Offensive Terms

[matty7]

I agree with what Cridders says about Queer meaning odd or strange - im not strange because of my sexuality...im probably strange for lots of other reasons though Queer does sound more offensive anyway to me...

I think I would only bee offended by been called these various names if they were used in a personal way by someone I care or have respect for - if a stranger called me fagott etc I wouldn't care less as I don't know them and they have no impact or influence in my life at all , they would be background noise to me

[blackula88]

long story short.. Words don't have values unless we give it to them.. I don't get why people get so butt hurt about being called words? Or how they did when Izealia Banks called that flight attendant a "Faggot" so what? It's just a word like Man, Black, Stupid, Ugly.. etc

It's up to us how we deal with these words.. So if I was called "Faggot" "Queer" "Gay" , I'd say.. No shit! But that's just me ..

Preach!

I was pretty much gonna say exactly what he said. Those words don't mean shit unless u give them power over u.

I remember back when I was 16 (holy shit 13 years ago[emoji31] ) my cousin and I were playing catch with a football in a parking lot that was rite next to his house. This old couple was walking by arguing extremely loud. Now at some point the lady separated her self from him and decided to walk through the parking lot pass us playing catch.

While she walks by she says to us what an asshole. I say I'm sorry to hear that and continue throwing the ball. She then says I hate to ask but do any of u have 2 dollars so I can catch the bus... my cousin was like isn't that ur man u just stormed off from? Go ask him. Lol All hell broke loose after that.

She was like what did u say about my husband. Looking confused he was like go ask ur man for money. Then she started screaming at both of us calling us 2 broke dirty niggers. We both started dying laughing and kept throwing the ball to each other. She was trying so hard to steal the ball from us all while calling us stupid niggers.

I said lady can u please go have ur melt down some where else, we're trying to play catch here. Then she started to shove me all while still calling us niggers. I said don't put ur hands on me... my cousins house is rite there and we will gladly call the cops. Her man finally ran over when he saw her attacking me. He started pulling her away and apologizing for her actions.

My cousin was like yes please take her crack head ass out of here.. we both started laughing again all while the bitch is fighting to get to us from her husband. So pretty much this woman was hoping to get a rise out of us by calling us niggers and when she saw it wasn't landing she started getting physical.

Lol at the end of the day words are just words and I'm not the one to get upset when some nobody calls me a name. This person has no effect on my life what so ever. I can never understand why people get so butt hurt by what a stranger says to them.

Oh and to touch on the afro American thing. I'm Jamaican so yes i 100% rather be called black and 99% of black people rather that as well. I only met one person i use to work with that rather afro American. I asked him why, he said cause I'm not black... black is like char coal or something. So i was like i heard u say white people before and white people aren't white as like snow. He had no comment after that so i mite of changed his opinion lol.

[1and1]

Preach!

I was pretty much gonna say exactly what he said. Those words don't mean shit unless u give them power over u.

I remember back when I was 16 (holy shit 13 years ago[emoji31] ) my cousin and I were playing catch with a football in a parking lot that was rite next to his house. This old couple was walking by arguing extremely loud. Now at some point the lady separated her self from him and decided to walk through the parking lot pass us playing catch.

While she walks by she says to us what an asshole. I say I'm sorry to hear that and continue throwing the ball. She then says I hate to ask but do any of u have 2 dollars so I can catch the bus... my cousin was like isn't that ur man u just stormed off from? Go ask him. Lol All hell broke loose after that.

She was like what did u say about my husband. Looking confused he was like go ask ur man for money. Then she started screaming at both of us calling us 2 broke dirty niggers. We both started dying laughing and kept throwing the ball to each other. She was trying so hard to steal the ball from us all while calling us stupid niggers.

I said lady can u please go have ur melt down some where else, we're trying to play catch here. Then she started to shove me all while still calling us niggers. I said don't put ur hands on me... my cousins house is rite there and we will gladly call the cops. Her man finally ran over when he saw her attacking me. He started pulling her away and apologizing for her actions.

My cousin was like yes please take her crack head ass out of here.. we both started laughing again all while the bitch is fighting to get to us from her husband. So pretty much this woman was hoping to get a rise out of us by calling us niggers and when she saw it wasn't landing she started getting physical.

Lol at the end of the day words are just words and I'm not the one to get upset when some nobody calls me a name. This person has no effect on my life what so ever. I can never understand why people get so butt hurt by what a stranger says to them.

