You’re walking down the street and pass someone—let’s call him Joe. He’s dressed from head to toe in Prada and is talking on his cell phone—the newest BlackBerry. What do you think? Perhaps you’re impressed with Joe’s style and show of wealth. After all, who doesn’t want the newest BlackBerry? But then all of a sudden, Joe grips his phone in his hand and shouts into it, “What the f**k are you talking about, b***h?”

What do you think of Joe now?

There are so many negative effects of using bad words. People often judge others based on their appearances and how they present themselves. If you meet someone who speaks with precision and uses an advanced vocabulary, you’re probably going to think more highly of him or her. If you’re in a conversation with someone and they sprinkle bad words into their speech, chances are that person will lose some respect in your eyes. People who curse heavily are thought of by many as ignorant, unimaginative, immature, disrespectful, whiny, offensive and unpleasant—and the list goes on.

When you curse, you not only give off a bad impression of yourself—your behavior reflects poorly on your family, school and community, too. It might seem extreme, since cursing has become so natural for a lot of us. But when you curse, people might think less of your parents, since they will assume you learned to speak that way from them. People will also think less of the school you attend for not teaching you the proper way to speak. Your community can be any group you are part of—your sports team, friends, neighborhood, ethnicity, nationality or religion—and the way you present yourself reflects the character of that group. This includes the Jewish community. Imagine if our aforementioned Joe were decked out in some Jewish bling—a yarmulke and tzitzit. How would non-Jews judge the broader Jewish community after hearing Joe curse like that?

Because of my strong feelings against the usage of bad language (coupled with a lot of free time over the summer!), I created an organization called Bleep!, whose mission is to eradicate the usage of cursing among kids and teens today. Bleep!’s mission is not to tell people that they’re not allowed to curse; the First Amendment guarantees the right to freedom of speech, and no one can, nor should, infringe upon that. Instead of telling teens not to curse, Bleep! tries to convince them that cursing has many negative effects and should be used sparingly, if at all.

In order to spread Bleep!’s message, I speak at schools about the Bleep! philosophy and the negative effects of cursing. Bleep! now has a membership option. Membership is completely obligation-free. As a member, you can receive a monthly newsletter about Bleep! news, anecdotes about cursing and other Bleep!-related items. By becoming a member of Bleep!, you’re also saying that you understand the negative effects of cursing. To sign up, email bleep3@gmail.com with your name, state/province, and email address.

Joe is not necessarily a bad person because he curses. He’s just a person who happens to use bad words. However, after passing him on the street, what would you think?

You can visit Bleep! at http://sites.google.com/site/bleeporganization

Talia Weisberg is a freshman at Manhattan High School for Girls in the heart of New York. She adores writing and has finished five (as of yet unpublished) books. She also won the 2009 NYC Spelling Bee and tied for 42nd at the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Talia is a member of the JTab.