"You're all fags"

Corvidae said:
When 12 year old boys use the word on COD, they just prove that they're losers that can't think of another word.
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That happened to me once. I told the kid to blow me... and about five seconds later he blew me up with a grenade.

*facedesk*
 
I guess a lot of what's been said should also be considered when talking about the other F-word. I know it's not directly made to offend any certain group, but it's equally crass also used a lot more freely by a greater portion of the population (as an emphatic, for example). Is it just a matter of "offense" as people have mentioned, or is this something specific to slurs?
 
FreakyLocz14 said:
I cringe at homosexuals referring to themselves with slurs the same as I cringe at black people doing it.
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Funny thing that it's okay for them to say "gay" and the N word (and I don't mean "expletive"), but when straight people say "gay" or white people say the N word then they get a finger pointed to them. The hate finger.

I don't say the N word because well I have really no use for it but the word gay has alot of definitions. I say "that's so gay" or "you're being gay" alot but I mean it in a different way. When I say "that's so gay" I mean it as in it's dumb/stupid/tacky. When I tell someone that they are "being gay" I mean that they are being crazy/weird/happy etc.

In short, it's gay to let a certain group use a term but not the other.
 
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Gothitelle. said:

Funny thing that it's okay for them to say "gay" and the N word (and I don't mean "nig*ah"), but when straight people say "gay" or white people say the N word then they get a finger pointed to them. The hate finger.

I don't say the N word because well I have really no use for it but the word gay has alot of definitions. I say "that's so gay" or "you're being gay" alot but I mean it in a different way. When I say "that's so gay" I mean it as in it's dumb/stupid/tacky. When I tell someone that they are "being gay" I mean that they are being crazy/weird/happy etc.

In short, it's gay to let a certain group use a term but not the other.
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I have no problem with that. I'm staunchly opposed to political correctness. If you didn't intend your statement as an attack on homosexuals, no harm no foul.
 
Gothitelle. said:
Funny thing that it's okay for them to say "gay" and the N word (and I don't mean "expletive"), but when straight people say "gay" or white people say the N word then they get a finger pointed to them. The hate finger.

I don't say the N word because well I have really no use for it but the word gay has alot of definitions. I say "that's so gay" or "you're being gay" alot but I mean it in a different way. When I say "that's so gay" I mean it as in it's dumb/stupid/tacky. When I tell someone that they are "being gay" I mean that they are being crazy/weird/happy etc.

In short, it's gay to let a certain group use a term but not the other.
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I never understood the former myself, but I never actually sat down to put much thought on the matter either. It's just what it was.

On the latter though, to call something gay or to call someone gay in the term of meaning dumb, stupid, crazy, or what you have you can actually be taken as an offense. No, you're not aiming it as disrespect, but it can come off that way to many people who are indeed gay. Rather than say "That's so gay" in terms of "That's so stupid," then say what you mean rather than take another word in replace of it.
 
Aerilyn said:

I never understood the former myself, but I never actually sat down to put much thought on the matter either. It's just what it was.

On the latter though, to call something gay or to call someone gay in the term of meaning dumb, stupid, crazy, or what you have you can actually be taken as an offense. No, you're not aiming it as disrespect, but it can come off that way to many people who are indeed gay. Rather than say "That's so gay" in terms of "That's so stupid," then say what you mean rather than take another word in replace of it.
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It might just be that the word has become so accessible. It's not that a lot of people use it because it conveys their emotions the best, but because it's become a go-to word. I'm not saying that makes it right, but it's true. Every time my friend says "gay," I can't help to chuckle because it just comes out (and he freaks out about it--quite amusing actually). He doesn't mean it derogatorily, nor as a form of disrespect, but it's sort of like how the F-word works--it just fits into blank spaces. Again, not saying that's supposed to be an example of good vocabulary or anything, but I am conceding that it's a matter of accessibility.
 
FreakyLocz14 said:
I have no problem with that. I'm staunchly opposed to political correctness. If you didn't intend your statement as an attack on homosexuals, no harm no foul.
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But there can be harm even if it's not intended to be an attack. Like if someone is being bullied in school because of their sexuality it could make them feel worse even if it's not directed at them. It's the whole atmosphere. It adds to what might already be a bad situation. There is no harm in trying to be considerate. I don't see why someone would intentionally be offensive once they know that what they're saying. And I can't believe there is anyone today who hasn't been told at least once that they shouldn't say "that's so gay" because it's offensive.
 
Scarf said:
But there can be harm even if it's not intended to be an attack. Like if someone is being bullied in school because of their sexuality it could make them feel worse even if it's not directed at them. It's the whole atmosphere. It adds to what might already be a bad situation. There is no harm in trying to be considerate. I don't see why someone would intentionally be offensive once they know that what they're saying. And I can't believe there is anyone today who hasn't been told at least once that they shouldn't say "that's so gay" because it's offensive.
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I don't feel that people should have to tip-toe around every word they say because someone sensitive around them might be offended.
 
