I'm the sort of person who has trouble not saying what they think. It just rolls right off my tongue. That's not always a good thing. Learning to nod and grin would often be in my benefit, but I find it difficult to do.
How about you?
A bit. I'm naturally very polite and deferential to begin with, so it's not difficult or unusual for me to think about what I say before I say it. I think my self-censorship is pretty well built-in. Sometimes I reword or omit something. Occasionally I think twice and decide not to speak at all. I'm cool with it. Nobody cares what I have to say anyway, so it doesn't matter.
Where I get into trouble is those areas in which, due to my strangely poor socialization in early life, I disagree with the herd about what constitutes a socially-acceptible thing to say. Like, I don't see anything wrong with telling someone, point blank, that I disagree with them--no matter who they are. Some folks think that's rude. Or being honest about your strengths. Many folks will consider that boasting. I make trouble for myself when I breach these idiotic imaginary lines that others abide by and refuse to feel abashed when they try to call me out on it. Uh, no--im not playing your dumb game that sucks. And I'm not going to feel bad about it, either.
of course i self-censor. i find the spoken language a treacherous thing to rely upon only. maybe it has to do with me not having grown up with english - dunno. depending on how important, how dear a person is to me i will make an effort to be understood. that's what i love about this medium: i can keep editing & rephrasing until i feel: yes, this is exactly what i want to convey. but direct contact has its own allure of course. i am lucky enough to never have to censor myself for survival reasons (saving relationship, job, political position...) any more.
Is against my nature to censor me. So a Fucker here and Asshole there will happen here often.
Some days are better then others. However I've stopped even trying to censor my self with flat earth believers. I've found it to be a good release. It's usually a string of course words like douche-pickle, twat-waffle, cock-nose, or dumb-ass-ball-chined-mother-fucker.
It’s something that took me years to learn. But up until a few years ago I would also say what was on my mind and it would get me in trouble more often than not. Now I restrain myself and rethink to be a little less direct and find a more positive way of getting my point across. I will say it’s not necessarily the best idea to leave things unsaid. But it needs to be said in a tactful way.
I've learned to but my tongue pretty well. As a bisexual atheist in a conservative Christian home, I have to bite my tongue on a constant basis. But I've gotten so used to it by now it's just automatic for me. It's really nice to find a community now though where I can openly and honestly express myself in a safe environment.
The only time I tend to do it is at work. I do not care what others think outside of my job and I act accordingly.
I think faster then I write...lol, yeah right!...lol.... so I go back and read a post or comment and realize I've left out a word... I open it up and correct it..
People are strong willed and will think and feel whatever they do regardless of what anyone else says. Generally I shake my head and walk away if it's too ridiculous. I don't like to fight and if people are already shooting off about some nonsense they are likely more excitable than I care to handle. I have no interest in stirring it up so no worries, no real problem keeping my mouth shut most of the time. It comes down to weighing just how much danger a person is in with what they say. Will someone die if I ignore it? Will they be injured? Will the topic at hand being challenged or left alone make any real difference? If no, then it isn't worth my time or effort to get into it. I reserve that for damage control alone.
I don't have a problem keeping my mouth shut when it's not worth the trouble.
This is an instance where women have a better chance of getting away with not biting her tongue.
A man has a chance of getting slugged in the mouth for blurting out something to the wrong guy. lol
I have the opposite issue, ie. I've had a doctor say to me, "You're awfully quiet. Help me out."
Self-censor or trying to say what's appropriate to the situation? If cussing someone out is what's called for then I do it. If gentleness is gonna work better with fewer 'f' bombs then I'll do that. I would say, unless you have Tourettes, that we always self-censor.
Sá sem lifir án aga, deyr án heiðurs
That is the saying in Old Norse that I have tattooed across my back. It translates to:
He who lives without discipline, dies without honor. That is my motto. It keeps me from letting things go, including my rather sharp tongue, my appetite for cake and ice cream and my tendency for pain and suffering.
@silvereyes And the bitch is you cannot read it in the mirror. So I say it under my breath.
I those moments when I stop caring I do the same thing, I just speak and whatever comes out comes out. I then spend some time questioning why I said what I did, or sometimes it is just the way I have said something that comes across the wrong way, nothing I can do about it except try and learn from mistakes
All the time.
I'm not super profane but I cuss enough to offend the occasional prude. In a setting like this I keep it to a minimum. On other sites were I participate, cursing is much more common and accepted, but even there, I don't become egregious with it.
I'm pretty good at giving people the benefit of the doubt and being gentle with them but sometimes I am so weary of bad thinking and getting crankier as I age, and I let 'em have it. I don't often regret doing so. It usually takes quite a bit of Stoopid to set me off, even now.