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Is saying "That's So Gay" discriminatory?

I searched around for a discussion on this topic, but I haven't found any. If this topic has already been started or if it's in the wrong category, feel free to delete this and refer me to the other one.

Being a teenager, I hear a lot of my peers and friends saying things such as "That's Gay" and "Don't be a Fag". I try not to comment when they say that, but I really do think that saying something like that should be on the same level as "That's so Black."

I think of it as them replacing the word "stupid" with "gay", so obviously when put in that light, it's a pretty bigoted and judgmental thing to say.

So what do you think, fellow Atheists? Especially the younger ones like me, who probably hear this stuff at school all the time. I just simply don't know what to think about it.

Tags: bigotry, discrimination, discriminatory, dont be a fag, is saying 'that's so gay' discriminatory?, kids, teenagers, that is gay, that is so gay, you are a fag

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Permalink Reply by Jezzy on October 7, 2009 at 8:07am

Having to go to high school *cringe* I know that no one thought through it that hard. Teenagers will not know that definition, and while we'll probably never really know how it started, I think it stemmed from simple bigotry and even more stupidity. In fact, it probably started as a joke or something and spread. It's amazing what these things can do.

Also, my teacher has mentioned the "Christian" thing to do twice now. Annoying is one thing, but I don't really call that professional.

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Permalink Reply by Benjamin Eugene Jackson on October 6, 2009 at 6:21pm

I strongly believe that we all know when we use words to inflict pain or some sort of discord with people. However, when one does so that it connects with a movement and/or age group to be a casual term the question then becomes do we help this violation continue or do we chose not to. The elephant is in the room, do you see it or do you not?

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Permalink Reply by Jezzy on October 7, 2009 at 8:00am

I really, really hate it when people say that. And I love to constantly whine about living in Utah, and of course Mormons are now famous for the gay-hating. Pretty sure when someone says "that's so gay" the respect meter plummets and the homicide meter shoots up in my brain. And they say it... a lot.

And no, maybe they're not even thinking about homosexuals when they say it, but you'd think someone with the slightest amount of intelligence would know better than to propagate such a phrase, knowing what the word gay refers to modernly. And considering it's an insult, I think we can throw at least the "happy" part of the "out of context" thing out the window.

You know, there was an article in my crazy-conservative newspaper that was talking about how "truth" was more important than "tolerance". From my understanding, it admitted that religion and tolerance don't mix, but that it's okay because religion is truth and that's more important.

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Permalink Reply by Louis Davout on October 9, 2009 at 10:39pm

Who would of thought coming from Bill. But he's still a ass - my apologies to those of the horse-like species.

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Permalink Reply by CarolAnn on October 10, 2009 at 5:56pm

I have to admit to being almost as bad. I made my kids and their friends stop saying "that's so gay" while in my house - if they said it they got a mouth full of baking cocoa. Instead, I had them say "that's so scientologist."

While admittedly derogatory to scientologists it made me feel better.