Gymnotide said:
It might just be that the word has become so accessible. It's not that a lot of people use it because it conveys their emotions the best, but because it's become a go-to word. I'm not saying that makes it right, but it's true. Every time my friend says "gay," I can't help to chuckle because it just comes out (and he freaks out about it--quite amusing actually). He doesn't mean it derogatorily, nor as a form of disrespect, but it's sort of like how the F-word works--it just fits into blank spaces. Again, not saying that's supposed to be an example of good vocabulary or anything, but I am conceding that it's a matter of accessibility.
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I can understand that it has become something of a norm in today's list of usual dialogue, but in terms of accessibility, saying what you really mean is just as accessible. The point I'm trying to make here is that while you don't mean anything harmful, it's still disrespectful to title something as gay just because you think it's stupid, bad looking, or dumb. To me it's like an abuse of the word I guess you could say.

FreakyLocz14 said:
I don't feel that people should have to tip-toe around every word they say because someone sensitive around them might be offended.
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It's not a matter of tip-toeing around words. It's a matter of being respectful of someone else.
 
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FreakyLocz14 said:
I don't feel that people should have to tip-toe around every word they say because someone sensitive around them might be offended.
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If you don't intend to offend anyone, then you should recognize when someone will be offended, and avoid saying said offensive word.
 
I think it's not right to use any word that can at least potentially be offensive to a group of people. If someone says "that thing is so gay" or something like that, you might not mean it, but people that are actually gay take it seriously and take it as a homophobic slur. Something that might not mean anything to you, might mean a lot to someone else.
 
Aerilyn said:
It's not a matter of tip-toeing around words. It's a matter of being respectful of someone else.[/FONT]
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Also, we have to be mindful of the lengths of "respect." People can be offended by nearly anything, whether it be something harmless as the word "prick" to something vernacularly connoted to be bad, like "fag." Of course, the latter is more liable to mass upset, rather than individual, so it's a bit more... Stigmatized.

Regardless, no matter how gracefully I can defend this position, it still is "tip-toeing around words," though perhaps in a more valiant manner.
 
Just because some people are easily offended doesn't mean we should assume all people who get offended are easily offended. I just think I need to put that out there.

And the idea of "tip-toeing around words" - some people make it sound like it's this awful thing people have to put up with. Words can do a lot of harm so there's good reason to tip toe sometimes.
 
Point evident in how we dress up our speech for interviews and work-related conversations. It's more of a social dynamic to become 'acceptable'.
 
I never said "just", but yes. If we're talking about a socially-involved topic, then there is always convention as to what is appropriate to say/do/etc. I was providing an analogue to your point to enforce that "tip-toeing" is more commonplace than the topic of this thread.
 
Gymnotide said:
the word "prick"
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Is profanity, not a slur.

It wouldn't be tiptoeing if you weren't naturally inclined to using slurs. I never have to censor myself of slurs 'cos I've never really ever used them in an offensive manner. So it's not a habit I have to 'kick' or something. Unless someone brings them up or uses them, I don't think of them.

Even if you don't mean them offensively, you would be one of the few user's of the words that don't. Whether you like it or not you learned to use the words from people who did intend to offend people and now you're claiming that your use isn't offensive. And if the people you learnt them from didn't mean them offensively, the people they learnt them from would have, and so on.

The words are intended to be offensive (it even says so in the dictionary). If your individual use is not, then that's because you're trying to use the words to mean something they don't.
 
Myles said:
The words are intended to be offensive (it even says so in the dictionary). If your individual use is not, then that's because you're trying to use the words to mean something they don't.
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Slang is where something is not exactly what it's supposed to be, or just not a normal word all together.

Many people use words such as fag, or prick as slang. They're not literal. I call my brother a douche and he calls me a prick all the time. We don't actually mean it.
 
Myles said:
Is profanity, not a slur.

It wouldn't be tiptoeing if you weren't naturally inclined to using slurs. I never have to censor myself of slurs 'cos I've never really ever used them in an offensive manner. So it's not a habit I have to 'kick' or something. Unless someone brings them up or uses them, I don't think of them.

Even if you don't mean them offensively, you would be one of the few user's of the words that don't. Whether you like it or not you learned to use the words from people who did intend to offend people and now you're claiming that your use isn't offensive. And if the people you learnt them from didn't mean them offensively, the people they learnt them from would have, and so on.

The words are intended to be offensive (it even says so in the dictionary). If your individual use is not, then that's because you're trying to use the words to mean something they don't.
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Ach, but that was beside my point.
Aaand, good points for the latter portion. Those are my words exactly.
 
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