Using the term "Gay" - Please read

[Lythium]

Teran, who let you out of User Blogs?

 

[¯\_S.(ツ).L.I.D._/¯]

Lythium go back to Canada.

 

[Yink]

You're kind of preaching to the choir. Plus as it was already said, this is the internet, people hear this all the time, it has been talked about, etc.

 

[Lythium]

I got a day pass.

EDIT: Ninja'd.

 

[Brick_Top]

after reading most of this thread, you seem like you want to have an intelligent discussion about it, even asking people to respond with comments/arguments, yet as soon as someone says something you disagree with, you bash them. It makes you look like a hypocrite when you do that.

Also, my take on the word is that it's all context. Granted, people usually know what they're saying, and they choose to say it despite it's real meaning. The problem is the word gay has turned into a synonym for lame or stupid, and less of a derogatory term for homosexuals. There's really nothing people can do about it, it just happens. I'll admit it and say I use gay and ***got a lot. I have nothing against homosexuals, it's just something that's grown on me from playing video games. Everyone says it. However, I would never call a gay person a ***got. It's just wrong. And this brings me back to context.

The bottom line is that a majority of people saying and calling things gay is because they are using it as a synonym for stupid and not as a derogatory term for gays.

 

[¯\_S.(ツ).L.I.D._/¯]

I agree with that guy.

 

[Chaco]

Tom and Chaco you're such ***gots man get back to DGames or something.

I was just there, thank you. Anyways, just saying insulting them kinda doesn't help the thread out.

 

[Uffe]

The word gay used to mean happy. Somewhere down the road, people decided to make that word mean homosexual. Nowadays when you here that, they're either talking about a homosexual person or they're using it as the word stupid. In the English language, a lot of words can mean different things. The word silly for example can either mean funny or stupid. It just matters how you're using that word. If I were to say something is gay, I wouldn't be saying, "That's homosexual!" No, I'd be saying, "That's stupid!"

 

[Falco (MOP)]

after reading most of this thread, you seem like you want to have an intelligent discussion about it, even asking people to respond with comments/arguments, yet as soon as someone says something you disagree with, you bash them. It makes you look like a hypocrite when you do that.

Also, my take on the word is that it's all context. Granted, people usually know what they're saying, and they choose to say it despite it's real meaning. The problem is the word gay has turned into a synonym for lame or stupid, and less of a derogatory term for homosexuals. There's really nothing people can do about it, it just happens. I'll admit it and say I use gay and ***got a lot. I have nothing against homosexuals, it's just something that's grown on me from playing video games. Everyone says it. However, I would never call a gay person a ***got. It's just wrong. And this brings me back to context.

The bottom line is that a majority of people saying and calling things gay is because they are using it as a synonym for stupid and not as a derogatory term for gays.

Why does everyone want to put words in my mouth, read the first post dude. IM NOT LOOKING FOR ANYTHING but ideas / thoughts / comments.

First of all, the first time I reacted to a commentator was because of the snippy and pretentious mannor in which he responded, so don't get it twisted -.- Second of all, you're saying that because its been used so frequently and it's evolved into a synonym... then it's OK? Wow :s.

 

[Bacon&Eggs]

I'm not gay but I've always found using terms like gay and f*g to describe things that can't have sexual orientations to be offensive. My mom brought me up that way and I can't really bring myself to use homosexual slurs like that.

I think it's stupid how everybody says it but I imagine that my kids will grow up knowing that it's an offensive thing to do. A few decades ago people used to say the N word all the time and now (for the most part) Americans resent the word. I don't think there's anything to do to stop the slurs other than to wait.

 

[ETWIST51294]

So I can't say gay(which isn't really offensive so comparing it to n*gger is ********, it wouldn't be if people we were saying f*g) but I can still say ****? That doesn't make any sense. **** is a MUCH harsher word than gay. Not that big of a deal imo.

Quoting because we use a much harsher word 3x more than this one

 

[OlimarFan]

What are you saying about being a wuss? got a problem with that?

I disagree, on a theoretical basis; however, I do think that instead of telling people on a forum where you have some amount of anonymity, you should be assertive (if you actually care) and tell people to stop saying it when they say, to their faces. That's the only way you're ever going to change what people say. this thread will most likely not change anyone's opinion or lingo.

Well said.

Falco MOP, you have a good point, and I admire you for that.

But if you want to change what people are going to say (or to state a point), you should practice what you preach - Calling people a 'dickweed' is no better than using the term 'gay'.

