Thank you - that was really just an off the cuff rant. I meant to write a book review of Freakonomics and got stuck on a tangent.
Guilty as charged, but to be cliche IT'S DIFFERENT.
Like the racial slur I'm not using right now, it's ok to use the term when it's a friendly term and you're a member of the group. Calling your gay friend "fag" the way a punk might say "fuck you" to a friend (meaning hello, how are you) is a bit different than saying that when someone cuts you off in traffic that they're "gay."
You've got a point, but I still think it's find for group members to both use it and be pissed when non-group members do. Big dif between a black guy referring to himself and the same word used by a white guy from Alabama.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2005-08-06 09:22 pm (UTC)Guilty as charged, but to be cliche IT'S DIFFERENT.
Like the racial slur I'm not using right now, it's ok to use the term when it's a friendly term and you're a member of the group. Calling your gay friend "fag" the way a punk might say "fuck you" to a friend (meaning hello, how are you) is a bit different than saying that when someone cuts you off in traffic that they're "gay."
You've got a point, but I still think it's find for group members to both use it and be pissed when non-group members do. Big dif between a black guy referring to himself and the same word used by a white guy from Alabama.