I don't know where to post this topic exactly so I'll just do it here. If any of you have read my most recent post, you'll know that I recently had contact with this girl who really upset me because she kept using offensive language. She's around my age, I think, but she kept saying that she had grown up around racist people and her dad was gone, her mom is an alcoholic, so basically she didn't have any good role models (still doesn't, in fact) and that's why she uses the N word and the R word a lot. Well, though I understand the part about growing up surrounded by stupid adults because when I was a kid I was constantly hearing the word 'fag', I think that once you're an adult, you don't have an excuse anymore for your behavior. Seriously, I hate just writing this word down because it offends me that much. So I totally don't understand why there are some gay and lesbian people who use words like 'dyke' and think it's funny and I feel the same way about an African-American using the N word. It's ridiculous. You're embracing the racism and the homophobia when you say these words! It's not funny! You're basically giving homophobic and racist people power over you by calling yourselves the very words that they use to humiliate you. I like how the TV show, Glee handles a lot of topics like bullying, homophobia, suicide, domestic violence. The message is that calling people and ourselves by these words is wrong. No excuses.
I recently made a family reunion quite awkward by pulling my cousin up on using the words "Faggot" and "Queer" as insults. I know exactly how you feel, it makes me ill to hear anyone using racist, sexist or homophobic language as insults because that implies inferiority. By not pointing out the problem we imply that it is OK, so come on everyone! Next time you hear someone mouthing off some disgusting insult that seems more suited to eighteenth century thinking, call them out! If we don't, who will?
Out of curiosity, what's the R word? And being brought up in a destructive environment is not an excuse for continuous bad behavior if she knows it's wrong.
i was thinking of that too.... and ummm... my mates (straight) call eachother fags all the time... i know you dont call a gay person that name but if its a straight guy/chick and its just fooling around, im sure it aint that bad...
My friends and I call each other 'fag' and 'nigga' in private when joking around, but never anywhere where it could actually offend anyone. I mean, guess its not right, even if my one friend is very black and very gay, but I mean, we don't actually have any prejudice. We actually call people out on it when they legitimately use those words.
I think she was referring to "retard". I think forbidden words are interesting, as are how theyre handled in society. Unwritten rules are formed about who can say what and when if ever its ok to use it. Im not sure if id say those unwritten rules which apply to the word nigger really applies to faggot and retard. Maybe a little bit the gay community has tried to reappropriate fag, but nothing compared to the black community's use of nigger. Retard is certainly not language disabled people throw around. The difference is that the word nigger has become a completely socially unacceptable word for non blacks to use against black people. At least spoken openly. But fag and retard are still used quite frequently by people who are straight / without mental or developmental disabilities. All three can be incredibly offensive and they arent words I use unless discussing the words themselves.
By using the words, people are trying to reclaim them. They aren't giving other people power. They are taking the power away from the racists and homophobes and so on. It is a way to say that those words no longer hold any power over them. It changes the connotation of the word and gives the racists/homophobes/whatever one less weapon to use in the future. A lot of people find it to be incredibly empowering. For example, the word queer has been reappropriated. So has the word gay. Other examples include fat, tree hugger, redneck, and so on. I don't necessarily think reappropriation is wrong. It is possible for the meanings and connotations of a word to change. That is part of how a language develops. A lot of people on this very website prefer to be referred to as queer despite the fact that it was once a terrible insult. Personally, I think that it is up to that particular community to decide if they want to reappropriate a word. For example, I am not a Caucasian from the southern USA. Therefore, it is not my decision if the word redneck should be reclaimed. So many words have been reappropriated, you've probably used a word that was once considered an insult without even realizing it. I think you mean the word "nigga". I don't usually hear African Americans say "nigger". I don't mean to nitpick but you'd be surprised the difference that one syllable makes
What is the R word. I know some black people that don't mind saying nigger, though the majority don't use it, or think it's relevant to them being Canadian. It is a word that has been sensationalized by the media in the past couple decades, and was completely taboo prior to such. It's all dependent on where you are from whether you should be offended or not. It wouldn't really be in most peoples vocabulary if Pop hip-hop in the 80's and 90's didn't become popular. This was done for empowerment, and no one alive today was around when the word nigger was as widespread and socially acceptable to say, so no one really understands the words true origin, so it is easy to use it and feel empowered you are taking a negative word and flipping it. However I think if anyone that uses the word was around in colonial America they would think differently. The word fag is different because it doesn't have the "degenerate almost non-human" connotations that nigger has. Fag shouldn't even be compared to that racial slur because nigger is a much more serious and malicious word, it was used to separate black people from white people and set them as a different species. It had connotations of livestock, property to be owned, and exploitation. Fag is only used to describe someone lame, as gay is used to describe something has lame or someone as lame. It is no even close to a racial slur as it doesn't have horrendous connotations. Being called a "fag" because you are considered a loser or are gay, isn't as bad as being called a "nigger" because someone doesn't consider you a homo sapien or even considers you a sentient being. I hardly hear black people say nigger, but everyone says fag, and I say fag, and don't feel it is comparable to any racial slur. It is a relatively new word, and doesn't have horribly malicious meaning behind it like racial slurs do.
