The use of the word "gay"

[MacsomJRR]

this thread is so gay.

 

[aquajet]

Good point. Gay has evolved from flamboyant and happy to homosexual. What do we have to do to make it change once again and make it mean weird or strange?

Sorry, you can't have it back. We homos have claimed it our own, just like we've reclaimed queer. You'll have to make do with some other word.

 

[iBlue]

this thread is so gay.

wow, you're as creative as the last person who said that in this thread - who was consequently banned. tsk tsk tsk. be nice. dammit.

 

[kretzy]

this thread is so gay.

Hilarious! Have you considered going into stand up comedy?

 

[MacsomJRR]

Hilarious! Have you considered going into stand up comedy?

Wow it is so easy to be misunderstood in these forums. Gay = Happy people. C'mon!

 

[aquajet]

this thread is so gay.

Indeed. And a very queer post.

 

[dukebound85]

I swear who cares about being political correct. I feel as if it's wrong to say he's black and should say he's african american. Strange how I do not get offended when someone calls me white. So screw being politically correct, I'll call things I don't like either gay or retarded since thats the language I grew up with. So to all the gay/retarded people I am not insulting you it's just a cultural thing. So just get over it and move on to more important things such as solving homelessness and such.

 

[kretzy]

Wow it is so easy to be misunderstood in these forums. Gay = Happy people. C'mon!

Well considering the context of the thread, what did you expect? Sorry if you meant it in another way.

 

[Blue Velvet]

'Just get over it'

The voice of white male privilege unencumbered by empathy or conscience.

 

[leekohler]

I swear who cares about being political correct. I feel as if it's wrong to say he's black and should say he's african american. Strange how I do not get offended when someone calls me white. So screw being politically correct, I'll call things I don't like either gay or retarded since thats the language I grew up with. So to all the gay/retarded people I am not insulting you it's just a cultural thing. So just get over it and move on to more important things such as solving homelessness and such.

I'd be more than happy to, when you do. If things are as you say, shouldn't you be focusing on these other issues rather than worrying if you can use "gay" to refer to negative things? Just a thought.

 

[bursty]

I swear who cares about being political correct. I feel as if it's wrong to say he's black and should say he's african american. Strange how I do not get offended when someone calls me white. So screw being politically correct, I'll call things I don't like either gay or retarded since thats the language I grew up with. So to all the gay/retarded people I am not insulting you it's just a cultural thing. So just get over it

As ignorant as it is, I actually agree. Everyone is *something* - black, jewish, gay, retarded, SOMETHING. Society just chose "gay" as a derrogatory term. Is it right? Nope. Are you going to change it by getting all pissed off? Nope.

 

[obeygiant]

Thanks for associating my sexuality with just about everything you hate. I really f***ing appreciate it! It's not enough we have to take this crap from people who truly don't like us. We also have to take it from people who say they like us!

what about people who dont care if you are gay?

 

[takao]

on the "black" thing: it's kinda funny how it became the political correct term around here through the US influence alone when just 100-70 years ago "the black man" was the same as "the death" and black was mostly used negatively in the language
thus the name of popular kids catching game: "who fears the black man ?" ...

i use the term gay too even though it's not even german ... actually the german term is used in the same way too.. so it's hardly a US issue alone
and it's not coming from any christian background either
after all it's mostly the younger, non religious, generations using it in that sense

 

[mpw]

...I feel as if it's wrong to say he's black and should say he's african american...

'African-American' is a term I've never liked, why not just American? You don't hear people refered to as African-English or Welsh-Croatian etc.

 

[eva01]

hmm I have a homosexual friend that says things are gay. Then when teachers question him all he says is. "I am gay i can say it if i want, if i can't then you can never call anything straight again."

I got a kick out of that.

 

[grapes911]

'African-American' is a term I've never liked, why not just American? You don't hear people refered to as African-English or Welsh-Croatian etc.

I'm Italian-American. I know people who call themselves as Irish-American and Jewish-American. It all goes back to the "melting-pot" that America is.

 

[mox358]

After my last post I think some of you guys are still taking it all too seriously...

Let's back up... true story... I have seizures. I wasn't born with them, I was in a car accident, hit my head, and now I have to take pills every day. Not a big deal, except they don't always work. I can't control it at all, so some days I'll have something planned that has to be rescheduled because I'm too shaky to go out.

