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Post by Cry Me a Wiggle on Mar 25, 2010 16:11:21 GMT -5
Well, it usually originates on playgrounds and schoolyards. It's too bad a lot of people never grow out of using it.
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Post by Back to being Cenanuff on Mar 25, 2010 16:15:25 GMT -5
Reminds me of the South Park fag episode.
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Post by Kevin Hamilton on Mar 25, 2010 16:46:30 GMT -5
No. Words always shift with the times. Gay means happy, originally, then it got attached to homosexuals, now it's offensive. Take the word retard. It's a perfectly acceptable word and it describes a condition. A person has a retardation of some normal function. Shame was attached to the word, now it's considered to be offensive. Lots of people still use and lots do not. The field shifted on that word to where people said, "These people aren't retarded, they're specially challenged or gifted or abled or what have you".....So now, it'd be very rare to hear an insult like, "He's retarded." Now you're far more likely to hear, "He's special". Special has replaced retarded almost entirely as the insult. Keep coming up with things you want to call yourself or others and the words will all shift to reflect that. When someone says, like washing windows, "this is gay." They don't mean, "this is two of people the same sex who are a couple", they mean "lame or uncool" Of course, moving that back it may mean they find homosexuals to be lame or uncool, but that's not really the aim of what they are saying. If you don't attach shame to words, they don't carry the power to hurt or offend. You can't be free from any of those of things and by the way, it's not your right to be not be offended. I don't know what any of this rambling means, but uh, there it is. Agreed. To me, that'd be far more offensive than some idiot using a derogatory word. Free speech means even the most idiotic, hateful shit is as protected as anything else. If you start trying to regulate speech, where would you stop? I agree it's a stupid, insensitive thing for people to say; BUT to try and mandate word use? Can't agree with that at all.
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Post by Bravo Echo November on Mar 25, 2010 17:00:02 GMT -5
It's all in context. My gay friends don't find it offensive, shoot, they even say the word when describing something. I do however laugh at campaigns like this to outright "ban" a word. While you are at it, try to punch the sky too.
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AriadosMan
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Post by AriadosMan on Mar 25, 2010 17:01:33 GMT -5
Its really more the intent than the word itself that makes usage offensive. I've heard some people say "this is so gay" in a way that's so inconsequential its just like use of the word "sucks". Other times, it actually is a specific pejorative used to describe gay people.
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Post by Clash, Never a Meter Maid on Mar 25, 2010 17:05:35 GMT -5
It's all in context. My gay friends don't find it offensive, shoot, they even say the word when describing something. I do however laugh at campaigns like this to outright "ban" a word. While you are at it, try to punch the sky too. The campaign isn't pushing for any laws banning its usage. It's just reminding the viewer how stupid using "gay" in that context is, and to hopefully discourage it.
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AFN: Judge Shred
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Post by AFN: Judge Shred on Mar 25, 2010 17:31:55 GMT -5
I know a bunch of people who work with people with mental retardation, and they all use the word, but not to describe the people they work with, they describe people who are acing dumb. And since the word means to make slow; delay the development or progress of (an action, process, etc.); hinder or impede. They often use it in the correct context. There is nothing offensive with that.
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Legion
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Post by Legion on Mar 25, 2010 18:33:35 GMT -5
Its really more the intent than the word itself that makes usage offensive. I've heard some people say "this is so gay" in a way that's so inconsequential its just like use of the word "sucks". Other times, it actually is a specific pejorative used to describe gay people. Yes, but the point is that to some actual gay people, it isnt inconsequential, because the only reason that the word gay has come to mean the same as sucks, is because people associated being gay with something bad. While yes, it is fine to say that words have no power and one shouldnt be insulted by them, and indeed that is my opinion, you cannot in anyway say that something isn't offensive just because it is used flippantly. Would you feel the same if people went round saying 'that is so black' to describe something that sucked?
