O_O I'm sorry, but if you're serious about your last post you clearly don't know what i'm saying. (either that, or you're just trolling me. Or worse, just making stupid jokes as a way to prove your point when they prove nothing. Kinda like this guy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hx7xfhOt0LQ If that's really what you think i'm trying to say then you don't quite have the critical reading skills in order to interpret what i am saying. I know that it means annoying in the gaming community (and outside the gaming community) I never said otherwise. I made it a point to say that they do not mean "metaknight is attracted to the same sex". and if you really think that gay never is used to describe a person who is attracted to the same sex then you need to get out more or watch the news or something.

Btw, the term "Gay" originally referred to straight people who had a LOT of straight sex. Homo or Hetero, everyone wants to be gay.

lol, it also meant happy, but nobody uses it in that way anymore, except maybe your grandma

I could've sworn I mentioned the part about context around a hundred times. Re-read what I wrote about context.

In a gaming context, gay means annoying, in other contexts, it means other things, IE, homosexuality.

You said "even if it's not meant like that at all, many people will interpret it as it is, even if they don't mean it". Which is wrong, seeing as in the gaming context, people WILL interpret it as annoying, campy, etc, and nothing more, because that's what it means. Yet you state yourself that "you know it means annoying in the gaming community". You're contradicting yourself. People either know what it means, and interpret it that way, or don't know what it means, and misinterpret it.
What you're saying is that they understand what it means, and interpret it "as it is". IE, attracted to the same sex. Which no-one does, I've never heard someone call another character "homosexual". They call them gay because they're annoying, not because they're actually gay.

What you wrote made it sound like when people say "gay", they're referring to the characters as sexually attracted to each other, "because being gay is something you don't want to be", because it was acceptable to "bash on the gays". That holds no water in the way the word is used now.

Also, insulting my "critical reading skills" and "telling me to get out more" isn't exactly the most sophisticated way to argue, hm? Bare the context in mind before replying.

Neither is nitpicking at little things that don't matter. I said they interpret it as it is in a secondary view. Their actively saying that the metaknight is annoying. Their also passively saying that being a homosexual is a bad thing. being an annoying mk player = bad = homosexuality. As i've said before, i'm not saying that gay people will be offended, i'm saying that a young closeted gay kid hearing gay in a negative connotation ALL THE TIME by family and friends will hear this and start to believe that there really is something wrong with them. That they are less than others. because being gay<being straight according to any conversation where the topic is brought up. Many children are told that gay is a bad word etc. The common use of gay meaning annoying also makes it more acceptable to make fun of homosexuals. To an extreme it's as if every time someone did something bad or annoying they said, "What a Dizzy McIzzy thing to do" You're parents tell you it's wrong to be Dizzy McIzzy and EVERYONE was in on this. Everyone knew that it was not ok to be Dizzy McIzzy and you know that you are Dizzy McIzzy. After awhile you'd probably feel pretty bad about yourself.

I don't believe that homos want to have a lot of straight sex lol

"Neither is nitpicking at little things that don't matter. I said they interpret it as it is in a secondary view. Their actively saying that the metaknight is annoying. Their also passively saying that being a homosexual is a bad thing. being an annoying mk player = bad = homosexuality. As i've said before, i'm not saying that gay people will be offended, i'm saying that a young closeted gay kid hearing gay in a negative connotation ALL THE TIME by family and friends will hear this and start to believe that there really is something wrong with them. That they are less than others. because being gayhe common use of gay meaning annoying also makes it more acceptable to make fun of homosexuals. To an extreme it's as if every time someone did something bad or annoying they said, "What a Dizzy McIzzy thing to do" You're parents tell you it's wrong to be Dizzy McIzzy and EVERYONE was in on this. Everyone knew that it was not ok to be Dizzy McIzzy and you know that you are Dizzy McIzzy. After awhile you'd probably feel pretty bad about yourself."

