“What the f*%# is going on?

“F%#$ the project.”

“Oh F%&#!”

Millions throw the f-word about, as if it were a “fashionable” expletive. Smartly dressed educated people, nattily dressed executives, advertising people…

My friend from my own field and my colleague have used it and made me cringe. Now, why should that word creep into everyday conversation when you can use any other word? Is the word so “cool”? I think it sounds downright cheap, sleazy and dirty.

I am not too civilized either. I use a word that’s just as dirty. I have to admit it here. But to save myself – I will try to justify it – it appears in dictionaries. It is “ba%&#rd”. Let’s call it the b-word. You see, there are many rowdies near my office. I have to walk to and from the Mandaveli station and my office everyday. Cheap creeps pass comments. Deplorable creatures are aplenty on other Mandaveli roads too. Someone I have to work with seems to have a crush on me and often tries to talk to me non-officially, & stares at me – to the extent that nobody turns me off at this point in my life like he does. I address them under my breath using the b-word (of course – or else the rowdies may make my life miserable) everyday as a result.

I hate to use the word – I cringed when my friend said once - “All men are ba%&#rds” – but using the word on the people I mentioned makes me feel better, and assures me that I am the civilized (well, not totally civilized with regard to language) kind. Why should I feel guilty for wearing what I wear and looking like me, just because they stare at me and comment? Many do say why women should wear certain clothes and attract male attention. Is it really our fault? The men have to be blamed for not controlling themselves. And if I have to resort to saying the b-word, it’s their fault. I don’t use the b-word on all men. It’s just these people. This relates to one more point – as I said in another blog entry, if a man pursues a girl who is clearly above his standards, things are most likely to go downhill.