[Melusine]

Johnny, ouwe paardezak! [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Actually it depends where you go... I agree that it's quite common in the Netherlands and the shock value of a lot of words is lower than for instance the f-word in the USA. Also, we borrowed the f and s word from English and here they have much less offensive value than in native speaking countries (a nasty surprise for Dutch tourists). But you shouldn't get the impression we curse with everything we do and to anyone we can think of. But yes, we have a pretty relaxed attitude towards it.

Personally I try to remember that different countries have different attitudes towards this. So whereas in Holland the f word is not very offensive (to compare: I wouldn't hesitate to use it if my mother was around) I know that it's different for some of my native-speaking friends and try to act accordingly.
However I also agree with Yorick there are no intrinsically offensive words. But your example demonstrates that words CAN be truly offensive and hurtful depending on the context in which they are used.

[ 10-16-2002, 06:35 AM: Message edited by: Melusine ]