From the So you’re gay. Who gives a rat’s ass? thread.
goboy:
andygirl:
beakerxf:
Doobieous:
Now it’s fine with me if you want to run around being normal. But still, wow. So am I the only weirdo crazy freak-out psycho faggot left on Goddess’ green earth, or what?
Matt, I live in San Francisco, quite close to the Castro (18th and Castro was declared, in a documentary, the gayest four corners on the planet).
You may feel secure in the fact that you are not, I repeat, not the only “weird faggot” on the planet.
Yes. No. I dunno. How many gay/lesbian/bi people are there on this board?
If it’s of any comfort, you’re not the only weird PERSON left.
Wow . . . so now corners/streets are being declared gay. What’s next? Bars? oops. How about video stores? oops. Um . . . gyms? cars? shoes?
But Matt, your thread title brings up a different question.
How do you feel about the word “faggot”? Personally I find it somewhat offensive. The only way I’ve ever heard it used is in a derogatory manner. Just because a gay man uses it doesn’t make any less offensive to me. I made the same argument about the word “nigger” in some other thread. Just because a black man says it doesn’t make it ok. I don’t know if it’s a comparable argument, but maybe it is.
Thoughts?
Jack:
Compare two sentences:
“I just love my friend James. He’s the most fabulous faggot I know.”
“Hey McLauchlin! You’re gay!”
In those two sentences, which word is more offensive: “faggot” or “gay”?
A word can’t be offensive by itself, only a sentiment.
He’s using it to refer to himself. Thus he probably doesn’t mean it in a derogatory manner.
My mother told me a while back that various social/ethnic/whatever groups started calling eachother by the hurtful names others had called them before, as a measure of strength or something.
Also, IMO, “faggot” is an insult if you mean it as such. Granted there are going to be people insulted. I had friends who say anything connected with being gay as bad/evil/that sort of thing. She is no longer my friend, but at any rate, for those of us who have no problem with it, it’s not an issue.
Matt, when you are called a faggot or homo or whatever by people who don’t mean it in a derogatory manner, do you take offense at it? For example, if I were to refer to you as my fag friend or gay friend, would either or both upset you (if I was using it to distinguish between you and a straight friend I had)?
Not that I’m about to, as I really don’t care what preference you have:)
Assuming I knew you meant it in a nice way? Of course not.
Cool. Not that I plan to, as you live far enough away that if I ever saw you it’d probably be a dopefest or some chance meeting. But good to know, all the same.
That’s cool with me.
I know words in themselves aren’t good or bad, but you have to admit, some words are predisposed to being used in a bad way. I’ll just call you my “queer” friend. I think that word, has a nice ring to it. I still won’t use “faggot”. Sorry, I just don’t like it.
Great googly-moogly, I’m certainly in a pensive mood tonight. I’ve been hanging out in the Pit, posting responses trying to be great debate fodder, and not even saying fuck or felch once. And here I am discussing the merits of the word “faggot” on an otherwise perfectly mundane thread.
I think I’d better just throw in a gratuitous Hamberger Helper reference and go find something fun to do.
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Hamburger Helper Flavor of the Day - Beef and Potatoes - Eat some now.
Oh, the double-entendre possibilities…
Don’t worry matt you’re not alone. While I would not characterize myself as “a faggot” I’m definetely what one would call a Queer person. And considering the people I’ve seen around where I work (I’m sorry but you have to, HAVE TO, wear something besides chaps) you aren’t even that strange. I do think that you are more likely to get a “professional/normal” set of gays on an internet message board (excluding those devoted to strange sexual practices) than you would meet in real life. That’s just the way it is, we aren’t representative of America. If we were Nader would be president with Browne at a close second (or maybe the other way around)
I sure as hell hope not. The world needs more weirdo crazy freak-out psycho faggots, God bless 'em. Don’t ever change Matt, keep the squares on their toes!
I did not see the original thread, but what a question!! Where I live, those freewheeling gay guys from the late 70’s and 80’s are now affluent homeowners throughout the neighborhoods(I grew up in SW Houston) . They mow their yards. Tend their gardens and landscaping, and bitch about the noise and traffic coming from nearby bars at similar rates as straight people would. They get older, calmer, and yuppified. To their credit, gay homeowners seem to prefer fixing up older houses rather than replace them.
All I know is that I wish “faggot” would stop meaning “gay person” and take back its original meaning. As a writer, it’s preferable to saying “log”. 
Of course, you can call yerself whatever you want… heck, I call myself “Mr. Spaghetti Noodle” all the time.
Okay, that was a completely stupid post… ah, well.
I agree, I remember an old Joan of Arc movie where some soldier shouts out “Bring me another faggot for the fire!” and I always feel like I am the only one who knows what that meant.
Pat Buchanan is crossing his fingers on this one…
Yer pal,
Satan
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Four months, two weeks, three days, 1 hour, 12 minutes and 11 seconds.
5562 cigarettes not smoked, saving $695.25.
Extra time with Drain Bead: 2 weeks, 5 days, 7 hours, 30 minutes.[/sub]
"Satan is not an unattractive person."-Drain Bead
[sub]Thanks for the ringing endorsement, honey!*[/sub]
Jack Batty says:
About ten years back, I started a woodwind quintet. I suspected that the bassoonist I recruited was gay, but I saw no reason to inform the other members. Probably a mistake.
The flutist, as a college professor, had access to the college’s music library, and we had free use of the music. He was passing out music to us, a Jacques Ibert piece printed in France somewhere. He gave me the oboe part and said “hautbois,” which is French for oboe (he had taught math in Africa speaking French, so this seemed a natural thing for him to do). He handed the bassoonist his part and said “fagotte,” which is the French word for bassoon.
The bassoonist froze, and so did I, and then both of us must have realized it was unintentional. But when the bassoonist left practice a little earlier than the rest of us, I said “ix-nay on the aggot-fay,” explaining that our friend might be gay and it could hurt his feelings.
A few months later, we were in the orchestral rehearsal room trying to find enough music stands for all of us to use. We were combing all the small practice rooms and storage areas. The clarinetist was preparing to look in one of these storage compartments when he spotted the bassoonist close by, so he said “Did you just come out of the closet?”
Slight hi-jack here, didn’t prove much, except that maybe we hurt our gay friends unintentionally more often than we know about.
Actually a faggot isn’t a log, but a a bundle of sticks or twigs.