Why are bad words such a taboo? In reality, I don't see such a harm in saying them... (ironically enough, I don't like saying them!) I watched a Vsauce video on profanity but I still don't get it. Anyone care to explain?

It's not so much the profane words as most people have become immune to them...it is the tone of the voice behind them when they are used.

Some people, whether rightly or not, are offended by strong language. Good manners dictate that we don't use it when it's likely to offend.

I was once talking to a religious computer geek and a Chinese nurse when the term SNAFU came up. She hadn't heard it before and I explained it was an acronym and meant, "Situation normal, all fouled up."

The geek laughed and said, "I wondered how you were going to clean that up." but I hadn't cleaned it up for the nurse: She didn't mind if I swore. I cleaned it up because of his religious background."

Guess it all goes back to the way youre raised as to how one feels about them. I was taught that people who use them often don't have much of a vocabulary knowledge so they constantly use bad words for everything. The younger Generation hears them all the time in Rap music so they've become deaf to hearing them but the older Generation will get offended as many of us are old fashioned in the reality of bad words