# Conservatives Bad-Mouth "No Name-Calling Week" **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 25, 2005, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatives-bad-mouth-no-name-calling-week/286545 "2005-01-25T05:56:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatives-bad-mouth-no-name-calling-week/286545/21 "2005-01-25T10:46:46Z")
Ironically, in my experience “virgin” isn’t far behind “faggot” as a term of abuse and insult. Rather than fight against the acceptance of homosexuality, why not fight for the acceptance of virginity? I know, I know. You get less publicity and you look like a prude. :rolleyes: Damn it, it isn’t just gay kids who get picked on!!! I saw my best friend get picked on and teased mercilessly to the point where she had a nervous breakdown. She’s not gay; she’s just slightly physically and mentally handicapped, which means she wore leg and back braces, had a speech impediment, and thought a bit more slowly than most people. I’m not gay, yet I could not walk down a hallway without being insulted, often by total strangers including freshmen my senior year, ate lunch and rode the bus standing up despite there being empty seats because no one would let me sit next to them, and was generally treated like sub-human detritus. As a result, I thought I was ugly until I was in my mid-twenties. The scars these “harmless words” leave are _ **real** _. It’s been a while, but I remember what it’s like to feel less than human, unworthy of love or even simple companionship, undeserving of anything good in life even while desperately wanting it. I remember being hungry for acceptance of any kind. A few years ago, I joined Mensa. One of the things which was a wonder and amazement to me was walking into a Regional Gathering and having people I’d only seen once before be \*glad \* to see me and have me there. I was drawn in and made to feel welcome and accepted for the first time in my life! Is it any wonder I joined up? I sincerely hope those groups opposing “No-Name Calling Week” aren’t invoking their Christian faith while doing so. I doubt that’s the case, though. You see, the reason I am such a loud-mouthed Christian is the local Episcopal Church was the one place in town where I could go and feel welcomed and accepted, rather than insulted and turned away. The acceptance and love they showed me made it possible for me to survive. Calling people names, insulting them, is a direct violation of the Commandment Christ gave us, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If these people are so concerned with stopping people from sinning, isn’t violating that Commandment something they should look at? No, of course not. You see, one thing I learned back in middle school is this. People like me don’t matter. People who are different by some quirk of nature, people who can’t conform or don’t want to conform because of what we’ve seen ordinary people do to our friends deserve whatever we get because we’re not like everyone else. We deserve the insults and the sometimes literal kicks. If I could just have stopped rebelling, become like the pretty girls in designer jeans who called my best friends all kinds of rude things, sometimes in church, I wouldn’t have had to deal with this and I would have been fine. Someone like me could only disrupt and threaten society, therefore it’s best I be encouraged to leave it, or at least isolated, no matter what form that takes. I won’t say “Thank God I didn’t buy that!”; I did. Fortunately, I got better. Please picture a very broad smile showing a great many teeth! CJ ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatives-bad-mouth-no-name-calling-week/286545/22 "2005-01-25T10:57:41Z")
I’m not a “Conservative”, but on it’s face “No Name-Calling Week” is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard in my whole fucking life. Is it okay to call you a nigger-loving jew gook faggot next week??!?!?! How 'bout idiot meddling do-gooder? Can I call you a liberal? Nope that’s a (brace yourself) _name_. You can call me a conservative for thinking the idea is stupid, but the _connotations_ I place on Liberal are derogative. Bully? Nope that’s a name. Beggar? Nope, the PC term is Societally Challenged Homeless Individual Charity Case. Until next week. Then the Bullys can call out the Faggots and Liberals and the Liberal Bullys can call out the Conservatives, once again unfettered. ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatives-bad-mouth-no-name-calling-week/286545/23 "2005-01-25T11:09:19Z")
You know, the more I think about this, the more it irritates. So, let me understand things. It’s bad to promote tolerance of homosexuality because doing so might somehow encourage someone to commit a sin at some unknown point in the future, yet it’s also wrong to oppose a sin people are actively and presumably irrepententantly committing: that of showing cruelty to other human beings. I mean, isn’t the reason some Christians are opposed to homosexuality the belief that they are sinning and not repenting? Showing cruelty, which includes name-calling in my book, is also a sin, yet apparently some groups can’t even support discouraging children from this sin for even a week. There ain’t enough :rolleyes:s in the world! CJ ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatives-bad-mouth-no-name-calling-week/286545/24 "2005-01-25T11:15:26Z")