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Legion
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Post by Legion on Mar 25, 2010 18:35:32 GMT -5
No. Words always shift with the times. Gay means happy, originally, then it got attached to homosexuals, now it's offensive. Take the word retard. It's a perfectly acceptable word and it describes a condition. A person has a retardation of some normal function. Shame was attached to the word, now it's considered to be offensive. Lots of people still use and lots do not. The field shifted on that word to where people said, "These people aren't retarded, they're specially challenged or gifted or abled or what have you".....So now, it'd be very rare to hear an insult like, "He's retarded." Now you're far more likely to hear, "He's special". Special has replaced retarded almost entirely as the insult. Keep coming up with things you want to call yourself or others and the words will all shift to reflect that. When someone says, like washing windows, "this is gay." They don't mean, "this is two of people the same sex who are a couple", they mean "lame or uncool" Of course, moving that back it may mean they find homosexuals to be lame or uncool, but that's not really the aim of what they are saying. If you don't attach shame to words, they don't carry the power to hurt or offend. You can't be free from any of those of things and by the way, it's not your right to be not be offended. I don't know what any of this rambling means, but uh, there it is. Agreed. To me, that'd be far more offensive than some idiot using a derogatory word. Free speech means even the most idiotic, hateful s*** is as protected as anything else. If you start trying to regulate speech, where would you stop? I agree it's a stupid, insensitive thing for people to say; BUT to try and mandate word use? Can't agree with that at all. I point you to what I said after that about how there has been an overlap and to what I say above that essentially summarises that point. As for freedom of speech, it is already regulated. Try walking around calling everything 'the n word' or 'the c word' and see how long it goes before someone steps in.
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Post by VenomFang on Mar 25, 2010 18:36:30 GMT -5
I use the word to describe something that I think "sucks" or is "stupid." I know its offensive but I dont mean to offend when using it.
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Legion
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Post by Legion on Mar 25, 2010 18:39:09 GMT -5
I use the word to describe something that I think "sucks" or is "stupid." I know its offensive but I dont mean to offend when using it. Why use it then? Why not just say 'that sucks?'
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Post by VenomFang on Mar 25, 2010 18:41:04 GMT -5
Force of habit I guess.
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Legion
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Post by Legion on Mar 25, 2010 18:49:23 GMT -5
I'm sure alot of people just use it and don't realise that really what they are saying, because of the over lapped connotations, what they are sort of saying is that that something sucks because it is gay and gay = bad because that's all about homosexual stuff. That is, after all, where the term has come from.
It could be seen as just as offensive as any racist remark, yet people let it go because it's so wide spread at the moment and, because calling something gay and meaning it's bad isnt the same to some as directly says gay is bad, so they don't see it as being homophobic, despite the fact that on the basest of levels it really kinda is.
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Post by Orange on Mar 25, 2010 18:49:31 GMT -5
Wow this thread generated a lot of interest, I guess I should give my side of it.
First of all i'm not gay, so I can't say the word offends me but I can see why it may offend some people. I think the commercials are taking it a little over the top, but I could understand why it'd offend some people, just like I can understand why the N word or the C word would offend people.
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Doley.
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Post by Doley. on Mar 25, 2010 18:55:35 GMT -5
yous are all sooooo gay. i jest
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Post by Kevin Hamilton on Mar 25, 2010 19:13:15 GMT -5
Agreed. To me, that'd be far more offensive than some idiot using a derogatory word. Free speech means even the most idiotic, hateful s*** is as protected as anything else. If you start trying to regulate speech, where would you stop? I agree it's a stupid, insensitive thing for people to say; BUT to try and mandate word use? Can't agree with that at all. I point you to what I said after that about how there has been an overlap and to what I say above that essentially summarises that point. As for freedom of speech, it is already regulated. Try walking around calling everything 'the n word' or 'the c word' and see how long it goes before someone steps in. Ah, but there's a difference between someone 'stepping in' because you say something stupid and hurtful and justly pay the potential consequences, and something being regulated by the government. I'm with you on the former, but would never support the latter.
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Post by Real Folk Bruce on Mar 25, 2010 19:39:06 GMT -5
I can see it would be offense if someone were to say "Well you f-ing GAY!" but other then that, it's not really an offensive word. It's like the word "douchebag", it's all about the context.
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Post by The Ichi on Mar 25, 2010 21:16:35 GMT -5
Not to me it isn't. Probably because it's 2010.
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Post by El Cokehead del Knife Fight on Mar 25, 2010 21:36:35 GMT -5
What? We don't contain scantily clad men thrusting towards one another.
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Post by kickassJP on Mar 25, 2010 23:33:24 GMT -5
Someone above was talking about regulating speech and how it's wrong. I couldn't agree more. So what if I say the word gay, who cares. There's far more problems in this world than me saying gay. I say it all the time, and I even say it around my gay friend and he doesn't even care, hell he says it himself. No one has the right to tell me what I can or cannot say.
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