[/font"></font>1. Not necessarily. Depending on the context. Like I said before. ANYONE who's in on the Smash community will know that when something is called gay, It's solely meant to mean annoying, not actually homosexual. Hence why I said before, no-one actually calls character homosexual, they call them gay, because that means annoying (in this context).<font size="2]

2. Not necessarily, depends how you interpret the meaning behind the word. Like I said, anyone in the Smash community will disregard this passive assault on homosexuals, and solely focus on the Smash meaning of "gay", annoying. Nothing more.

3. See point 2.

4. This, I totally agree with. Although that's down to the strength of the individual. But yes, I agree.

5. Again, down to the strength of the individual. Someone who is secure in their sexuality wouldn't be bothered by the usage of the word. But I see your point.[font=tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]

I'm not saying that everyone should get offended when someone says the word gay. I'm simply saying that it can be hurtful to people, especially if their lives or home are at risk if someone finds out. I think there are a lot more hardships that most homosexuals have to go through than most people realize. It starts out with the little acceptable things, like this passive assault on gays which subconsciously makes all people assume that being gay is wrong, then it escalates. Not saying this happens to everyone, but a little change in a large group's choice of words can make a big difference in quite a few people's lives.

I told my cousin who told his dad who told his wife who told my parents who threatened/attacked me and then they told 2 of my grandparents. Apparently "bad" news travels fast and to my family, this was very bad news.

I skimmed most of the posts; sorry if I overlooked something.

'Crazy' is a weird example.  Definitions:
1 an offensive term meaning affected by a psychiatric disorder
2 not showing good sense or practicality
3 extremely fond of somebody or something
So if I said "Diving of the roof onto cement is crazy" or "I'm crazy about my girlfriend" it wouldn't be used as definition 1.  However I don't think 'mental disabilities' qualify as crazy.  It's like saying someone with ADD is crazy, which is not true.


Most people who play a certain character should recognize this^.  Toon Link is a character who's been referred to as 'Gay'.  I never did that but it was common for some time.  I made enough waves in that community and decided not to take on that battle.
Slurs just degrade the impact of a statement and can be hurtful on occasion.  I avoid them.

People use the word *** too

Oh wait I forgot it doesn't mean homosexual unless its in the right context

WAIT

I've been using the term "mental imbalances" to show sensitivity to the topic, as well as to cover people who haven't been explicitly labeled as insane. These people are still are close enough to that community circle to be offended by the phrase. It's kind of like with LGBT, where there are four+ different communities and a slew of offensive words, phrases and topics for each of those individual groups. Yet all four of those groups could be offended by one word that might not be related to their specific identity. I'll give you some examples in my response to ken2, because there is a lack of education on this topic.

I don't think you're quite getting the scope of words that are seen as offensive and what the implications of this are. And I think you are downplaying the amount of people who have mental imbalances. Do you think it's really fair to say that because there isn't a lot of a group of people, that their issues shouldn't be taken into account? More than anything though, they would take a BIG issue with you saying, And to tell you the truth, in the OP, you did use the word retardism to describe MR, which is the condition that people actually go through…

Retarded is just one word in the world of ableism. It's definitely one that is focused on as a problem more than others, but communities who focus specifically on this topic would certainly provide you with much larger lists. If you want to find a quick and easy way to find communities who get offended by these words, just look for blogs tagged with words like ableism and ableist on Tumblr. Instantly when there has been a murder or a rape, people are questioning  the perpetrator's sanity, which is instantly offensive to some people  with mental imbalances who are simply living their life. Usually you will find people who are trying to further education on the topic, or people who have actual medical conditions that they like to discuss with like-minded individuals. You'll find the same lines of arguments as you'll find in other minority speech issues.    
    
"I have a mental disability and am offended by the word crazy."    
"I'm crazy and I don't mind the word crazy!"    
"As a neurotypical individual, I still find the word crazy offensive."    
"I think that everybody is being too sensitive."  
    
