“That is So Gay” Is Not Hate Speech?

[Singularity]

Re: “That’s So Gay” = Hate Speech?

What did she say? Don't be gay, little brother, i don't mean anything bad with it?

She doesn't say it about me, she uses it as a replacement for calling anything screwed up. I might have to add that we talk Swiss German and somehow it sounds more derogatory to me, then.

 

[RRRalph]

Re: “That’s So Gay” = Hate Speech?

She doesn't say it about me, she uses it as a replacement for calling anything screwed up. I might have to add that we talk Swiss German and somehow it sounds more derogatory to me, then.

Why? Does she she use the Swiss German equivalent of faggot or dyke instead of the neutral gay or homo?

 

[Singularity]

Re: “That’s So Gay” = Hate Speech?

Why? Does she she use the Swiss German equivalent of faggot or dyke instead of the neutral gay or homo?

No, she uses the word 'gay' (schwul), which I hate hearing anyway. It sounds silly and more like a weather prognosis (schwül = sticky).

I can't wait for us to drop labels.

P.S.: I've always wondered, what do you Dutch say?

 

[RRRalph]

Re: “That’s So Gay” = Hate Speech?

No, she uses the word 'gay' (schwul), which I hate hearing anyway. It sounds silly and more like a weather prognosis (schwül = sticky).

I can't wait for us to drop labels.

P.S.: I've always wondered, what do you Dutch say?

To be honest schwul sounds pretty good actually. Schwul sounds like the dutch word

zwoel (same prononciation), which means sensual. 'Gay' is translated as homo and 'faggot' as flikker.

 

[frankfrank]

Re: “That’s So Gay” = Hate Speech?

I will NEVER use that phrase, because using that phrase is so gay!

 

[RRRalph]

Re: “That’s So Gay” = Hate Speech?

I will NEVER use that phrase, because using that phrase is so gay!

You gay gay

 

[nitish]

Re: “That’s So Gay” = Hate Speech?

I don't recognize "hate speech" when it's applied to words, or small sentences. It really has to be a long detailed speech that calls for hatrade, and no matter who says it, the message will always be the same.

I hate this "it's ok for gay people to say it" or "it's ok for black people to say it" bullshit. I am supposedly a member of both of the aforementioned groups and I am ok with anyone saying any word. What matters is the "intentions" behind words.

Rather than make my job easier and assume every white/straight person is being a racist by using a derogatory word, I will analyze it on a case by case bases. And quite frankly, I don't care about the word, I care about the feelings put behind the words.

 

[Paws]

Re: “That’s So Gay” = Hate Speech?

yes many of my straight friends say it sometimes but in a way that exposes how ludacris the phrase is.

ludicrous

Here's Chris Crocker's opinion on the subject.

WTF, "gay isn't an adjective"?

 

[Soilwork]

Not that I would expect some people to understand but some of us don't like to have a word used to describe what we ARE as a synonym for "lame" or "stupid" or "cheap" or "poor" or "bad."

I don't let anyone use it around me unless they themselves are gay and are using it in a sort of positive way like as in a synonym for "fierce" or "cool" or "something that straight people or bisexuals would never be cool enough to dream up."

But you know.. that's just me.

 

[Kurn]

I have limited experience. That's Bakersfield for you.

But here's a quick analysis of what the expression goes for:

Have you ever sat through a movie that was well-written, and then the actor says a line that sounds like the writer had to think of something fast just to fill in?

That's a moment that we all experience so many times because of our constant effort to adjust on the edge of something new.
Sometimes we sound gay. It's a sit-com moment that we all go through.
A moment of suffering. But don't sit and suffer. Celebrate it.
You're doing something that most people aren't.
You might not like carving out a new space for people like you, but that's what you're doing when you're "so gay."

Of course, if they're really mean when they talk like that you can spill something on them if you want...

 

[RRRalph]

Re: “That’s So Gay” = Hate Speech?

What matters is the "intentions" behind words.

That was my thought as well.

 

[Soilwork]

See I don't think it's "the intentions" at all.

If I was saying someone was being cheap I would never say "You're trying to Jew me."

If I did, I don't think the defense of "Oh, I don't mean it like that" is good enough.

If I was to use the dreaded "N" word, it wouldn't be defensible with "My intentions are good."

If you're not gay, saying "that's so gay" just isn't acceptable unless you're talking about how "gay" The Castro is.

 

[RRRalph]

See I don't think it's "the intentions" at all.

If I was saying someone was being cheap I would never say "You're trying to Jew me."

If I did, I don't think the defense of "Oh, I don't mean it like that" is good enough.

If I was to use the dreaded "N" word, it wouldn't be defensible with "My intentions are good."

If you're not gay, saying "that's so gay" just isn't acceptable unless you're talking about how "gay" The Castro is.

You got a point there Jason, although 'Nigger' isn't a neutral word such as 'gay' or 'Jew'.

It's always wrong to use that word.

 

[RRRalph]

Its apparantly always wrong to type it too because it looks just as horrible as it sounds.

I didn't want to be hypocritical by not naming something that we all know what it is.

In my country it's not a big deal to use the translated equivalent. Anyway that word is truely hate speech.

 

[Soilwork]

You got a point there Jason, although 'Nigger' isn't a neutral word such as 'gay' or 'Jew'.

It's always wrong to use that word.

Maybe in your country.

In the US, young black men call each other that all the time as a term of endearment.

But I, as a white, 40-ish man with a shaved head will NEVER find myself in a situation where it's acceptable to use it.

 

[nitish]

If someone can say it and get away with it, then it's about intentions. DUH!!!!!

Why do you think it's OK for gay people to say it? It's because you know they're not being homophobic, because they're supposedly gay themselves.

Anyways, this is a free country (usa) and everyone can utter what they want, as long as they're comfortable with the consequences. And I don't mind anyone using any word. And I wish we wouldn't allow the word nigger to have so much power, so much that if I was walking by the street and someone calls me that, I would be "expected" to have a reaction. No thank you. It's a word that means nothing to me. It only lets me know that the other person is hostile to me about my race, at which point I start to ignore them.

 

[RRRalph]

Its apparantly always wrong to type it too because it looks just as horrible as it sounds.

I didn't want to be hypocritical by not naming something that we all know what it is.

In my country it's not a big deal to use the translated equivalent. Anyway that word is truely hate speech.

Correction

I made a mistake. The dutch word 'neger' is from the english 'negro' and not from the other n word of which

the dutch 'nikker' hasn't been used for ages. I even forgot about it, that's why i made the translation error.

Wouldn't it be nice when fag and dyke is something that won't be used as well.

To complete the story: Americans use the 'black people' or 'african american' and we use 'dark people'.

 

[2243]

"That's so gay" can be hate speech, but it isn't all the time.

 

[sabot3ur]

don't care. that shit is so stupid, I can't be around it.

although if someone says it around me, I automatically judge them for the negative and assume they're ignorant people who have probably hurt the feelings of many.

 

[Aaron]

The way I look at it, something is only hate speech if it is said with malicious or hurtful intent. A buddy at work makes a crack about something gay as a joke, then that is all it is - a joke. I recognize that, and when I say "it's cuz ur brown" as a joke, he recognizes it, too.

Most people who use the phrase, "That's so gay," aren't using it as hate speech, so it isn't hate speech. Calling me faggot because I am holding hands with my boyfriend - that is hate speech.