Upon rereading my post, I think it came out wrong, and the point was likely lost. I’m trying to say that I think it’s stupid to have ONE WEEK where bullys aren’t allowed to call people “faggot” in school. That should be year round. I find it irritating and ironic that the OP calls a group of people a name, “Conservative”, in the very title of a thread about name calling. The tense was derogatory, just as calling someone a “Liberal” can be derogatory, depending on context. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatives-bad-mouth-no-name-calling-week/286545/25 "2005-01-25T11:32:26Z")
> [@Already in Use](#): > > **Liberal** , there’s a distinction there. Sexual orientation is certainly not the _sum total_ of what defines an individual, but it is nonetheless an immutable facet of one’s existence. So is everything else about a person. But Matt said nothing about a facet. He used “[my existence]” as a phrase directly substitutable for “I’m gay”. Are we now going to argue about bracketed phrases used in place of original phrases? Is there some controversy over the grammar? ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatives-bad-mouth-no-name-calling-week/286545/26 "2005-01-25T11:38:26Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > So is everything else about a person. But Matt said nothing about a facet. He used “[my existence]” as a phrase directly substitutable for “I’m gay”. Are we now going to argue about bracketed phrases used in place of original phrases? Is there some controversy over the grammar? You done wupped that strawman good. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatives-bad-mouth-no-name-calling-week/286545/27 "2005-01-25T11:40:57Z")
> [@Desmostylus](#): > > You done wupped that strawman good. :rolleyes: You’re an excellent example of what happens when monkeys type. ---
**Author:** ![Already\_in\_Use](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@Already\_in\_Use](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Already_in_Use)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatives-bad-mouth-no-name-calling-week/286545/28 "2005-01-25T11:48:16Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > So is everything else about a person. But Matt said nothing about a facet. He used “[my existence]” as a phrase directly substitutable for “I’m gay”. Are we now going to argue about bracketed phrases used in place of original phrases? I dunno, are we? I don’t see why this is relevant at all. I mean, “[my existence]” could be used with reference to a lot of things that don’t _totally define_ a person. So what the fuck are you on about? ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatives-bad-mouth-no-name-calling-week/286545/29 "2005-01-25T11:52:53Z")
> [@Already in Use](#): > > I dunno, are we? I don’t see why this is relevant at all. I mean, “[my existence]” could be used with reference to a lot of things that don’t _totally define_ a person. So what the fuck are you on about? Open your fucking eyes and read the fucking words, you fucking idiot. Phrase Matt quoted: “I’M GAY, YOU HAVE TO GET USED TO IT.” Matt’s paraphrase: “you need to get used to [my existence]” He equated “I’m gay” to “my existence”. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatives-bad-mouth-no-name-calling-week/286545/30 "2005-01-25T12:02:04Z")
This post brought to you by the word: Fucking. Co-sponsored by Oddness Inc. In association with Way Too Much Caffeine Industries. (A subsidiary of Lunacy Enterprises) ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatives-bad-mouth-no-name-calling-week/286545/31 "2005-01-25T12:02:28Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Open your fucking eyes and read the fucking words, you fucking idiot. > > Phrase Matt quoted: “I’M GAY, YOU HAVE TO GET USED TO IT.” > > Matt’s paraphrase: “you need to get used to [my existence]” > > He equated “I’m gay” to “my existence”. I’m not Matt, so I can’t read his mind, but it seems to me that he’s using the phrase “[my existence]” as a variable, not necessarily to describe himself in particular. Robin ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatives-bad-mouth-no-name-calling-week/286545/32 "2005-01-25T12:02:42Z")
You are being particularly mean-spirited on this **Liberal** , especially when your fallacy is pointed out to you. Are you going to call me a monkey because I disagree with you too? If someone equated hetrosexuals burn in hell with I’m a heterosexual get used to me, would you have that semantic stick up your ass if someone took offense? Just asking. ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatives-bad-mouth-no-name-calling-week/286545/33 "2005-01-25T12:07:36Z")
I think the idea of a No Name calling week isn’t so much that it’s ok to call names next week, but that it’s never ok to call names. Yes, it’s going to be completely inneffective, but continue to miss the point at your leisure. ---
**Author:** ![Already\_in\_Use](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@Already\_in\_Use](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Already_in_Use)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatives-bad-mouth-no-name-calling-week/286545/34 "2005-01-25T12:14:53Z")
Ya know, **Lib** , I almost glimpsed your rather convoluted point through the thick miasma of your neurotic knee-jerk nitpicking, but I was laughing too hard at how much of a dick you’re making of yourself. (Yeah! “Fucking idiot” and “dick!” Take that, anti-name-calling America haters!) ---
