If you have a hard time keeping your language in check,
you should probably stay away from Middleborough, Mass (USA). —
either that, or clean up your act.
you are caught swearing in public, that’s a $20 fine.
It was one of a string of fines the town passed on Monday night
that also included a $50 fine for littering, a $50 fine for
shoveling snow into the street and a $300 fine for smoking
marijuana in public.
The ban comes at a time when swearing is at an all-time
high: Los Angeles psychotherapist Nancy Irwin told MSNBC that the
tough economy has prompted more cursing.
“I’ve been dropping the F-bomb every time I look at the
Dow or my 401(k) statement!” April Thomas, a 35-year old freelance
writer from Watkinsville, Ga., told MSNBC.
Banning swearing isn’t a new thing — there are also
bans in Australia, Russia, Dubai and at least nine U.S. states.
And, they make $20 look like a bargain: In Rockville,
it’s a $100 fine and in Dubai, swearing is punishable by six months
in jail.
To be clear, the Middleborough ban isn’t intended for
the occasional curse word in a private conversation — it was meant
more to curb loud public swearing by kids in downtown
Middleborough.
Police Chief Bruce D. Gates said “cussing tickets would
not be issued to two guys watching a sporting event that went bad
or if someone who drops their ice cream Drop an
F-bomb according to the Patriot Ledger.
Thanks for clearing that up, chief. Just one more
question — people drop the F-bomb over ice cream? I get over your
401(k) — but @#$%-ing ICE CREAM?!