My "laundry list" only explains why I might be offended by 'x'. Naturally, you can disregard it at will.
But to strike those from our lexicon simply because of what people in the past used them as, to disregard current definitions, is to show only stubbornness.
At this point, I think we've come to the end of meaningful discussion. You believe that 'gay' can sometimes mean 'awesome' and so you feel that it's fine for you and your friends to use it. I'm not going to change your mind and in truth, without knowing every fact I can't even say that you're necessarily wrong. All I can say is that if it's truly the case that you and your friends are using 'gay' in that fashion, I hope that it catches on and that it will help BGLTQP persons to gain acceptance.
My final thought on this is that people don't get hurt and offended over language because it's fun for them or because they're being stubborn about seeing the language evolve. They get hurt because they've been hurt by that word in the past. Period.
No one likes being offended. It's exhausting to have to argue about why something that one person feels is innocent just isn't to another. Neither party is necessarily in the wrong, but again, if I step on your foot, I'm not going to blame you for having it there - I'm going to apologize for stepping on you. Oh, and just in case your brain goes to the place that mine just went - I'm assuming that you didn't put your foot out to trip me because again, there are very, VERY few people in this world who truly enjoy being stepped on.
no subject
But to strike those from our lexicon simply because of what people in the past used them as, to disregard current definitions, is to show only stubbornness.
At this point, I think we've come to the end of meaningful discussion. You believe that 'gay' can sometimes mean 'awesome' and so you feel that it's fine for you and your friends to use it. I'm not going to change your mind and in truth, without knowing every fact I can't even say that you're necessarily wrong. All I can say is that if it's truly the case that you and your friends are using 'gay' in that fashion, I hope that it catches on and that it will help BGLTQP persons to gain acceptance.
My final thought on this is that people don't get hurt and offended over language because it's fun for them or because they're being stubborn about seeing the language evolve. They get hurt because they've been hurt by that word in the past. Period.
No one likes being offended. It's exhausting to have to argue about why something that one person feels is innocent just isn't to another. Neither party is necessarily in the wrong, but again, if I step on your foot, I'm not going to blame you for having it there - I'm going to apologize for stepping on you. Oh, and just in case your brain goes to the place that mine just went - I'm assuming that you didn't put your foot out to trip me because again, there are very, VERY few people in this world who truly enjoy being stepped on.