Town Of Middleborugh, MA: If You Say The Word "Fuck" In Public, You Will Be Fined!

[Mitchell]

Town Of Middleborugh, MA: If You Say The Word "Fuck" In Public, You Will Be Fined!

I just read an article that stated that the town of Middleborugh, MA, is strongly considering passing a law, imposing a $20 fine, against anyone caught swearing in public. Supposedly, the problem of swearing has become such an issue in that town, that lawmakers are considering this bill as a way to "improve quality of life in the town".

Thoughts on this propsed law?

Mitch

 

[Leo tickles]

Fuck no?

Censorship is bad.

 

[Angel_2]

Freedom of speech that is all

 

[DontAskJusTckle]

Yeah. What Angel said.

 

[jhop220]

We're protected by the First Amendment not to debate the weather, but to say things that are controversial.

 

[drewskee]

Fuck that shit!

 

[Bothersome]

As I've stated before, swearing is subjective.

'Fuck' is just a vowel and a few consonants tossed together. I could run down the streets of my town screaming 'Shazbot', and nobody would lift a finger to stop me, despite the fact that it has virtually the same meaning.

Words are just words.

 

[kis123]

Just another way for the courts to make money.......pity!

 

[kopfhorer]

It seems to me that pulling out-of-state drivers over for going 30.00000000001 in a 30 MPH zone as many no-tax-base small towns often do isn't quite covering the budget for Middleborough!

 

[Bothersome]

Provided you're being serious, there are so many things wrong with this reasoning it's hard to know where to begin.

Well, provided that you intend to actually argue that a word is anything more than a mixture of consonants and vowels, feel free to begin somewhere. Making a smartass comment doesn't exactly do much to actually contradict my point.

 

[Jagermeistered]

I usually support freedom of speech, but some of the responses here are just mind-blowing.

They're not passing a law; the law already exists. What they're talking about is increased enforcement. That's the biggest problem I see; how they could possibly enforce this.

To me, freedom of speech is about actual speech - not about yelling "Fuck this!" or "Fuck that!"

Reflexively citing the First Amendment is just intellectual laziness. Anyone who's read the First Amendment would know it doesn't cover municipal governments like Middleboro's.

As for saying controversial things, we're not talking about John Peter Zenger or even Rush Limbaugh here. We're talking about people who loudly curse in public - and I'll bet you none of them are saying "Fuck the President!" or anything that could remotely be construed as political speech.

If anything, I think kis123 and kopfhorer are on to something here.

I have to agree with this, any public grievances of this sort, should be brought up to the Massachusetts Supreme Court(where the State Constitution), can be applied - before going Federal.

 

[maniactickler]

No fine, but you should be bitch slapped.

 

[GEORGIATKLER]

Let's keep the "swear jar" in the private( mostly grandmas and older aunts) sector. What if you play certain rap songs that have forbidden words in the lyrics? Can you buy a "Get the F*** out of Jail Free" card? Will words that rhyme with f*** get you a warning?

 

[Bothersome]

Okay, you were being serious. I'll start here, then.

"I could run down the streets of my town screaming 'Shazbot', and nobody would lift a finger to stop me"

Nobody but the police, that is. Anyone else would conclude you're insane and possibly dangerous, so they'd leave you alone out of self-preservation if for no other reason. But you're welcome to test your assertion: run through the streets screaming "Shazbot", or "Goram", or "Apples", and let us know how that turns out.

I live in a town where people run screaming drunk down the streets on a daily basis. I assure you I could get away with it.

But, that's not the point. Let me phrase it differently. If I were to walk down the streets of a town where the word 'fuck', is outlawed, and I were to walk up to one of the Police officers and calmly say, "Shazbot", I assure you that they wouldn't do anything. Despite the fact that they have the exact same meaning, I would be allowed to say it.

"despite the fact that it has virtually the same meaning."

I get that both "fuck" and "shazbot" are made-up combinations of sounds. So are "ham", "star" and "dress" (all of which are "just a vowel and a few consonants strung together") - but there's no serious argument to be made that those four vowel-consonant groups have "virtually the same meaning". I'd also point out that words are not "just words"; they do have power, whether we like it or not. If they didn't, then nobody would object to racial/ethnic/sexual slurs. Also, there's another difference between an f-bomb and the other words mentioned; the fact that it sometimes carries threatening, or at least aggressive, intent - something you can't say for the rest.

