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Homophobia

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iconoclasst

Well-Known Member
Describing a negative event as "gay" puts a derogatory spin on this word. It is offensive to gays who generally resent the hijacking of this word which describes our particular subculture.

This is an act of homohobia and should be discouraged IMHO.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e40E0BEIcvw

Watch this video if you want to learn why some people are homophobic.
 
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Trigger Happy

Moderator
TBH gay was hijacked by homosexuals in the first place. The original meaning meant happy.
People hijack words all the time and give them new meanings.
Political correctness is getting out of hand these days.

Cheers
 
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iconoclasst

Well-Known Member
PC has nothing to do with it. It's offensive. A simple enough concept which has been clearly explained to you. If this does not offend you then so be it. It offends the people it derides.

I'm assuming you use this word in this context and feel you must justify that somehow.

I actually don't get bent out of shape on this subject and respect all peoples views on the matter. I however also have the right to express my views.
 
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Ryno981

New Member
Using any form of swearing or even words such as Gay, are all just poor ways to express a sentence, not including the information loss.

Now. I am guilty of this. & I apologize that this has taken any offence to anyone. Sincerely sorry too those have been impacted due to my miss comunication.

-Regards!
 
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Trigger Happy

Moderator
That's fair enough, you are welcome to your view as much as any of us are. I use this word in a context of "that's gay" and I have used it around my gay friends too of whom never have had a problem with it. I don't need to justify my use of it, I am simply stating how I find it strange that the word has undergone many changes and different meanings that it becomes offensive. I toss it in the same bag of the other words that can be deemed derogatory when used different ways. Take b!tch for example, it can be used to describe a woman you don't like, which is bad. However people use it all the time for situations such as "she was b!tching about such and such" which isn't considered that offensive at all to most, yet still offends others.
So while I understand it could be offensive to some people, it is kind of like anything else in this world where people can use words to build up or break down people, others also just use them to communicate.

Cheers
 
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The Admiral

Well-Known Member
I'm offended that you are insinuating that I am homophobic because I use a word in the same way that a very large number of people, including homosexuals, use it.

Saying something is "gay" is the same as using the term "black and white". Sure, it doesn't refer to Caucasians and Africans, but when we say "gay, I just died" in a game, it isn't referring to all the lesbians out there is it?

+1 to what Triggz says. It isn't meant offensively, so those that do find it offensive should quit being ridiculously over-sensitive to everything people say, and grow up and realise that a word can have more than one (or two) meanings.
 
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iconoclasst

Well-Known Member
Apology accepted by me big time. I did not mean to direct this at you CRUZ we were over that on TS.

I have noticed this use of "gay" slipping into the game environment for a while now. My friends kids (15 - 16) use it constantly.
I feel I must play a diffusing role and let people know that you can slice up bunnies, kill defenseless people, vote liberal, hate your parents, fail in school or whatever....all of this is cool with me but don't dis MY people.

I am somewhat suprised at how angrily people have reacted to this. I am also disappointed that some don't seem to or want to understand the obvious derogatory connotations to using this word in this context.

Admiral your disengenuous use of "offense" is angry and reactive.

Trigger - I've read many of your past posts and I have to say... I am 45 mate. I have limited years left and engaging in cyclic semantic based arguments just bores me. So let's not.
 
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The Admiral

Well-Known Member
I use gay lots, as a synonym to lame and crap, and I have a bunch of gay friends, and they've never complained, and I've never been the slightest bit anti-homosexuals, so I'm offended that based on my use of a word in a way that has been quite common in society for a number of years now, I'm labelled a homophobe. When we use gay, it's the same as lame. It has absolutely nothing to do with the homosexual community. It's annoying that people like you see the word, and don't allow for it to have meanings other than homosexual.

The head admin and a ridiculously large player base on the TF2 servers I play on are all gay, and I use the word heaps, eg when i get back-stabbed by a spy, and I've never received a complaint over it. They use the word the same way half the time.

Gay: 1. Happy; 2. Homosexual; 3. Lame.

They're all vastly different and accepted definitions. There's nothing offensive at all about us using the word. Like Triggz said, the use of gay to mean 'homosexual' came a long time after gay was used to mean 'happy'. There's nothing wrong with there being a third, unrelated thing that gay can mean now.
 
