Using the word "Gay"

[Pojodan]

This thread has been nerfed








Personally I find it sad how words can cause such greif and hatred... however, spend any ammount of time in online games watching chat channels and you quickly discover that there isn't a foul word out there that isn't used in any given 30 second period on any game you can find out there.

[Traska]

To be honest, using "gay" as a non-specific negative connotation reminds me of that staple of pre-adolescent "humor" when I was growing up: Polish jokes. I'm sure we've all heard them... stereotyping them as idiots. Now, after a time, they stopped actually being about Polish people, and were only told as Polish jokes because, well, that's what they'd always been.

Big comfort for Tom Koslowski in your (generic you here) 8th grade math class, eh?

[Farnyr]

Where to begin...Ill start small and work to the larger.

I agree on the origin of "Nerf". Hit person with baseball, person get hurt. Hit person with soft squish ball, person throws it back at you and you have a nerf war on your hands(ahhh to be young again)...

In my life, Polish jokes arent Polish jokes. Youve got blonde jokes, polish jokes, gay jokes, etc. jokes, you just (insert) which ever race/class/ethnicity you want and the joke still works(most of the time). In fact, my father told Portugese jokes. But he did it, because we are Portugese(well, hes 50% and i dont look it at all, lol). The jokes never made me feel badly about my heritage, they just made me laugh. A joke can be just a joke, unless it is told maliciously, that is when you need to consider what race/class/etc. the person used.

As for "Gay", it is juvenile. It stems from adolescent boys. At the age boys start to use the term, they are also ostracizing others for being different and are discovering their own sexual/personal preferences in life. So instead of making fun of a person that they know, they alienate them into something they dont identify with (or many times, are too scared/ashamed to admit they identify with) in order to make themselves feel better in an age of very little self esteem.

Nigger, spic, chink, jap, beaner, wetback, cracker... A word is just letters until you give it a meaning. Even when it has a meaning, it can only be hurtful if you want it to be. We give the word power and by refusing to even saying the word(using "N" word instead of nigger), we continue to let it have power us, instead of us having power over it. Im not advocating going around and using those words. They still have bad connotation to them, and many people will still get offended by them. But by continuing to make the words taboo, they will always be around and used to hurt others.

[Cantatus]

I agree on the origin of "Nerf". Hit person with baseball, person get hurt. Hit person with soft squish ball, person throws it back at you and you have a nerf war on your hands(ahhh to be young again)...

I heard (although it might not be accurate) that the word "nerf" as it is known in EQ today came back from early on in UO. At the beginning, bows were extremely powerful and everyone was using them over any other weapon. One person said, "The other weapons are only as effective as a nerf bat." So, the next patch bows got brought more into line with the other weapons instead of them giving the other weapons a boost. So, the bow was "nerfed" so to speak.

[Cubwynn]

I'd just add one thing. When someone tells you that you've offended them, don't argue about whether or not what you said was offensive. Just apologize and move on.

RIGHT. ON. SISTER.

I think using "gay" (or "ghey", or whatever retarded phonetic equivalent the user thinks is clever...) as a negative term pretty much just shows a complete lack of a functional vocabulary, ie., said person is just a moron.

..and I treat them as such thereafter.

[munwin]

This will only apply if you live in America.

First Amendment gives us freedom of speech.

I may not like or agree with what you say. But, as a member of the United States armed services i will defend to the death your right to say what ever the "F" you want.

Munwin

[Farnyr]

Munwin, we arent saying "You cant say this or that". What most of us have expressed is that if you do say this or that, we will think you(not you directly, but the person saying it) are ignorant/racist/whatever.

[Traska]

Munwin:

The flip side of that is twofold:

One (and most obvious): The First Amendment protects our right to speech from the government, and even then has restrictions. But moreso than that...

Freedom of speech does *not* mean you can say whatever you want with absolutely no repurcussions. It means you can say whatever you want to if you want, but that other people can also say whatever they want to as a response. (For instance, someone who regularily uses the N word can rightfully and freely be called a bigot and racist).

