Muthafucka

The place of slang and casual language in culture is one that is continuously evolving.  I used to be scared that if I uttered the word "fuck" it would make me seem lower or lesser than those around me. My language lacked color because I took all of the personality out of it.  I spoke only in prose, not in poetry.  I spoke formally to everyone so as not to jeopardize my standing with peers, parents, teachers, or friends.  Then one day I went into work and my manager walked up to me and said, "can you believe this motherfucker over here?"  She did not mean anything against this man, but simple pronouns, watered down language, was not enough to describe the scene that was unfolding,  She could paint with her words and slang was the paintbrush of her choice.  Replacing typical pronouns with words such as "muthafucka" allows for a more expressive form of language. One that does not hold back. These pronouns don't hide behind decadence, they demand attention. They make us question why they were hidden from us at such a young age.  I remember the first time I saw the word "fuck." It was scribbled on the wall of a bathroom stall in my elementary school.  I so desperately wanted to know what it meant.  But these words do not have one clear cut meaning.  They are versatile, able to move from one situation to the next while still retaining the same inherent qualities. So why if someone says "muthafucka" are those around them puzzled by this expression? These words are a more colorful way to express ourselves through language, and the bad connotations places on them are a form of societal oppression of language, are they not? A word is just a word, a grouping of syllables, until we apply meaning to it.

-BR