Now what does that have to do with this thread?

I believe a good sense of humor will go much farther than complaining your life away. At first my friends and family acted weird around me... it was awkward but they were afraid of me. One day I realized it's part of life - you roll with the punches. So "I" started making jokes about me having seizures. I started referring to myself as "seizure boy" after a while. And guess what.... it was funny, and I was even having fun with it. It's all about your state of mind... if you're upset and you're just out to pick a fight then by all means keep on going down this road. If not, then maybe just lighten up a little bit and realize there are a lot of people with a lot of unique qualities out there and if they all go a crusade to get people to stop calling them something you're going to :

a) make the people who really want to hurt you say it more
b) make the people who don't want to hurt you feel bad and apologize

It's just natural... the word "gay" is already ingrained in society so much that it has nowhere to go in usage but down. So smile, relax, chill out, whatever you want to call it and live life and have fun and stop worrying so much about a silly word. You may not to be able to change the world overnight but you sure can change your attitude anytime you want, thus making yourself a much happier person. Trust me, I've been there!

 

[mpw]

I'm Italian-American. I know people who call themselves as Irish-American and Jewish-American. It all goes back to the "melting-pot" that America is.

Not wanting to take this to OT but, where were you born? I can kinda understand somebody born in Italy and having moved to America and become a citizen calling themselves Italian-American but not those whos last connection to Italy/Ireland/Africa was generations ago. Its kinda like not wanting to be thought of as just an American like everyone else and is perhaps why it seems America has such a problem with racism.

My mother was Scotish but I don't think of or call myself a Scotish-Jerseyman.

 

[grapes911]

Not wanting to take this to OT but, where were you born? I can kinda understand somebody born in Italy and having moved to America and become a citizen calling themselves Italian-American but not those whos last connection to Italy/Ireland/Africa was generations ago. Its kinda like not wanting to be thought of as just an American like everyone else and is perhaps why it seems America has such a problem with racism.

My mother was Scotish but I don't think of or call myself a Scotish-Jerseyman.

I am 2nd generation American born. It's an American thing (at least where I live it is). I'm guessing it is because America is such a relatively young country and it is pretty easy to trace your roots to another country. Again, it's that "America is a melting pot" thing.

 

[leekohler]

what about people who dont care if you are gay?

Uh- go back and read the post, that was covered.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Back when I was in Middle School, "gay" and "retard" were the fashionable insults to use...of course we didn't really think much about what they meant, we just knew you certainly didn't want to be gay or retarded.

Later, especially after high school, a lot of people I knew (or at least knew of) started to come out and it put a whole new meaning on being "gay" for me, because it went from being a schoolyard taunt to a very real thing that I realized I knew almost nothing about. I admit that it was a tough habit to kick, as all bad habits are, but it wasn't funny any more.

 

[njmac]

The fact that in the US, and even closer to home in the UK, you can't use the term ni**er at all while here it was in use quite harmlessly on a daily basis until a couple of years ago with no hint of offence. We had a local rum called 'Ni**er Head' with a logo that was an African's head in profile.

My mother, who is from England, use to sing the nursery song: eenie meenie minie mo - catch a n***** by the toe in the early 70's to me and my brothers (until my father heard her ). She truly didn't understand that was derogatory until that moment.

I remember vaguely that the kids in my elementary school would say, "oh that's so gay", meaning stupid I guess. I'm sure I didn't really even know what gay was but I never liked the saying.

If I ever hear my kids refer to something as gay - They will be in for a punishment. It's rude, derogatory, and insulting.

 

[darkwing]

If gay people are so upset over the use of the word "gay" then they must not be very happy with who they are. Perhaps they should change. I'm fat, and when people call me fat, I laugh. Fat is funny. It also keeps me warm.

 

[gauchogolfer]

If gay people are so upset over the use of the word "gay" then they must not be very happy with who they are. Perhaps they should change. I'm fat, and when people call me fat, I laugh. Fat is funny. It also keeps me warm.

That is probably the single most insensitive thing I've read in this entire thread, and that's saying something. "Just change"? Are you serious?

I think you need to go for a jog or something to blow off some steam.

 

[calculus]

If gay people are so upset over the use of the word "gay" then they must not be very happy with who they are. Perhaps they should change. I'm fat, and when people call me fat, I laugh. Fat is funny. It also keeps me warm.

This makes no sense whatsoever