Oh and to touch on the afro American thing. I'm Jamaican so yes i 100% rather be called black and 99% of black people rather that as well. I only met one person i use to work with that rather afro American. I asked him why, he said cause I'm not black... black is like char coal or something. So i was like i heard u say white people before and white people aren't white as like snow. He had no comment after that so i mite of changed his opinion lol.

Some people have no physical/mental/emotional control. And worse, they think this is acceptable.

This meme sums it up:

[Anocxu]

Black, Stupid, Ugly..

[verysimple]

Oh no.. I didn't mean it like that.. Ugh, I hate you! Hahaha

I'm completely opposed to homophobia and racism of any kind, but people getting all offended about being called names and reacting negatively by getting excited in a negative way only encourages others to keep doing it. If the whole world moves on to this then we'd stop calling each other names...

In the end of the day, I don't get offended easily when someone calls me something.. Words don't anger me; actions do.. that's what counts to me

[Anocxu]

Oh no.. I didn't mean it like that.. Ugh, I hate you! Hahaha

I'm completely opposed to homophobia and racism of any kind, but people getting all offended about being called names and reacting negatively by getting excited in a negative way only encourages others to keep doing it. If the whole world moves on to this then we'd stop calling each other names...

In the end of the day, I don't get offended easily when someone calls me something.. Words don't anger me; actions do.. that's what counts to me

Yeah.. You made some very good points there!. .
We have to get our 'tough exterior' on sometimes..there is a lot of hate floating around ..Sometimes we have to protect or teach others to defend themselves ..without being egotistical, vengeful and manipulative. .

It's a tough journey
So glad I gave up. .

[meridannight]

why do people even have a problem with being called something that they actually are? i'm Caucasian, white homosexual male. none of those terms are offensive to me. you can even call me faggot if you want. i don't care.

so if you are black, what's offensive about the term 'African'? that is where all the black people migrated from. even if they weren't born there, their parents/grandparents/etc were. you are of African descent. why whine about it unless you don't like it yourself?

get over yourselves already.

[Emiliano]

I tend to try to be aware of how people self identify and use the terms they chose for themselves. It doesn't bother me to be thoughtful about the language I use depending on the people I'm around.

The language of identity is sort of like a key, and if you want to open the lock you have to use the right one. Sure you can say words are just words and we need thick skin and just kick the door in, but I'm not really that sort of person when it comes to how I relate with others.

I grew up in a multiracial family, in a mostly immigrant neighborhood, in an incredibly diverse, global city. How I view it, the words people use to identify themselves are an incredibly personal choice that can carry a lot of weight and isn't something anyone should be so dismissive of.

Which is making me think of the other side of identity - not our self identity but the identity imposed on us by others... and how that really is the bigger issue. Like how some people feel they are in a better position to identify groups of people than those people are to identify themselves.

To ridicule, dismiss, or act like they have a deeper understanding of a term of identify than those who identify as that, strikes me as absurd and patronizing at best. Its even darker when such a sense of entitlement to name others is viewed within a historical context that includes colonization, the intentional stripping of identity, forced assimilation, or humiliation and oppression.

I dont always view a person who prefers to be identified by a specific term, or who is offended by being identified by a certain word, as being weak, emotional, or thin skinned. To stand up for yourself, assert your identity, and demand to be recognized as such are not really the actions of an insecure coward in my opinion.

[Insertnamehere]

There is one word that never ceases to irate me and it is more of less a Spanish equivalent for "faggot", with 2 variations.

The word is first associated with every form of "abnormal" male behavior. That includes petty stuff like not liking football (US folks: read soccer) or not drinking beer.

Then, there is a whole array of pejorative applications of the word, ranging from female abuser to friend backstabber.

People will say is my choice to be offended and that it's the intention that also makes the offense.

I will say, I find it very very hard not to be offended by a term that has been made a synonym with homosexuality when said term only has negative connotations.

[Pix]

To me it's all in the tone. Even "Hey, you," can be offensive if said with enough contempt in the tone.

Granted, tone is much harder to read in text form, but I think most of the time there's enough context to get the "tone" of how such words are used. (At least for me...I am aware of the inexplicable habit plenty of people have to imagine the worst possible tone into everything posted, perhaps even everything they read.)

For me personally, I also wonder when others are from other nations because they can use the same words in different ways, and what can be offensive in one nation can be casual or even celebratory in another (sometimes I'm just confused and figure it must be all in the tone for them as well on how it's meant).