Putting each other down with verbal bitterness only makes things worse from here: It's called Lose-Lose.

 

[Brick_Top]

I never said it was ok if you read what I wrote. I'm not trying to argue with you, I'm just trying to explain to you why people use gay the way they do (and i'm pretty sure I gave you the answer, obviously the one you weren't looking for). No offense, but a lot of people who try to say that, for example, people should stop saying ***got have this attitude where as soon as someone tries to explain to them why people say it, NOT why they should be allowed to say it, immediately feel they have to, to quote you, "put words in their mouth" accusing them of justifying the use of the word. Now i'm not judging you or anything because I don't know you, I've just seen a million people with the same arguement act the same way.

 

[Ryan-K]

op: just remember that everytime you say idiot,****, dumb, or ******, you are being a hypocrite!!

also my gay friends dont mind and say the same thing so i could give a ****

-

 

[Luigitoilet]

this is eminems fault

 

[Falco (MOP)]

I never said it was ok if you read what I wrote. I'm not trying to argue with you, I'm just trying to explain to you why people use gay the way they do (and i'm pretty sure I gave you the answer, obviously the one you weren't looking for). No offense, but a lot of people who try to say that, for example, people should stop saying ***got have this attitude where as soon as someone tries to explain to them why people say it, NOT why they should be allowed to say it, immediately feel they have to, to quote you, "put words in their mouth" accusing them of justifying the use of the word. Now i'm not judging you or anything because I don't know you, I've just seen a million people with the same arguement act the same way.

Look, I know why people say it, I used to say it all the time. The way you went about your post sounded more to me like a justification rather than an explanation... I guess I was reading in the wrong voice, and I apologize if that wasn't your intent.

 

[kbear]

this is eminems fault

Yes, quite.

 

[Falco (MOP)]

op: just remember that everytime you say idiot,****, dumb, or ******, you are being a hypocrite!!

also my gay friends dont mind and say the same thing so i could give a ****

-

I don't say **** or ******... because those are very obscene and could easily be replaced with a more eloquent adjective. Calling someone an idiot is in my opinion an appropriate epithet because it isn't harming anyone but the intended receiver... the same with dumb. The fact that you consider "dumb" a word you are permitted to use at conception to a word so disturbing and horrifying as "****" is daunting O.O.

 

[Falco (MOP)]

Ok guys, I look forward, and at the same time dread coming back to this thread in the morning, but it's almost 1:00, so I'm going to have to let the thread go on without me. See you all tomorrow.

 

[kbear]

bai bais mr falco.

 

[smash brawl player 99021]

Why does it matter honestly? You need to just ignore what people are saying and deal. Some people are just stubborn. Nothing you can really do about it though. Sometimes you just have to deal with the **** life throws at you :/

 

[bobson]

"Gay" used to mean "happy." Then it meant "happy" or "homosexual." Now it means "happy," "homosexual," or "boring/cheap."

There is nothing wrong with this. Language marches on.

 

[Lucir]

I have a few things to say about this entire fiasco.

Hello all,

To start off, I've been a part of the community for a long time, hell I've been playing melee since 2001, and I've been to tournaments, smashfests, smash 'till dawn's, you name it, and over the years I've been thoroughly exposed to the community that surrounds the game...

More to the point, in my years as a kid, I didn't feel saying things like "that's gay" or "F*g" or anything like that was anything particularly bad or looked down upon, hell I said it as much as anyone else. However, as I developed into an adult I began to resent the terms I had once used casually.

So after playing smash for about 7 years, I joined SWF and became a competitive player, and being exposed to the community, I've heard the word "gay" used in excess, I mean I'm not talking like "oh it's kinda annoying", I mean it's like once every few sentences.

I just have to ask those of you whom I'm addressing... do you even know what you're saying? Do you know how offensive saying things like that are? Do you understand that using the term "gay" as a derogatory term implies that being "gay" is bad, wrong, or distasteful? I mean sure it's a gaming community and what not, but that does NOT give everyone an excuse to use it anyway. I've heard all of the excuses in the world, but when you break it down to the fundamentals, there is no explanation. I have a post here who's name I won't reveal (obviously) as an example of what I'm talking about.

