Stossel on Constant Cursing

— -- A new "20/20" survey finds that more than 80 percent of you are bothered by rude behavior. But what exactly does "rude" mean? The dictionary says: ill-mannered, discourteous, offensive. But what is offensive?

We think we know it when it happens to us. Celebrities will certainly tell you that aggressive paparazzi are less than polite. Elton John called a few particularly pesky photographers "rude, vile pigs."

We see plenty of rude behavior in sports from coaches like Bobby Knight. And Howard Stern has built a huge following by being rude on his radio show.

Rudeness is one of the main attractions that keeps audiences tuning in to TV's biggest talent show, "American Idol." People gasp at Simon Cowell's rude comments to the show's contestants, but we keep watching.

I've been told I'm rude because I confront people. I think I should confront people, because it helps get to the truth.

Many comedians say they're funny often because their rudeness reveals what many people are thinking. This Dennis Miller joke is a good example: "I was raised Catholic. I went to confession the other day, and I said, 'You first.'"

Miller's joke is painful -- but there's truth behind it. These days, however, many of the comedians seem to believe that they have to add X-rated language. It's routine now in comedy clubs.

People laugh, but shouldn't they be outraged by the coarse language? I went to the comedy club Stand-UpP New York and asked audience members if they were bothered by hearing the word "f--k" all the time.

They weren't.

"When you come in here you expect to hear some of that, so it's not offensive," one woman told me.

She's right. Context matters. But how would you feel if on the street a survey taker came up to you and said: A lot of people feel it was f----d up what the president did, do you feel that President Bush overstepped his boundaries?

At "20/20's" request, comedian Jim Norton took to the streets, pretending to conduct a survey on current events, like the Iraq war. He sprinkled his questions with curse words so "20/20" could gauge respondents' reactions to his foul language.