My father was Navy, but I learned profanity watching Smokey and the Bandit. I am a counselor. Sometimes people use profanity. Sometimes they apologize, because of the office, but then I say, 'don't apologize. What you just shared with me, that fucking sucks ass.'

Things suck. Dead puppies suck. Babies with fucking cancer triple sucks ass. It doesn't take much in life to earn a suck badge, but I dare say there are contexts in which if you're not competing with Samuel L Jackson for an Oscar, you're just not trying hard enough. I suspect Maus had context.

If it bothers someone, I will withhold verbalizing, in my office. I can be Mr. Rogers for a moment. Most people are just so relieved that they met someone real, they tell me everything. In 8 years of community mental health, I had 1 person ask for another counselor because I was male and they wanted female. I had 1 person ask for someone not white. And I had 1 that asked for someone else, who didn't tell me why. I always accommodate. That last 1, my peer counselor came and told me why, quoting her:

"Do you know he cusses?"

"Really?" I asked. That was the thing that shut the conversation down? I wanted to ask does she know all good counselors cuss? I asked "What was your response to that?"

She smiled, "No fucking way?!"