Hellobee Boards

Using "oh my god" is something I do a lot. Honestly, I think "oh my goodness/gosh" sound contrived and weird. I won't stop LO from saying it either. I do say Jesus Christ (and Jesus H. Roosevelt Christ) a lot, but reading through this I'm willing to reconsider that one. I don't say it in front of my (highly religious) family already.

I will say that DH and I are way more laid back about what we consider a big deal on the curse word front. Possibly because I was raised with so many restrictions (even "darn" type words were banned, because they were just another way of cursing, and things like "butt" were banned as well), I just don't think it's a big deal. We'll teach LO appropriate contexts for it, and she can more or less say what she wants as she's old enough to understand when it's okay. (Like not at school.)

@looch: At the end of the day, you phrased it better than I could - if the word has the potential to offend, I make the effort to eliminate it from my vocabulary.

We can use examples and disagree all day long so I'll just leave it to that.

All words have the potential to offend. And it will all, always, come back to personal choice. It's never my intent to offend anyone but will probably frequently offend someone.

I'm interested, would those for whom this is offensive be equally offended by someone saying "ay dios mio?" Is it the English word for god that is offensive or any language? Allah is simply god in another language. While I agree that American culture is perhaps more inclined to "take the lord's name in vain," and not those of other religions, I think that speaks more toward our demographic and vernacular than prioritizing protection of other religions more than Christianity.

Again, know your audience and try not to be an asshole. But I don't live life focused on aligning myself with the beliefs of others. These are offensive terms to you. They aren't to me and I don't use them to offend. I'll stay as cognizant of my audience when employing these terms as I am with my use of other exclamatory phrases. So, basically, not with my boss or her bosses. But I'll always try not to be an asshole.

Also wanted to add- I don't see oh my god as the same as Jesus Christ as an exclamation. It's not specific to a particular god. I don't capitalize it, and I actually say oh my gods often as not, because I'm a nerd and watch too much battlestar galactica.