No person, act, or word has the power to offend. The only power anyone has over you is the power that you give them.
When people are offended by swearing, they are really only offended by their own lack of control over what you say. They have an idea of how they think you should talk, and they are offended by your refusal to follow their plan.
But who are you to tell me what I'm allowed to say?
A word is only considered a "swear" word when a significant enough number of people agree that they do not want to hear it. But each group of people is subjective. In different company, that word holds absolutely no power to offend.
In fact, often, in the right company, a "swear" word has the power to amuse, to entertain, occasionally even to enlighten.
I believe that the best option is to choose the words that best reach the audience with whom you want to communicate. If you are talking to people who don't like "swear" words, your message will be better heard if you avoid suchs words. Once someone is offended, they stop listening to anything else you're saying.
But if your audience does not respond negatively -- or indeed, responds favorably to such language -- by all means, I'm in favor of their use. Effective communication means choosing the best word for the situation. And yes, sometimes, that's a "swear" word.
