Rant

[truthbealiar]

When people are okay with using the word "faggot" but not the word "nigger," I start to lose my faith in humanity. The only thing that makes the former word more socially acceptable than the latter is because social acceptance of black people dates back farther than social acceptance of gay people. Additionally, social acceptance of gays is still

Comments

[underdogthing]

The best way you can help your cause is not to compare the two. I am half black, but I am also a member of the LGBT community. When you write something like this it denies the existence of LGBT people of color and divides us all.

You should find a better way to express your anger that doesn't involve being divisive and setting groups of people against each other.

And just so you know, and I WOULD: racism against black people IS much more tolerated than you apparently believe, and "nigger" is thrown around constantly. Three years ago, I heard someone use it against my dad.

Just something you might want to think about.

[truthbealiar]

Um, okay. Yeah, comparing two forms of hate speech is hardly "setting groups of people against each other."

[truthbealiar]

And I'm hardly saying that "nigger" is not used, I'm saying it isn't thrown around with the same freedom as "faggot." This came from an online debate I witnessed where someone said that Juggalos (the fan base of ICP) "smelled like niggers." Someone attacked that person by saying that they should not use a racial slur like that, and then, in the same sentence, called that person a "fag." In my opinion, the person who was calling out the first person for saying the word "nigger," but then used another form of hate speech in her attack, proved that the only reason she disapproved of the first form of hate speech was because of societal norms, as she clearly had no problem with hate speech in general.

[underdogthing]

Yeah well, people like that are idiots.

But you imply that fighting against racism is done, and as a person of color, I can tell you that it's NOT.

You have this idea that "nigger" is unacceptable in all facets of society, that fight is done now. That's not true.

I also know that homophobia is not dead, because I've experienced that too.

Maybe I misspoke. I have just seen this issue get divisive. Nowhere was that more evident than when Prop 8 passed and a lot of (white, I'm sorry, have to say) LGBT people blamed "the black community of California."

If society as a whole had not decided that the word "nigger" was unacceptable This is not true as I tried to explain to you in my last post. Society as a whole has NOT decided that "nigger" is unacceptable, which is why plenty of people still use it. That's why the person on that forum used it. By giving that example you kind of destroy your whole argument. If it was unacceptable, people wouldn't be using it

[gunpowdersmile]

I think they are both thrown around pretty freely. Did you call her out on it? Sometimes people disassociate words from their meanings as in calling someone something because it is a slur meant to offend but not considering what the slur means. (I may have said that in the most confusing way possible. Sry.)

[truthbealiar]

I did call her on it. She attempted to defend her statement with the most convoluted logic possible

[gunpowdersmile]

Good for you for calling it out.

[u_make_me______]

what do you mean you don't get it? people who aren't white don't choose to be not white, nor would they if they could. this is clear, we know this. the debate concerning homosexuality is different though. people still think of it as a choice, others believe it to be akin to a disorder or disease. Then there are those bible-thumpers who have no problem with people of a different race, but all sorts of hatred towards homosexuals. comparing sexual orientation to race/ethnicity is ridiculous. i am not condoning any type of bigotry in any form, but this specific comparison has been bothering me for years.

no

[wolf_inthewoods]

Very disapointing, trevor. You have a responsibility to educate yourself on facts before you speak. You are young. I could probably write endless pages to you educating you on black history(and the DAILY, AROUND THE CLOCK SUFFERING and ABUSE of MILLIONS of slaves over hundreds of years.Many, MANY,to the point of death. And it was no. big. deal. for a white man to kill a slave. they were just 'niggers'. I am too upset that this came out of your mouth to continue to attempt to educate you. Please, read some books regarding black history and compare the lives of millions of slave's endless suffering to the, comparitively occasional hate crimes and offensive slurr's used against gay and lesbian citizens of America by homophobic idiots. I am a white woman with a black child (adopted from Denver Foster Care) and I have a huge group of g/l friends, but kiddo, there is no comparison of disrespect when using offensive slang. Do not use the N word unless you are black and understand extactly what that word means, and meant, in our history.

Re: no

[truthbealiar]

Um, okay, I don't know who you think you are to "educate" me on this issue, but believe me when I say that I am quite up to date on my history. Words have whatever meaning we give them in society, and we've decided that one is less offensive than the other when both are slurs and both should be equally shunned by society because of the history of those words. And I would hardly call the hate crimes directed towards homosexuals as "occasional."

Re: no

[wolf_inthewoods]

I said "comparatively' occasional. As in a ratio of g/l killed, attacked, beaten to a bloody pulp. I'm not aware of any studies regarding this, but I'm assuming it would be something to the effect of 1 to 100,000. Think of it like this. If you use the word "faggot" you are a disrespectful idiot, if you use the 'N' word,(as a white man) you are spitting on the graves of millions of black people who endured more than you could ever imagine. The "N" word, has it's place in history, but it is an excrutiatingly painful history, so lets leave it there.

Re: no

[truthbealiar]

Perhaps I can further clarify my statement. My statement here is not to suggest a comparison between the oppression of the two cultures, but rather a structural linguistic argument. Structural linguistics suggests that meanings are entirely based on social contracts, that the meaning between a thing and the word used for it is arbitrary and the relationship is created by an arbitrary social contract. By structural linguistic theory, which almost every linguist agrees with, it would be just as possible to use the word "boat" as an offensive slur towards any particular group of people simply if we decided as a group that that was an offensive term. It is for this reason that I am somewhat undecided on how I feel about the use of the term "nigga" amongst blacks in rap culture, because an argument could be made that they are attempting to rob the word of its meaning in creating a new social contract that determines a new meaning for the word