You will also find people who say they will get physically ill if they see any of the following list of words in your dialog:    
    
Special    
The Disabled    
Crazy    
Moron    
Spaz    
Wheelchair bound (as opposed to wheelchair user)    
Crutch (as in using someone or something as a crutch)       
Weak    
Invalid    
Vegetable    
OCD (as in calling someone OCD when they are overly attentive to something)    
Retarded (well this is partly what this topic is about)    
Hysterical
Bi-polar
Lame    
Idiot    
Cretin    
Gimp    
Insane    
Mental    
Nuts    
Lunatic    
Psycho    
Loony    

Yes, your average person is not going to know the etymology of these words, or that there is even a group of people who still get offended by most of these words. But there is. You can find some very emotional bloggers about this, since the Internet is the only place some people feel they have a place to talk about this stuff.
    
In the misogynistic category, you will find that people find these words offensive:    
    
Girl (when referring to a woman.)    
Woman (when referring to a girl.)    
Lady (when referring to someone who's not an old woman)    
    
(citation: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=229x12493#12517)    
    
"But my FRIENDS don't mind when I say these words! These words don't mean these things anymore." No. You said it yourself. It doesn't matter if my friends don't mind when I say these words because it promotes the same prejudice that every other word that offends another group can cause. Even if YOU don't believe you're using a word to offend someone, someone is offended by its connotations. So OK, I'm not going to post another huge list of words for this one, but misogyny is a much more covered topic and you'll find about a ton of words in that category not to be saying.
    
I don't want you to feel bad about this. I'm just trying to outline how absurd it is to cater to every single person's personal gate for topics in which to discuss. Even in this topic you yourself have stumbled over problematic words and ideas in non-examplatory contexts. I believe that you did it by accident though. We haven't even gotten into trigger words yet, but trigger words are a highly personalized list of words that individuals may get offended by, and begin to endure very uncomfortable feelings when exposed to. So this includes words like rape, obesity, references to historical atrocities, and other things. So I could just never use these words again, or never discuss these topics again, but maybe there's another solution…   
   
Perhaps we should settle down here, and focus on what's really important. If you've made a personal pact with yourself about what words you're willing to use, and which ones you're unwilling to use, that's great! That is a decision you have made, and it's nice that you're so conscientious of the group(s) of individuals you don't want to offend. I wouldn't want to discourage you from this. But as long as new people are born into this world, there will be new things to be potentially offended by. 20 words is nothing. When compounded with words that have to be used in their proper context or else they are offensive to someone, try 1000s.

Mod message: ALSO people, filter rules are still in effect. Try not to censor dodge when you are making a point.

I personally think the world would be a brighter place if people stopped trying to put up politically correct walls at every possible offense. People in general get offended too easily, and as a result, anyone else ends up walking on eggshells because of it. That causes uneasiness between parties, which is the exact opposite of learning and understanding one another.

"Gay" has taken on duplicate meanings, much in the same way that a "sack" can mean a bag to carry stuff in or a dude's balls. Just because I say I like large sacks doesn't mean to imply the latter; clearly it means the former. If I call a fanny pack "gay", I'm clearly not trying to insult homosexuals, nor am I promoting fanny packs as homosexual commodities. And if one immediately jumps to that conclusion, then one is clearly trying too hard to make something out of nothing.

All that being said, if you specifically don't like the term being used, kindly tell someone who uses it around you to not do so. Regardless of words' meanings, they can hurt. But they hurt individually. Demanding that an entire population adhere to a rule barring an "offensive" word when there are plenty in your situation who don't take offense to it is an unfair and unreasonable request.