Saying things like "playing gayer and gayer," when you step back and say it out loud at least, it sounds pretty dumb. To me anyway. I mean, when you read between the lines, the quotee is saying "he's playing more and more defensively" and if you REALLY read between the lines, it's more along the lines of "he's being more and more of a wuss, or a b*tch." I mean look at that post and tell me there isn't something innately wrong with it

"if he didnt use all of jiggz gayest moves / strategies" I mean really?...

Look, I know most of the people who say it don't think of it as a bad thing, and I know it's not their faults... I understand, I've been there too, but to hear it so often after what, five years? It's downright sad to me. It says to me that the person saying it hasn't grown up and realized that the phrase is extremely offensive, distasteful, and even harmful. I mean imagine being gay and overhearing that...

Seems I got a little ahead of myself I guess, but I meant everything! Look I'm no white knight here to save the world from inequality and injustice, I'm just asking everyone to please stop and think about what using that word means to you and about you and who you are.

Thanks, and feel free to respond with your own thoughts / arguments / ideas / experiences

~P

First of all, when you say things like

... do you even know what you're saying? Do you know how offensive saying things like that are? Do you understand that using the term "gay" as a derogatory term implies that being "gay" is bad, wrong, or distasteful? ...

You need to expect that any large community will have it's fair share of people that will bash you simply because of opinions like this.

If you're going to ask why I would assume that (logically, you would possibly have asked), It's because of two simple facts that have been observed over the course of history:

-First of all, anyone who is allowed to exhibit what they believe to be anonymity, will express what they believe, radically, and uninhibited.

-Secondly, people who gather in a crowd (yes, this does apply to people who group together in an argument) tend to exhibit ignorance, leading them, on a whole, in a downward spiral, eventually devolving into screaming at (in this case, flaming) each other.

-EDIT: Third, occasionally people who like to argue (i.e. me), will come into threads like this and play the devil's advocate, going against the original poster's side of the argument.

The other thing that I think should be said about the argument is that you're all arguing about vague concepts.

NOTE: This is directed at everyone, not just ~P

The idea of words alone being annoying, offensive, derogatory, dumb, or having any sort of meaning on their own, other then their definition, is simply a horrible idea to begin with. Any word that's being used outside of it's definition can be taken as ANY meaning, by either the person who spake, or the person who heard, said word.

Right now, I could call everyone in this forum a Boratic Slarcutinagustanivant, but what in bloody hell does that mean? The word itself doesn't mean anything to begin with, so that leaves anyone who hears it to determine what it means. Calling someone gay is no different. If you hear something called gay, then your interpretation of it is yours, and yours alone! Some people may share that interpretation, but that doesn't mean that it's right, or wrong...

Which leads me to the next part of my post.

Right vs. Wrong

Trying to argue that anything is right, or wrong, is like trying to argue an unproven theory. In modern arguments, you're right if you have more power, and that's the only truth.

Looking at the world today, the people that the majority of the united states citizens look at as "Terrorists", consider what they're doing as the word of their god. To them, their killing us is the rightest as the world could be, but I bet most of us don't see it that way. And as an added bonus, the U.S. and it's allies are the right ones in this argument because we have more power. We go in and kill the wrong ones, and we become global heroes.

There, I've said my bit.

Also, one thing that I feel I need to mention about an earlier post:

A few decades ago people used to say the N word all the time and now (for the most part) Americans resent the word. I don't think there's anything to do to stop the slurs other than to wait.

I laughed very hard at that.

When I laughed, I wasn't laughing at you or anything. It's just that, a year and a month ago, I was living in Worcester, MA, and it's a compliment to have the local teens refer to you as "n!gga"

What up n!gga?

Okay, I'm done now.

Also: My apologies for decensoring the N word, it was kind of necessary for that last part.

 

[Xsyven]

THIS THREAD IS SO GAY.

I think people got what ya wanted to say in the OP. It's done though.

 

[jugfingers]

first of all gay as a synonym for something bad or stupid is completely justified when looked at from a biological perspective


I mean when you think of a ***** as an organ, whose purpose is to create life, its doesn't take a rocket science to realize that jamming it into another mans large intestine is not really gonna work.

it is objectively stupid.

Im not being hateful or anything, Im just speaking logically.

I have gay friends(females) who are gay or whatever, and I don't really respect their gayness but there cool people so its all good.

but in terms of the smash community, It seems like gay is turning into a synonym for good when you referr to someone playing gay or doing something gay, it usually means their winning.


but yea gay=stupid its just simple logic people, your never going to get pregnant lolol


also I remember this video on youtube where a whole bunch of gay people are saying the word F***** in a really hostile manner and then their like yea does that make you feel uncomfortable, just think of how I feel...or something like that

and then in the youtube comments I was like

"maybe you'd feel more comfortable if you weren't gay"

lol but yea it was ****....fun topic.

