News Shopper Editor Bans Swearing From Articles

     Whilst searching through seemingly irrelevant emails, I received an interesting email from the person in charge of the Young Reporters scheme, a system which gave children futile hopes in journalism giving them a confidence boost that was not needed and dreams that could not be accomplished (I don’t care what school you go to, Royal Grammar School High Wycombe or Cressex Community School, you lot make me sick with your journalistic etiquette; you’re all crap). The email was from the editor, Diana Jarvis, boldly denouncing the use of swearing in our articles. What I was my reaction? Yes, I reacted with a swear word.  

     I mean, why was swearing banned? It’s stupid. 

     For years, swearing and vulgar language has been used as a tool to engage an audience; this is a vital part of becoming a good journalist, something which people like Diana Jarvis should encourage and not denounce. Come on, we’re 15/16, we’re not going to go to school and just start spewing out volumes of hatred and f words at our teachers. 
     The first experience of swearing I encountered was when I was in year 3, watching “Killing them Softly” , a stand up show by arguably one of the greatest comedians of all time; Dave Chappelle. The guy was dropping a ton of f bombs and n bombs (yes, he was black, don’t worry my fellow liberal friends in Wycombe) and it was received surprisingly positively by an audience who were predominantly of a white ethnicity. Moreover, the very people who he was attacking savagely from a comedic standpoint were the ones who were appreciating him due to his use of swearing. Then, I learnt that Chappelle wasn’t the first guy to do so, he simply followed in the footsteps of other comedians such as Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy. Stand up shows like “Delirious” in 1983 and “The Richard Pryor Show” illustrated the power of using vulgar audience as it shocked the audience almost enforcing them into a trance where they would clap immediately. It shocked black people. It shocked white people. It shocked everyone.  Of course, the shows received a colossal number of complaints, probably from raving KKK lunatics, about the swearing but the performances were normally met with positive reviews. You have to consider that I watched these shows when I was a kid and it completely shaped my childhood (don’t you dare criticise my parents, they’re a miles ahead of you in terms of parenting). Swearing, for me, became trendy and made me stand out in my class; I loved it.  

     Another area where swearing was used effectively was music. The late 80’s saw the rise of hip-hop as an empowering force in music and it drew a lot of attention. Why? Because the rappers swore. A lot. For example, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, a member of the infamous Wu-Tang Clan released a song called “Good for nuthin” which had at least one swear word per line. Bearing in mind that the song was around 5 minutes, I am pretty sure a lot of rednecks in Alabama were scampering to their rifles and pleading the second amendment. It was this kind of ruthless aggression displayed by the rappers which ultimately gave the hip hop scene an unforgettable identity in music. Furthermore, groups such as the NWA and D12 coupled swearing with metaphors about racism revolving around incest, raping the elderly and necrophilia to engage their listeners and ultimately become one of the best selling hip hop groups of all time.  

     So why is swearing such a taboo subject in not only the journalist community but also society itself? Because of people like Diana Jarvis, who are so clearly stuck in the past, religiously pleading their allegiance to traditionalism and cannot accept the changes in society.  

     Only God knows how I wrote this article without swearing.