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iconoclasst

Well-Known Member
If you just won't get it you just won't get it. I think it's lovely that your gay friends tolerate your insensitive use of offensive colloquial terms. None of my friends would dream of saying anything that inpuned the Gay Community.

Perhaps it would be better if I simply ask you to not to use this specific term when I am playing on OZ servers. Is this reasonable?
 
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lKITl

Well-Known Member
A word is a word, by it' self it means nothing.
It is us as inderviduals that give each word it's meaning.
A word can only be offence or racsist if you as an individual alow these words to offence you.
Anyone taking offence them self are empowering the word or jesture if it was even meant that way.
 
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Trigger Happy

Moderator
iconoclasst said:
Trigger - I've read many of your past posts and I have to say... I am 45 mate. I have limited years left and engaging in cyclic semantic based arguments just bores me. So let's not.
Click to expand...
Look mate, if you don't want to hear what people think, then don't ask.
You are saying that people are homophobic for using the word "gay" in a context other than what you would like it to be used and then aren't addressing the things others are trying to say to you. Now I'm not having a cyclic argument, I was merely showing you my point of view.
Personally, the way you are taking these responses is childish for a 45 year old. You come across as "this is what I think and if you think differently you clearly don't understand what I am saying". Well if we don't understand then forgive our ignorance, because like most of the younger generation that use the word gay in a third meaning, completely unrelated to the homosexual community, I use the word and probably will continue to use it. It is a habit that young people have in the same way "like" is used in just about every single sentence.
To play the devils advocate since this thread already has moved away from a simple "lets respect everyone" thread, what if I said that homosexuals stop using the word gay in the context they use to describe their subculture as it offends me when I try and use it as the meaning of "happy"? Are you now being ignorant because you choose to use this word in that context? Why is it ok for you to hijack this word and give it a new meaning? Is it because a large group of you identify with this word and now use it to describe yourself? Well unfortunately, a whole lot of people in the world are giving the word gay a third meaning, lame, which is completely unrelated to the homosexual community. The world is changing, just going to have to get used to it mate.

Cheers
 
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nelots

Well-Known Member
lKITl said:
A word is a word, by it' self it means nothing.
Click to expand...
Obviously you havent seen something called a dictionary because in a dictionary, it pretty much defines each word in the English language.

P.S Lock this thread before it turns bobbla, if you cant tell the difference between a derogatory use of a word and a fun use of a word then it is your fault for being a stuck up wannabe politically correct pompous arse.
Kindly harden up with some cement and move on.
 
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iconoclasst

Well-Known Member
nelots said:
lKITl said:
A word is a word, by it' self it means nothing.
Click to expand...
Obviously you havent seen something called a dictionary because in a dictionary, it pretty much defines each word in the English language.

P.S Lock this thread before it turns bobbla, if you cant tell the difference between a derogatory use of a word and a fun use of a word then it is your fault for being a stuck up wannabe politically correct pompous arse.
Kindly harden up with some cement and move on.
Click to expand...
Nelots stupid remarks are bordering on abuse. Why are you so angry my friend. Did you follow the link and now your all threatened? Quit your rubbish replies and stick to using your big boy words.

Trig - I've known for years now that you have an undiagnosed Personality Disorder - your insane need to play devils advocate and inflame all and sundry is a dead give away. You do this with everyone you "communicate" with. Never able to make a salient point but can argue crap for hours.

Admiral - I thought we had resolved the issue yet now you jump back in to play Triggs Sycophante.

If you guys wont get this then don't get it. I shouldn't have to hear it in game is all I am saying.

i think this thread has clearly defined the homohphobes and those who choose to offend others because they just want too. Very successful really.
 
Joke :D

Joke :D

Well-Known Member
Look after walking around Newtown in Sydney and seeing like 50 homosexuals wearing 'Homosexuals are G ay" t-shirts, and my mate who is gay who refers to most annoying or anti-climactic things, e.g. Harry Potter 7, as being "focking g ay" I don't really think that most people who are gay really care, and with that all the people who actually care if you say "wow that car looks g ay" are probably like femenists are to women.

Moral is: Sticks and stones can break my bones but words can never hurt me.
 
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