I use gay when it seems correct to do so based on a certain definition of the word today. I support LGBT equality and feel that there shouldn't even be a distinction among people due to sexuality, when it really has nothing to do with anything else one does in life. That's neither here nor there, but I want to point out that I support you, OP. I just don't support the banishment of a turn of phrase for the sake of avoiding bad feelings. Sometimes, you simply have to man up and not let an innocent action get you all knotted up.

woah woah woah... wait one minute, If you calling a fanny pack gay, and you don't mean to imply that homosexuals would wear a fanny pack, then what exactly do you mean by them being gay????????????? Also, it doesn't hurt me at all if someone uses the word gay in an offensive matter. I just feel that they shouldn't be saying it for the sake of other people that are hearing it. Also, I'm not offended by the actual word "gay" if someone is using the word gay in the meaning, men who like other men or women who like other women, then that's perfectly ok. If someone says, a higher percentage of gay people have AIDS than straight people, I also think that's fine to say and shouldn't offend anyone. Thank you Rizen for your input. I agree with what you said and it helps my argument. Crazy seems to be one of those borderline words. I kinda do think that it's pretty messed up that the word crazy ACTUALLY MEANS not showing good sense or practicality and also describes a person affected by a psychiatric disorder. However, the word gay does NOT actually mean annoying, bad, stupid, or feminine. In the list of words that Spellman wrote, none of them are used as much as gay is in a derogatory way that does not actually describe the disorder. The word crazy is generally used properly. Many of the others aren't offensive words anymore, such as moron because the word isn't used to describe people with an IQ under a set level anymore. If you were to make an argument against people calling others unintelligent, you might as well ban schools from giving grades on tests, or even moreso, aptitude tests.

People don't think "vagina" when they think "love", older/other connotations of "crazy" when they think "crazy", etc.*. The former meaning's been dropped. But everyone (adults, anyway) knows that "gay" refers to homosexuality. If gay weren't still today used to decribe homosexuality, and were solely used in this new context, I don't think there would be an issue.

And you know, it might happen in the future. Maybe "gay" will take on a completely new definition and there'll be a new word that infers homosexuality. But, as it stands now, "gay" is acting as a bridge that connects "homosexuality" and... "bad"? What the heck's up with that? Why doesn't "gay" mean "freakin' awesome"? I would wager that, if I starting using gay in THAT manner ("freakin' awesome", I mean), people would catch on to that I'm approving of homosexuality, without even knowing anything about me. Because I'd be insinuating that "homosexuality" and "good" are connected, even if I'm not referring to homosexuality in the slightest.

*depends on the culture of your area I guess. I can only speak from my experience.

Back in slavery times, black people were considered lower level citizens, or not citizens at all. If you looked in a dictionary from back in slavery times (and even now to a certain extent) white means good, pure, honest, caring, strong. Black means dirty, wretched, evil, wrong. That is because of the implied hatred towards blacks. The white people making the dictionaries and meanings for words did this and every time someone used the word black to describe someone who is dirty, it WAS passively repressing black people, even if not noticed or on purpose.

Have you ever heard someone call a criminal "crazy"? You do realize that perfectly sane people commit crimes too, yes? The argument coming from that side is that since we are not doctors, it is discriminatory and unreasonable for us to assume that a killer is automatically crazy or insane. So being crazy = you might be a killer. When was the last time you heard gay used as a synonym for "killer" or "person with terrible ideologies?" If people don't mean insane when they say this, then what DO they mean?

Not all people with these cognitive issues are dangerous criminals. Many of them are self-medicating individuals who are just trying to live their every day life. You might go to school with these people, or interact with them online. Many individuals who have this disposition suffer from emotional issues and feel separated from people who have a neurotypical disposition. And many will hurt themselves on account of their psychological dissonance, and feel rejected from society. I don't see how someone could accept one person's desire for respectful word usage, and deny someone else's. They're both ostracized, both have these identities given to them against their will (ex. homosexuality, mental disorders, transgenderism, physical deficiencies, cognitive dissonance), and all have their own psychological issues.

I have posted hyperlinks throughout my arguments to prove that I'm not making up people's feelings. There are people who are genuinely hurt by the way society views them, and attribute that hurt to misuse of words. Like I say, I don't see a very even dispersal of respect here when you say things like this about some of society's more oppressed and misunderstood people, especially when labeling other people's usage of words as wrong.

It's ironic that you guys are using the exact same argument for "crazy" being acceptable as many people who argue that using the word "gay" is acceptable!