Language is a weird, shifting thing. We decide certain sounds are "bad" based on nothing more than a collective hunch, then we build entire legal systems to punish people who make those sounds.
George Carlin understood this better than anyone.
In 1972, he walked onto a stage and listed the George Carlin 7 deadly words. You know them. Shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker, and tits. He wasn't just trying to be a shock jock; he was performing a linguistic autopsy on American hypocrisy. He wanted to know why these specific clusters of letters could "curve your spine" or "keep the country from winning the war."
Honestly, it’s hilarious how much trouble seven little words caused.
The Night in Milwaukee and the Birth of a Legend
It started at Summerfest. July 21, 1972. Carlin performed his "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television" routine to a crowd of thousands. The police weren't laughing. They arrested him for disorderly conduct and profanity.
Imagine getting handcuffed for saying "tits" in public.
The charges were eventually dismissed because the judge ruled that while the language was "indecent," it wasn't "obscene." That distinction seems like hair-splitting today, but in the seventies, it was the difference between a career and a jail cell. Carlin didn't back down. He leaned in. He recorded the bit for his album Class Clown, and later, a slightly different version called "Filthy Words" for the album Occupation: Foole.
That’s when things got really messy.
FCC v. Pacifica: The Case That Changed Everything
In October 1973, a radio station in New York called WBAI aired the "Filthy Words" monologue. A man named John Douglas was driving with his 15-year-old son, heard the broadcast, and complained to the FCC.
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One complaint. That is all it took.
The FCC issued a declaratory order against Pacifica Foundation (the owners of WBAI). They didn't fine them immediately, but they put a "letter of reprimand" in their file. This wasn't just a slap on the wrist; it was a threat to their broadcasting license. The case crawled through the legal system for years until it hit the Supreme Court in 1978.
The Court ruled 5-4 against the station.
Writing for the majority, Justice John Paul Stevens argued that the government has a right to regulate "indecent" speech on the airwaves because broadcasting is "uniquely pervasive" and "uniquely accessible to children." This created the "safe harbor" rules we still deal with today. It basically said you can’t say the George Carlin 7 deadly words between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. because kids might be listening.
Why the List is Actually Absurd
Carlin’s genius wasn't just the swearing. It was the logic.
He pointed out that "piss" is okay if you’re "pissed off," but not if you’re "pissed on." It’s the same word! The only thing that changed was the preposition. He noted that "tits" sounds like a snack—New Nabisco Tits. It’s a soft, friendly word, yet it was lumped in with "motherfucker."
We treat words like they have inherent magical powers to corrupt.
In 2026, the lines have blurred so much they’re almost invisible. We have streaming services where "fuck" is the most common word in the script. We have podcasts where anything goes. Yet, if a local news anchor accidentally lets a "shit" slip at 5 p.m., the FCC still gets flooded with emails. We are still living in the shadow of that 1978 ruling.
The 7 Words Today: Are They Still Deadly?
Not really. But the spirit of the restriction remains.
- Shit: Basically a comma in modern conversation.
- Piss: You’ll hear this on primetime dramas now without a bleep.
- Fuck: Still the "big one" for network TV, though cable has mostly surrendered.
- Cunt: Interestingly, this is the one word on the list that has arguably become more taboo in the US, while becoming a term of endearment in the UK and Australia.
- Cocksucker: Still carries a heavy weight, mostly due to its aggressive nature.
- Motherfucker: Samuel L. Jackson turned this into an art form.
- Tits: You can see them on HBO, but you still can't say the word on CBS at noon.
Carlin’s point was that there are no bad words, only bad thoughts and bad intentions. He hated how we used language to hide the truth—euphemisms like "collateral damage" instead of "dead civilians." He saw the 7 words as the most honest part of our vocabulary.
Actionable Insights for the Modern Speaker
If you're a creator, writer, or just someone who cares about free speech, there are a few things to take away from the Carlin legacy:
- Context is King: The FCC doesn't care about the word itself as much as when and where you say it. Understand your platform's "terms of service" because they are the new FCC.
- Question the Taboo: When someone tells you a word is "inappropriate," ask why. Is it because the word is harmful, or because it makes people uncomfortable by being too honest?
- Language Evolves: The "deadly" list of 1972 isn't the same as the "deadly" list of today. Nowadays, social taboos often surround slurs or hate speech rather than scatological terms.
- Own Your Voice: Carlin's career exploded because he stopped trying to be the "clean" comedian and started being himself. Authenticity usually requires a bit of "indecency."
George Carlin didn't just give us a list of swears. He gave us a roadmap for challenging authority. He showed us that if you can control the words people use, you can control how they think. By saying the "unsayable," he broke the spell.
The next time you hear a bleep on the radio, remember that a guy in a jeans jacket fought the Supreme Court for your right to hear what's underneath it. Language is power. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.