Mommy Has a Potty Mouth

[pastor's wife]

OK. Confession time.

I was annoyed that my middle-school aged son wasn't obeying me, and I said that his actions (or inactions!) were showing how little respect he had for me, like he was pissing on what I had to say.

My husband just arrived home and my kids proceeded to tell him that, "Mom was swearing!"

Now, that word was certainly something I'd never have said before, and I know it's obnoxious, but I don't think it counts as a swear word. What say ye?

[Zadig]

It's crude but I don't know if I'd call it swearing. Of course with kids, they'll label it as swearing, then think it's okay to swear not seeing the difference between that word and other swear words. So be ready for one of them to belt out the F bomb next and say, "Well you swear too mommy."

[greg]

It's in the KJV.

[Perry]

I don't consider "pissed" to be a curse word. However, it could be considered crude in certain contexts.

[Bob M]

It doesn't bother me. And they are gonna hear people say they're fucked off and they better get their ass in gear and that Obama is an asshole, etc. So for you to say they were pissing on you, no big deal.

[dramaturge]

I would say it's a crass word, but it's not a swear word. It's rude to say in certain situations (just as I wouldn't say "crap" in certain situations because it's crass, but in other situations, crass is no biggie), but I think it was an appropriate metaphor for the situation.

[redhot]

Didn't somebody preach a sermon on that text in the Bible, about what is wrong with our country: men "piss" sitting down.
It is in the good ol' KJV

[Sparkle Pony]

well, you could have said he was "urinating on what you had to say." that might not have had the same impact though. Maybe defecating. Try defecating next time.

[Historian]

My mother would never have said such a word. Ever. One time she was so angry at my younger brother (he was young teen at the time, and being very disrespectful) that she didn't know what to say. She stood there sputtering, wordless for a minute. Then she called him a "Big rude booger."

We all (there were 5 of us) immediately burst into laughter, and after a minute she did, too. It actually did cut the tension and she was able to function till Dad got home and dealt with it. We still call my brother "the BRB."

Anyway, that was just a story. As for the pissing incident? Sometimes crude words make a good point, and are arresting. If you use them every day, I don't see how that's anything more than basic rudeness and inability to express ones self. But if they are used at the proper moment, when they are really fitting, they grab the attention and can sometimes pierce the apathy of bored or inattentive listener. Few listeners are capable of more boredom and less attention than middle-school aged boys, and clearly your kids were struck by what you said! So probably it was a good move there, and actually got through to your son.

[lucrezaborgia]

My dad is a mechanic. The words fuck, asshole, and dick were common fare at the dinner table. I have friends who don't care what they say in front of their kids except to make it known that some words are adult words and some aren't.