There will, of course, be physical repurcussions to such speech in a face-to-face discussion. A caucasian using the N-word in mixed company would be well-advised to have the location of the nearest exit memorized... having the car already running wouldn't hurt, either.

[Farnyr]

As bad as this sounds, the Bill of Rights is out dated. It was written in a time, when there was no way to record a persons voice, no way to transmit images at all, travel by anything faster than a boat was a dream, and a good gunner got off 6 bullets a minute.

Of course, Im not saying get rid of the Bill of Rights, I appreciate being able to say what I want, having personal privacy and knowing the police cant grab me off the street for no reason. But they are still out dated.


P.S. For those history buffs, the drafters of the constitution(I believe thats the right one), were originally going to have a law put into it, that you could not use the recording of someones voice against them. But the took it out because they didnt think it would ever be possible.

[Phabos]

Sorry if this is off topic, but I respectfully disagree with Farnyr.

The Bill of Rights, especially the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth are just as important now as they ever were, especially in the field of criminal justice.

Those Amendments specifically protect the American people against the encroachments of overactive government, which might decide, even for admirable reasons, to take steps that limit individual freedoms.

Ignoring the First, which everyone knows about, the others I listed protect individuals in the criminal justice system from the time they are first investigated to the time they are released from prison. They keep the government out of your affairs without good cause, they allow you legal representation, require public jury trials, and protect against self-incrimination and cruel and unusual punishment.

The Constitution with its Bill of Rights is a living, breathing document thanks to judges and jurists who constantly interpret it to prevent it from becoming obsolete. It is as germane today as it was 200 years ago.



Phabos Aphsion
Drunken Paladin of Brell
Tarew Marr

[Minta Rose]

I agree on the origin of "Nerf". Hit person with baseball, person get hurt. Hit person with soft squish ball, person throws it back at you and you have a nerf war on your hands(ahhh to be young again)...

I heard (although it might not be accurate) that the word "nerf" as it is known in EQ today came back from early on in UO. At the beginning, bows were extremely powerful and everyone was using them over any other weapon. One person said, "The other weapons are only as effective as a nerf bat." So, the next patch bows got brought more into line with the other weapons instead of them giving the other weapons a boost. So, the bow was "nerfed" so to speak.

I cornered my honey, who had played UO Back-In-The-Day; he can't remember the other weapons being 'as effective as a nerf bat'--having raised an archer for their superior damage output. I think this might be true.

[Angelsyn]

A word is just letters until you give it a meaning. Even when it has a meaning, it can only be hurtful if you want it to be. We give the word power and by refusing to even saying the word(using "N" word instead of nigger), we continue to let it have power us, instead of us having power over it. Im not advocating going around and using those words. They still have bad connotation to them, and many people will still get offended by them. But by continuing to make the words taboo, they will always be around and used to hurt others.

As a person for whom English is my second language, and a person whom follows an "alternative lifestyle" (gotta love PC ) I learned this as I grew up.

It isn't what you say, it's how you say it.



And remember, just because some members of a group aren't insulted by a word or comment, doesn't mean others wouldn't be. I can make Jew comments and jokes around my jewish friends all I want... but I wouldn't do so around others.

[Farnyr]

This is a bit off topic, but I thought it was fitting since we mentioned being able to make fun of yourself.

Last night I was watching the Family Guy, and it showed a Rabbi and a Minister walking into a bar. The Rabbi turns to the Minister and goes "Hey have you heard the one about us". I thought it was really funny.

[Doomspark Deathfire]

I doubt I've anything new to add to this discussion, but it's hit one of my hot buttons.

Anyone who uses the word "gay" as a pejorative is, IMHO, showing their ignorance. Sure, they can say it. Here in the USA, they've got freedom of speech. But it's MY choice how to respond to it, and generally I choose to be highly offended.

Bigotry is never pretty.

[kiztent]

Whereas Stormhammer jokes are still on the funny list.

Seeing some of the names on this thread has been very entertaining for me.