Post by Dabeagle on Oct 6, 2014 6:00:46 GMT -5
There was a time, not so many years ago, when it was in vogue to say 'that's so gay' or some derivative. I argued against it because words have meaning (duh) and using 'gay' as a euphemism for 'lame' built the idea that the two were related. It bothered me twice as much when gay people used it and would try to tell you it was okay because they used it.
To realize the impact of such a word, simply swap the 'gay' out for 'That's so Japanese' or 'That's so Mexican' and see how fast you get pointed out for being wrong. How about 'that's so female'? This kind of subtle discrimination is the kind that embeds itself so that we see 'straight' as the preferred alternative. It leads, in the thinking process, to preferring straight candidates over gay ones in jobs, housing, and social settings. Just like the attitude that men with families should be paid more or given preferential hiring status over women or minorities because they have a family to support.
That's why this article has something important to say. It's not as blatant as a bazooka to the face; it's more of a subtle knife sliding between the ribs. If you were to watch the episode in question, you might even miss the intention of the communication they display because we're used to it. And that is the problem. We are used to people using slurs against us, holding us up as examples of 'wrong'. Church leaders, right wing whack jobs and people like this - who should know better.
To realize the impact of such a word, simply swap the 'gay' out for 'That's so Japanese' or 'That's so Mexican' and see how fast you get pointed out for being wrong. How about 'that's so female'? This kind of subtle discrimination is the kind that embeds itself so that we see 'straight' as the preferred alternative. It leads, in the thinking process, to preferring straight candidates over gay ones in jobs, housing, and social settings. Just like the attitude that men with families should be paid more or given preferential hiring status over women or minorities because they have a family to support.
That's why this article has something important to say. It's not as blatant as a bazooka to the face; it's more of a subtle knife sliding between the ribs. If you were to watch the episode in question, you might even miss the intention of the communication they display because we're used to it. And that is the problem. We are used to people using slurs against us, holding us up as examples of 'wrong'. Church leaders, right wing whack jobs and people like this - who should know better.