 

[Nø Ca$h]

mop, are you gay? then dont worry.

 

[BlargCow]

dude who cares

 

[Alphicans]

You're looking too deep into what a word means. A word means as much as you want it to, no matter what the dictionary definition is, you can always change the meaning of a word. If I got a bunch of people to agree that telephone meant hello, we'd go around saying telephone to each other instead of hello. It's the same thing with the word gay. We're all in agreement that gay means, lame and cheap and *****y and wussy. If you think about it that way it's not so bad is it? And that's exactly what it is, I don't think many smashers have any beef with gay people, so don't take the use of the word so seriously.

EDIT: I didn't read what Lucir said, but yeah he said basically what I said. =D

 

[Pikaville]

I think you are over reacting.

I'm sure most gay people don't care if someone uses the word out of context.

Watch the biker/*** episode of South Park and all will become clear.

 

[Falco (MOP)]

So I'm basically quoting everyone on this page. Since you've obviously diverted away from my original intent of the thread, and some of the things I've read in this last page make me seethe with anger I'm leaving it... Some of you just dont get it, some of you are too immature to understand, or too shallow to get the fundamentals of why saying things like that are simply wrong, and I've given up trying to argue with you guys that I don't freaking want to convert you, I put my point out there, and got barraged with immature and pretentious comments, snips, and arguments. So congratulations, you've made the smash community that much less respectable in my mind, those of you who's comments I'm addressing I would feel ashamed if I were you. Inhuman and prejudice whether you think of it as that or not.

Good-bye

~P

 

[Suspect]

Watch the biker/*** episode of South Park and all will become clear.

That episode was funny as hell

 

[Lucir]

... are simply wrong,...

That irritated me a little. I can tell that you're either too ignorant, or too much of a lazy *** to have read my post all the way through. Those words you just said make it plain as day.

Terminus ut ignarus ero volatilis quod iustus...

There is now nothing left in this argument. Any further discussion is probably pointless.

 

[Colonel Cuddles]

I think gay people are a bit strange, but they sure have some serious b*lls when they admit they are gay.

 

[Nø Ca$h]

I think you are over reacting.

I'm sure most gay people don't care if someone uses the word out of context.

Watch the biker/*** episode of South Park and all will become clear.

first off, dont base any knowledge off southpark. its funny, but its not really true at all.

second, dont stereotype every gay person. sure i dont care, but other gay ppl do.

 

[¯\_S.(ツ).L.I.D._/¯]

So I'm basically quoting everyone on this page. Since you've obviously diverted away from my original intent of the thread,

No, shut up. You're mad because people don't agree with you. You asked for opinions, which is what you got.

and some of the things I've read in this last page make me seethe with anger I'm leaving it... Some of you just dont get it, some of you are too immature to understand, or too shallow to get the fundamentals of why saying things like that are simply wrong,

Maybe to you it's wrong. Calling anyone who disagrees with you "immature" or "shallow" just makes you look immature. The fact that you leave your own thread over the fact that not everyone shares your opinion tells us something about you.

and I've given up trying to argue with you guys that I don't freaking want to convert you, I put my point out there, and got barraged with immature and pretentious comments, snips, and arguments.

You asked for opinions and thoughts, which is what you got. The fact that you can't handle that is ridiculous in my opinion.

So congratulations, you've made the smash community that much less respectable in my mind, those of you who's comments I'm addressing I would feel ashamed if I were you.

No one really cares what you think, because you're clearly a child who cannot face the fact that people disagree with you, and cannot handle it when people respond in a way you deem "immature." Don't ****ing tell me how to feel.

 

[Dodongo]

Anyone who chooses to be offended by any given word is going to be disappointed by reality.

 

[eighteenspikes]

No, shut up. Don't ****ing tell me how to feel.

 

[Xsyven]

Anyone who chooses to be offended by any given word is going to be disappointed by reality.

I agree with this wholeheartedly. It's a good post to end this thread on.

It's easy to get offended by a simply word, but it should be just as easy to shake it off. Actual homosexual bashing, where people actually MEAN what they say-- yeah, that's a little excessive, and worth being mad over. But man, life's gay if you take every word too seriously.

I'm gay, btw.