Arrowman

Mike, I will assume you refer to vonmeth's post and I think I might be able to clarify something here. The word "gay" is increasingly used by young whippersnappers as a derogatory term for something which is tacky, tasteless, nerdy, or stupid.

"Did you see the seat covers Gavin bought for his car? They're so gay."

I don't think it is intended as a direct slur on homosexuals and vonmeth is right - he probably has heard homosexuals use the word "gay" with that meaning.

Don't ask me where it came from - that's just the way I've heard it being used.

Marshaul

wow finally some resonable responses! i agree with vonmeth.. gay isnt a word necessarily used to imply homosexuality. words change all the time, such as the "N" word, which is no longer of negative implications to many people. the slight change in gay from a word used to call someone a homosexual to a word used to call something bad, stupid, cheap, or otherwise lame.

however, gay really has nothing to do with my post. i simply used that word as my example because it is such a common word that so many people are "offeded" by. as for "dumb" and "stupid"... well, imagine if i'd said "retarded." hah!

Jayhawker Soule

Perhaps even more than warranted.

I doubt that this would have done much to improve the quality of your post.

Huh?

[ March 27, 2002: Message edited by: ReasonableDoubt ]</p>

pescifish

What?! So sheep are bad now? Wait, is "bad" bad these days? or good? Sheesh! Those wacky kids what will they think of next?

I think I'm perfectly capable of figuring out when to be offended, thank you.

WJ

This post reminds me of human language. Other that the mystery behind why and who actually created language, isn't it odd that just by making use of a mere word, people throughout history have actually gone to war (and killed people) over a particular single word (ie, the modern day N word).

Think about how crazy that is... ! Nevertheless, it says something about reality... ?

Walrus

DRFseven

Hi, Marshaul,

I don't exactly agree with all your comments, but I understand where you're coming from and I appreciate your efforts. You are saying that those who allow themselves to be overcome by negative/nonproductive emotions are essentially responding to the name-callers as if what they say has merit. This is along the lines of the old adage, "No one can make you feel inferior without your permission.", which implies that each individual is in control of his/her own self-esteem. The trouble with these adages is that they often conflict with reality! The words of others can hurt us and make us feel bad about ourselves; especially if heard from an early age. It is possible for us to develop positively adaptive defense mechanisms against these sortsof things, but children have almost no defense and are routinely made to feel bad "without permission." But I very much agree with you that it can be very helpful for those who have to hear these derrogatory put-downs to develop an understanding of the psychological motivation behind those doing the name-calling. This is in addition to, of course, working toward trying to stop the name-calling by various appropriate means.

Anyway, thanks for your comments and welcome.

emphryio

Hey Marshall, I think you could probably apply what you were saying to many of the responses you received.

Ahhh what a world.

But I wonder myself of a related question.
Using my intelligence, I can basically never get mad/angry about anything. I can take anyones offensive act and rationalize it in such a way that I feel no anger towards the person. As a matter of fact the only time I feel anger really, is when someone does something offensive towards me and I don't bother to try to understand why. (Instead maybe I just think, "What an asshole! No consideration for others. etc..."

So the point is: Am I right to always rationalize and end up not feeling anger?

Pros and Cons towards occasionally feeling anger?

Aldous Huxley talked about how the chemicals produced by anger helped insure good health.

I've noticed men with bad tempers are almost always better athletes.

But I'm not really interested in the physical benefits.....

It is unpleasant to feel anger, but to live a life without emotion isn't so great either.

Jonsey3333

Maybe it isn't a direct slur, but I maintain that it is at least an indirect slur. Language is the way humans organize memories and learning. If you tell yourself gay=bad and know that gay=homosexual, it would seem to you that homosexual=bad.

Gay still means homosexual.

-Mike