**Author:** ![Oregon\_sunshine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/50afbb/32.png) [@Oregon\_sunshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oregon_sunshine)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatives-bad-mouth-no-name-calling-week/286545/35 "2005-01-25T12:28:52Z")
> [@](#): > > I’m not gay, yet I could not walk down a hallway without being insulted, often by total strangers including freshmen my senior year, ate lunch and rode the bus standing up despite there being empty seats because no one would let me sit next to them, and was generally treated like sub-human detritus. As a result, I thought I was ugly until I was in my mid-twenties. **Siege** , holy shit, it could’ve been me writing that. No one knows the devastation of peer abuse except those who have been through it. No name-calling _week_??? It’s too little, too late. The entire _culture_ has to change before others don’t have to suffer the torture that people like you and I (gay or otherwise) went through as children. Luckily, I’m 37 now and getting past it, but I’d say that deep inside I felt ugly/worthless until about three years ago. Amen. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatives-bad-mouth-no-name-calling-week/286545/36 "2005-01-25T13:05:15Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > You are being particularly mean-spirited on this **Liberal** , especially when your fallacy is pointed out to you. Are you going to call me a monkey because I disagree with you too? No one has pointed out any pertinent fallacy. > [@](#): > > If someone equated hetrosexuals burn in hell with I’m a heterosexual get used to me, would you have that semantic stick up your ass if someone took offense? Just asking. You’re extending my remarks beyond what they covered. I have no problem with protesting equating getting used to a sexual orientation with going to hell. I am talking about equating sexual orientation to one’s existence. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatives-bad-mouth-no-name-calling-week/286545/37 "2005-01-25T13:07:24Z")
> [@rjung](#): > > That’s too easy. He’d just read the headlines, and let the news speak for itself… > > [**Wolfowitz Story falsified**](http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2005/01/22/2003220487) > > [**Gonzales: Did He Help Bush Keep His DUI Quiet?**](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6857224/site/newsweek) > > [**Secret Unit Expands Rumsfeld’s Domain**](http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A29414-2005Jan22?language=printer) > > [**Families of servicemembers killed in Iraq turned away at Pentagon**](http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=25757&archive=true) > > [**White House Scraps ‘Coalition of the Willing’ List**](http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=574&u=/nm/20050122/wl_nm/bush_iraq_dc&printer=1) > > Far, _far_ too easy… Thanks alot for getting my blood boiling at 8 in the morning. ---
**Author:** ![Abbie\_Carmichael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@Abbie\_Carmichael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abbie_Carmichael)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatives-bad-mouth-no-name-calling-week/286545/38 "2005-01-25T13:07:58Z")
So next week do the students get to go back to their Regularly Scheduled Heckling? ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatives-bad-mouth-no-name-calling-week/286545/39 "2005-01-25T14:38:02Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > No one has pointed out any pertinent fallacy. > You’re extending my remarks beyond what they covered. I have no problem with protesting equating getting used to a sexual orientation with going to hell. I am talking about equating sexual orientation to one’s existence. And **matt** was talking about existing as a homosexual. Which, if I may be presumptuous, you understood perfectly well. I presume you understood because you are not an idiot nor a monkey banging on a keyboard. Take any other fundamental aspect of any human being. (For example: I am black, female, straight and most definitely urban) and condemn them to hell for it. See if they do not feel it is their very existence which is being condemned. And please clarify this: **"I have no problem with protesting equating getting used to a sexual orientation with going to hell.**" because that makes Libsense to me. ---
**Author:** ![Metacom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecae2f/32.png) [@Metacom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Metacom)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatives-bad-mouth-no-name-calling-week/286545/40 "2005-01-25T14:45:49Z")
> [@Abbie Carmichael](#): > > So next week do the students get to go back to their Regularly Scheduled Heckling? Yup. ```auto *The monday after no-name calling week, on the PA system after the pledge of allegiance* **The Principal** : Good morning students. As you are aware, "No-Name Calling Week" ended at the close of the school day last Friday. You may once again use perjorative terms to describe your peers who are overweight, no good at sports, play chess, are homosexual or are suspected of being homosexual, or are dirty Mexicans whose parents probably came here illegally to take yur jobs and go on welfare. That is all. ``` [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatives-bad-mouth-no-name-calling-week/286545.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatives-bad-mouth-no-name-calling-week/286545.md?page=3)