My brother was telling me a story about a couple of parents he saw in Vancouver carrying a stroller (with baby) down a flight of stairs. The parents accidentally dropped the stroller, that flipped forward, and landed in such a way that the baby's head made met the ground and caused a bloody mess.

"F***!" I exclaimed as I heard this.

And my cousin, who heard me curse, said "Don't swear!" And then I went on to tell her why I think it's okay to swear. And I share repeat parts of that lecture here.

So, some people say that those who curse lack vocabulary. I beg to differ. I think these words are (necessary) additions to one's vocabulary. Selective use of such "swear words" emphasizes the emotion and impact of the message given. What word can you think of matches the intensity of words like "F***!"? Do "shoot!", "oh darn!", "shucks!", "damn!", or "crap!"? Not in my opinion.

Of course, I wouldn't say that I have a particular attachment to the word "F***", nor do I condone excessive use of bad language. It's not like I agree with how some F'ing people will, like, F'ing swear whenever the F they want. Then it becomes a dulling filler word that lacks meaning. I'm just saying that there are times that call for this kind of energy, where other replacement words wouldn't do your emotions justice.

So, that's my justification of swearing. That's why I think it's perfectly fine to, from time to time, launch an F-missile.