and the producer-and eventually, most of the cast-were fired."
"Actually, the Mother of All Obscenities might be the one that includes mother, and if you haven't heard it lately, former Vice President of the United States Kamala Harris would be happy to refresh your memory. Addressing a gathering in Los Angeles a few days ago, Harris delivered her verdict on the current Trump administration: "These motherfuckers are crazy." Harris might have gone for the thermonuclear option, but plenty of other politicians are rooting around in the verbal dumpster."
Profanity among elected officials is increasing. High-profile examples include Kamala Harris saying "These motherfuckers are crazy," Chuck Schumer saying "No. Fucking. Way." and Marjorie Taylor Greene using "bullshit" about Obamacare. The trend reflects a shift toward coarse rhetoric in political communication, aided by social media and public events. The normalization of vulgar language by officials risks degrading public discourse, alienating constituents, and lowering expectations for civility. Some observers lament the spread even among those who traditionally avoid profanity, arguing that elected leaders should model restraint. Calls for restraint intensify as shock value diminishes and consequences for coarse language become less certain.
Read at The Atlantic
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