#%!*$

This is a sign somewhere in Seville, Spain, photographed by my friend Celeste Delgado-Librero. It is a beautiful piece made of ceramic tiles, the cracking only adds to the patina developed over time. I suspect that it is in a bar, although it could easily be in a public space like a market or a small plaza. The message here is "Blaspheming Prohibited". In english we would probably write "No Swearing" or "No Cussing".

Blaspheming is a particular kind of swearing, of course. It means showing irreverence or contempt for God or sacred personages, and it comes from the Middle English blasfemen. Before that it was Old French blasfemer, Late Latin blasphemare, and Greek blasfemos, and so on to the Indo-Europeans who apparently enjoyed the tradition of profane speech. Our verb "to blame" comes from the same root, and blasphemy in many cases is blaming God (rightly or not) for causing or allowing something to happen. Like when I hit my thumb with a hammer.

George Carlin used to say that there are no "bad words", just bad intentions. In these politically correct days there is a movement to protect us from things we do not want to hear, and the Christian Right has appointed itself Hall Monitor to the world (did you hear the one about Haiti and the Devil?).

I think we need to lighten up a bit.

With all good intentions, I created a new sign. Instead of telling you what to do or not to do (signs can be so bossy), this one is more of a request or a suggestion. After all, blaspheming is an ancient tradition.

When early man discovered fire (or received it as a gift from God), how long do you think it took him to burn himself? And what words do you think came from his mouth when that happened? Cussing was old hat long before the Indo-Europeans invented their own root word bha.