When is it ok?

I have always been apprehensive in using profanity... in writing. The same doesn't apply for verbal communication. 


There are times I find that using profanity is, well, profane. Swearing for the sake of swearing. 


David Keuck said it best: "Profanity is the crutch of the conversational cripple."


But, there are times that it just feels so necessary like there are no other words in the English language to convey my emotion. 


Mark Twain: "Profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer."


I write another blog about living off of my tips as a server. My mom reads it and tells me everyday that I need to clean up my language. Ever since I was a child she's told me, as her mother has told her, the only appropriate time to swear is when you stub your toe. 


I told my mom that I use profanity in place of writing about my intervenes drug use and unprotected sex. She didn't think that was as funny as I did. 


So when is swearing ok? I think it is up to the discretion of the writer and the editor. 


In news stories, swearing is permitted in quotes but "not wanted in the news report," according to the CP Stylebook. The obscenity has to have a purpose. "Always consider other ways of getting across this element of the story before resorting to the use of obscenities."(CP Stylebook)