synchrokaceI'd just be appreciative if we could get away from the whole gay=bad thing. We have a lot of words that mean bad. However, we also have a lot of words that mean good. For example, chocolate. No one will say that "Your jumps are like chocolate" if they are trying to shit talk. Or even words that are neutral. "You jump like a mailman." That just doesn't make sense. I want it to get to a point where if someone says "you jump like a faggot" people are like "that just doesn't make sense."
This is pretty much the most important and valid argument, and one nobody seems to understand when they say "don't be offended".
A lot of people have said "if we ban it, it gives people who use it more power"; this is just ridiculous. The only way this becomes a truth is if we turned words like "faggot" around to be positive things - you don't take negativity away with more negativity.
To the people who haven't experienced what it means to be hurt by these words (and this includes gay people who aren't offended when a hiding spot is "gay"), you should probably learn that your personal experience is never, ever going to be the same as someone else's.
The biggest argument in favor of tossing these words around seems to be "it shouldn't bother people because I _______" - what makes you the authority on what shouldn't be offensive, or what other people should or shouldn't feel? You ask for the freedom to say whatever you want, but then you say that other people don't deserve to be offended by what you say? If it's their choice to be offended by certain things, then it's your choice to be offensive - whether you mean it or not.
The point is, you have the choice to either say something that's potentially offensive and has negative connotations, or simply use a different word (which, really, how hard is that?) to express yourself. It really shouldn't be this difficult to understand.
If somebody is a bigot telling them to stop saying a word won't do anything. Bigots will be bigots and unless the word is literally made illegal then I doubt any campaign will stop them from saying it. The campaign is for LGBT rights, correct? It shouldn't be about people not using the word faggot. It should be about trying to make bigots see differently and stop being idiots.
I always hated high school campaigns for shit like this because half of the people participating in it don't understand what it should be about. They just want to be a part of something and act like they are making a difference. It reminds me of the anti-abortion campaign back in my HS where people put duck tape over their mouths and also refused to talk. It is by far one of the dumbest ways to go about raising awareness of something. How are people supposed to know your message if you can't tell it to them?
[quote=synchro][quote=kace]I'd just be appreciative if we could get away from the whole gay=bad thing. We have a lot of words that mean bad. However, we also have a lot of words that mean good. For example, chocolate. No one will say that "Your jumps are like chocolate" if they are trying to shit talk. Or even words that are neutral. "You jump like a mailman." That just doesn't make sense. I want it to get to a point where if someone says "you jump like a faggot" people are like "that just doesn't make sense."[/quote]
This is pretty much the most important and valid argument, and one nobody seems to understand when they say "don't be offended".
A lot of people have said "if we ban it, it gives people who use it more power"; this is just ridiculous. The only way this becomes a truth is if we turned words like "faggot" around to be [i]positive[/i] things - you don't take negativity away with more negativity.
To the people who haven't experienced what it means to be hurt by these words (and this includes gay people who aren't offended when a hiding spot is "gay"), you should probably learn that your personal experience is never, ever going to be the same as someone else's.
The biggest argument in favor of tossing these words around seems to be "it shouldn't bother people because [b]I[/b] _______" - what makes you the authority on what shouldn't be offensive, or what other people should or shouldn't feel? You ask for the freedom to say whatever you want, but then you say that other people don't deserve to be offended by what you say? If it's their choice to be offended by certain things, then it's [i]your[/i] choice to be offensive - whether you mean it or not.
The point is, you have the choice to either say something that's potentially offensive and has negative connotations, or simply use a different word (which, really, how hard is that?) to express yourself. It really shouldn't be this difficult to understand.[/quote]
If somebody is a bigot telling them to stop saying a word won't do anything. Bigots will be bigots and unless the word is literally made illegal then I doubt any campaign will stop them from saying it. The campaign is for LGBT rights, correct? It shouldn't be about people not using the word faggot. It should be about trying to make bigots see differently and stop being idiots.
I always hated high school campaigns for shit like this because half of the people participating in it don't understand what it should be about. They just want to be a part of something and act like they are making a difference. It reminds me of the anti-abortion campaign back in my HS where people put duck tape over their mouths and also refused to talk. It is by far one of the dumbest ways to go about raising awareness of something. How are people supposed to know your message if you can't tell it to them?
harbleu
We're not talking about the campaign though, hanbrolo specifically wanted to discuss the use of such derogatory terms among the community.
In regards to your first point, though: yes, I understand that telling an asshole to stop being an asshole will never work (lookin' at you june hahahahahaha), but my point was that there's no reason we need to encourage them. June talks about double standards: is it not a double standard to think it's bad when someone is actually trying to insult someone when they call them a faggot, but then toss the word around jokingly with your friends?
I don't really care one way or the other, I just think it's silly the way people try to justify the use of their language - after all, if you don't think it's a big deal, why defend it so vigorously?
[quote=harbleu][/quote]
We're not talking about the campaign though, hanbrolo specifically wanted to discuss the use of such derogatory terms among the community.
In regards to your first point, though: yes, I understand that telling an asshole to stop being an asshole will never work (lookin' at you june hahahahahaha), but my point was that there's no reason we need to encourage them. June talks about double standards: is it not a double standard to think it's bad when someone is actually trying to insult someone when they call them a faggot, but then toss the word around jokingly with your friends?
I don't really care one way or the other, I just think it's silly the way people try to justify the use of their language - after all, if you don't think it's a big deal, why defend it so vigorously?
#181
The Day of Silence is not about LGBT rights. They're important too, but this is about kids feeling comfortable expressing themselves. The point is that lots of kids (especially LGBT) feel like no matter what they say, they'll be made fun of because of who they are. By silencing ourselves we're trying to show others what it's like for someone who has things to say to not say them. LGBT kids have things to say, but many of them don't think they can speak and have their opinion valued. It's about people not acting like gay=bad and welcoming everyone's (even anti-LGBT bigots) opinions because no one should feel so paranoid that they stay silent.
Just don't give words like "gay" or "faggot" a negative connotation. This includes everyone saying people shouldn't use the words: by whining about it every time it's said, you're repressing those who say them and further stigmatizing the words.
Gay is not an insult. Using as if it were an insult is offensive, and saying "any and all use of it is offensive" is self-fulfilling.
Even those of you who refuse to have your right to free speech taken away by us liberal socialist antichrists can recognize when a word that might offend could be replaced with a word that won't offend.
#181
The Day of Silence is not about LGBT rights. They're important too, but this is about kids feeling comfortable expressing themselves. The point is that lots of kids (especially LGBT) feel like no matter what they say, they'll be made fun of because of who they are. By silencing ourselves we're trying to show others what it's like for someone who has things to say to not say them. LGBT kids have things to say, but many of them don't think they can speak and have their opinion valued. It's about people not acting like gay=bad and welcoming [i]everyone[/i]'s (even anti-LGBT bigots) opinions because no one should feel so paranoid that they stay silent.
Just don't give words like "gay" or "faggot" a negative connotation. This includes everyone saying people shouldn't use the words: by whining about it every time it's said, you're repressing those who say them and further stigmatizing the words.
[u]Gay is not an insult. Using as if it were an insult is offensive, and saying "any and all use of it is offensive" is self-fulfilling.[/u]
Even those of you who refuse to have your right to free speech taken away by us liberal socialist antichrists can recognize when a word that might offend could be replaced with a word that won't offend.
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=b48_1305790944