I find it fascinating that the word, “crap” is offensive to some people. I find it comical that you can talk about hell, but when you say something like, “what the hell”, the context suddenly makes the word “bad”.
I think it is thee spirit behind the use of the word that matters. So, is it worse to say damn than darn, or f**kin’ instead of frickin’? Or “rats” instead of “sh**”. The whole thing is a fascinating issue to me and I put it in this context:
IN the fifties, it was common to light up a cigarette at the dinner table, but no-one would EVER consider it appropriate to say the f word. And today, it’s common to hear the f word at the dinner table, but no-one would ever consider lighting up a cigarette.
i.e. it’s all cultural norms, which ebb and flow.
I find offense over the word "crap" possibly also fascinating, though I wouldn't mean the word "fascinating" in any way that meant "confusing" or "incredible." My fascination is about what cultural norms allow, though without reaching anything like pure cultural relativism.
I also agree about the larger context of language, but that agreement is why I can see a reason behind the different treatments of uses of the word "hell." I also don't find those differences comical at all.
Maybe I should ask sometime, but I always assumed that the difference lies in context. Hell and damnation are what some people call "serious business," Using a phrase like to "damn you to hell" literally and seriously is spiritually dangerous, and using it lightly is hardly better (in part because using it lightly is trifling with danger). In other words, think of something like "taking the Lord's name in vain" (yes, context matters!) and extending that principle.
I'll post even more later, and if what I want to happen does happen, we'll even return to the subject of those Norwegians.