... It's clearly used as a joke, and "bastard", if even a swear word at all (I don't believe it is), is a VERY tame one. On top of that, the whole "omg, bad word" attitude is very out of date. A word, bad or not, used in an offensive context, is fair enough. But tell me - is there any real difference between saying "What the heck" or "What the [F-word]"? And, is "Go screw yourself" really any less offensive than "Go [F-word] yourself"? It's the way it's used, not the word itself, that should be worried about.