But many others did not share that point of view … they were pissed.
And therein lies the possible reason that Tlaib's words caused such an outcry.
Are people really offended by swearing?
It's not that Americans are so scandalized by profanity. A 2016 poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that one in four US adults uses the F-word daily, and the number of people who use the word several times per day has doubled in the past decade.
One could argue that it's the idea of respected politicians swearing that turns so many people off, but when has that ever been reality?
And let's not forget how much President Trump loves a good cuss word. Before he was elected, Trump was heard talking about grabbing women "by the p*ssy" and planned to "bomb the sh*t out of ISIS." As president, he's said immigrants come to the US from "sh*thole countries" and called Chinese leaders "motherf*ckers" in a tirade about trade.
If I use profanity will you guys spend 48 hours talking about climate change?
While swearing might make prominent males into "men of the people," it rarely does the same for women.
In 2016, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said during a speech, "Has he [Trump] kept his promises? F*ck no. If we are not helping people, we should go the f*ck home." For this, she was called "unhinged" by ultra-conservative media.
At last year's White House Correspondents' Association dinner, comedian Michelle Wolf was raked over the coals after she peppered her roast with sexual references and profanity. She spent the next several weeks being asked to defend herself, despite the fact that some of her jokes were based on comments made by the president himself.
It seems many don't have a problem with swearing or even with politicians swearing; they have a problem with women—particularly women in power—making use of strong language. Feminist writer Mona Eltahawy summed it up succinctly when she wrote that, as a Muslim woman, she swears specifically because she "isn't supposed to." She does it to "make the patriarchy uncomfortable." And that's likely what Tlaib did, too. In response to criticism, she told the press she is sorry for causing a distraction but not for what she said.
Tlaib's use of profanity gets special attention because she is a part of a special congressional class. Forty-two members of the 2019 congress are women and 24 of them are people of color. Many of them are also younger than the average congressperson, such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is 29, or Ilhan Omar, who is 37.
The newest congressional class seems poised to speak for all Americans, swearing and all, and that's proving to be an unsettling prospect to many older, white, and mostly male Americans who have traditionally functioned under the belief that they would always have the loudest voices in the room.