Watch your mouth if you live in Middleborough, Massachusetts or walk around with bunch of $20 bills. The town has voted to fine you 20 bucks if you swear.
The self proclaimed, “Cranberry Capital” of the world wants its 68 square miles to be four letter word free. While they can try to keep out some words, they can’t prevent being named this week’s Whiner of the Week.
Apparently the youth in this town have taken to letting curse words flow like a mighty river. To tame their tongues, police can fine them for their outbursts. Before you run to a nearby ATM you should know that local leaders say police will not enforce the rule on “casual conversations.”
The sign of relief you just heard came from owners of shih-tzu dogs.
Colorful and descriptive words do have a place in our vocabulary and should be used sparingly. The role of government is not to wash objectionable free speech out of your mouth. I imagine the ACLU is excitedly planning to visit this corner of America.
The sad thing is that a more creative solution could have reminded the young folk to watch their language and done a better job of branding the town. The 23,000 residents could have appealed to soap manufacturers to come and “clean up their town.” That could have gotten them some free soap and publicity. Instead, they’ll likely find themselves having to pay for a legal challenge to a silly law.
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