All of which, while fine as debate, misses the point behind the town's proposal. It's not so much the words as the volume at which they're spoken that seems to be the problem; at least none of the articles I read mentioned any problems with swearing in a normal conversational tone.

Actually, words really are just words. You could scramble a dictionary, and attach random words to random meanings, and still have a fully-functional language. In fact, that's exactly how languages work. If words were anything more than consonants and vowels attached to an agreed meaning, then there wouldn't be multiple languages.

It's not the word that has power. It's the meaning behind it. People just associate the meaning with the word, giving the illusion that the word is anything more than a representation of an idea.

Shazbot and Fuck have the same meaning. Fuck is illegal in that town, Shazbot is not. They outlawed a word, not a meaning.

Virtually nothing is going to be accomplished with that law.

 

[Mitchell]

I just read that the town had a meeting last night, and voted to make the $20 fine law.

However.. it isnt automatic, and will be at the discretion of police. The new law doesnt mean, supposedly that everyone who says a swear in public will be fined. The real meaning would be if the person's swearing makes it uncomfortable for people around them,

So.. in Yankee hating country.. if Red Sox fans in Middleborough say "Fucking Yankees", the mood of the police will dictate whether they get a $20 fine for doing so.

Mitch

 

[WorkInProgress]

Folks, I wasn't planning to log into this site at all from the nudist convention that I'm attending this week, since it would defeat the purpose of being away from my normal routines, but I did, and while I still plan to keep this visit brief, I do feel the need to provide some information here, none of which has the remotest to do with my personal opinion.

I can see why Dr. Vollin would consider it intellectual laziness to bring up the First Amendment, since it opens with the words "Congress shall make no law...," but even so, he is wrong. Reason: Even though the Bill of Rights, at the time it was written, was intended strictly as limitations on the power of the national government, rather than on state and local governments, in the 20th century the Supreme Court has made use of the Fourteenth Amendment (ratified in 1868) to apply the First Amendment to the states. They do that by taking the words "nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law" and incorporate freedom of speech as "liberty." And realize, a town is an administrative subdivision of the state. So, absolutely, the U.S. Supreme Court has jurisdiction over this ordinance, using the First Amendment as incorporated under the Fourteenth Amendment.

Please be clear that I have not addressed how I think they would rule, or how I wish they would rule. The point is merely this: they do have jurisdiction.

 

[DontAskJusTckle]

The Supreme Court legislating from the bench, expanding it's sphere of jurisdiction? I'm just...shocked!

By the way, the best thing about going to nudist conventions is the money you save at the airport by traveling light!

 

[Jagermeistered]

I just read that the town had a meeting last night, and voted to make the $20 fine law.

However.. it isnt automatic, and will be at the discretion of police. The new law doesnt mean, supposedly that everyone who says a swear in public will be fined. The real meaning would be if the person's swearing makes it uncomfortable for people around them,

So.. in Yankee hating country.. if Red Sox fans in Middleborough say "Fucking Yankees", the mood of the police will dictate whether they get a $20 fine for doing so.

Mitch

So, it is brought to execution by assholes. The police force are assholes! They enforce, "power and control," and not Liberty! If a police officer arrests a woman for giving her opinion. I hope he holds his mother, and she dies the most painful death! And, I hope that the police officer will realize: Liberty is a pain! His stupidity means nothing to the progress of humanity.

Humanity is progressed thru trial and error... The police officer is a waste! He could be more productive - ending National Hunger! Farm - bitches, and put your gun away!

 

[ZenTickling]

Fucking bullshit, and I would tell that to a cop in MA.

 

[kopfhorer]

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(WARNING: NSFW)

 

[ticklishdanny]

Fuck

 

[c7_assassin]

Oh, if only this town were close enough to stage a protest. I'm thinking loudspeakers and this:

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[PhoenixRising]

Well...fuck!

 

[ticklishdanny]

what happens if you use the term "shitfuck"?

 

[Raystanz333]

I'm done.