P___ ina! (SOB) …Patayin ang Gloria-forever Cha-cha na ito!” [Let’s kill this Gloria-forever Charter change!], opposition Sen. Mar Roxas shouted at last Friday’s rally in Makati City to denounce moves by Malacañang allies to revise the Constitution through a constituent assembly.

The use of an expletive by the normally decorous Roxas drew mixed reactions. Press Secretary Jesus Dureza said, “We are saddened that he stooped so low in his tirade. We don’t think his crass language will help in his desperate drive to catch up with the popularity ratings of other leading ‘presidentiables.’” The public’s reaction was largely negative. But others, like Naga City Vice Mayor Gabriel Bordado, said Roxas might have been exasperated over the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo administration’s repeated attempts to push through with Charter change.

Roxas could have uttered something elegant, in the manner of Cicero’s measured cadences: “Quo usque tandem abutere, Catilina, patientia nostra?” [When, O Cataline, do you mean to cease abusing our patience?] Or he could have cursed with more finesse, and used some bombast and literary flourish, like the 16th century philosopher Giordano Bruno who excoriated some politicians thus: “Cut-purses, miles of cheats, enterprises of scoundrels, delicious disgusts, foolish decisions, crippled hopes, virile women, effeminate men, and everywhere the love of gold.”

George Washington had his share of insults during his time. Critic William Duane called him “the man who is the source of all the misfortunes of our country.” Pamphleteer Tom Paine, addressing Washington directly, said: “… [A]nd as to you, Sir, treacherous in private friendship … and a hypocrite in public life, the world will be puzzled to decide whether you are an apostate or an impostor, whether you have abandoned good principles, or whether you’ve had any.”

Politician John Randolph painted this devastating image of fellow politician Edward Livingstone: “He was a man of splendid abilities but utterly corrupt. Like rotten mackerel by moonlight, he shines and stinks.” Does this not remind you of some of our government officials and politicians?

Alexander Hamilton said of Aaron Burr: “This man has no principles, public or private. As a politician, his sole spring of action is an inordinate ambition.” Again, does this not remind you of some government officials and politicians of both sexes?

Occasionally, expletives can have good uses. Research at the British University of East Anglia (UEA) suggests that using a few choice curse words might be a good way to let off steam. The researchers say swearing can be an effective way to reduce anxiety and increase social solidarity.

Professor Yehuda Baruch of the UEA said their study suggested that in many cases, “taboo language serves the needs of the people for developing and maintaining solidarity, and as a mechanism to cope with stress.”

William Graham Sumner, professor of sociology and politics at Yale College from 1908 to 1909, said in his classic textbook, “A Study of Mores, Manners, Customs and Morals”: “There may be some psychology of expletives, but they seem to be accounted for, like slang, by the expediency of expression, which is the purpose of all language. There is a need for expression which will win attention and impress the memory.

“A strong expletive shocks an opponent, or it is an instinctive reaction on a situation which threatens the well-being of the speaker. It is a vent to emotion which gives relief from it when other relief is not possible. This last is one of the chief useful reasons for expletives.”

But Sumner warned that cursing could become a vicious habit, “for stronger and stronger expressions are required to win the same subjective effects.”

So, was Roxas justified in using the “P” word in his speech at Friday’s rally? Maybe. We think that the Filipino people are justified in cursing this administration, which is perceived to be the most corrupt in the country’s history, which has tolerated the killing of hundreds of activists and journalists, which is violating the human rights of the people, which is profligate with the people’s money, which has no morals, no decency and shame, which is bent on perpetuating itself in power. But if we want gentility in the face of so much evil, let us return to the mild-mannered Cory Aquino’s expression of disgust: “Tama na! Sobra na!” [Enough! Too much!]