Thing is, it is your problem. I see people make jokes about the mentally ill. I don’t freak out about that. I freak out when people actually treat us poorly, but not when people make jokes, even if I don’t find them funny.
You are trying to make people feel bad not for treating you poorly, not for being bigots, but because they find something funny that you don’t. You could tell from the title of this thread what this was going to be about. If it bothered you, you could have not read it. But you just had to come in and tell everyone how horrible they are for finding something funny you didn’t.
Unless someone is trying to offend, there is no point in getting all offended, and, if you lash out in that offense, it will almost always make you come off as the jerk.
You’re not wrong in your analogy. But, just like the word ‘nigger’ you kind of can’t have it both ways. Nigger is still in play largely because black people like to throw it out there for effect, from time to time, comic or otherwise. As long as they do, (and hey, who has more right to own the word then them?), it’s going to be out there getting play.
As long as some still like the shock value of self referencing as ‘tranny’ that word isn’t going away. That’s what I was trying to say about the 5%. I don’t think getting to 100% is a possibility. With either word.
As long as it has shock value it will see usage, in rap lyrics, in jokes, in self referencing, etc.
Take your victory in the 95% and let the rest slide off, I say.
Wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. We’d still be singing “Nigger Love a Watermelon–Ha! Ha! Ha!” if no one ever pointed out how wrong that sort of thing is.
I did not lash out, I stated my case in a calm, good-natured way and admitted that I was getting bent out of shape over a losing battle. Judging by the private messages I have been getting today, I’m not the one who is coming off as a jerk.
Anyway, I have said what I had to say and there is nothing more I can possibly add.
Wow. Tranny isn’t just a cutesy non offensive type shortening of a word like trekkie and such. I never knew. And some transvestites are looking real hard for something to be offended over. Never knew that either. I guess it stands to reason there would be some of that group in the transvestite group as well but I just never put it together till I saw it.
I never checked the link. It sounded pathetic and sad from others descriptions.
How is this happening? How are people daring to speak to wonderful, brilliant Eve like this, especially after an OP like this? I feel sick and sad.mad:
Because **Eve **is trying to take a word that is really just a slang term for a transvestite and all by herself make it into a derogatory slur. Watch, her reply will use the word nigger. She’ll try to make it sound like Tranny is the same level of intentional and widely accepted offensiveness when it most plainly is not.
Sorry, Eve. I’m not buying it. Just because you are offended by the term tranny does not make it a generally accepted slur.
What is this bizarro land? Of course tranny is pejorative and Eve and Johanna have every right to be hurt by its usage here. Stop trying to marginalize transphobia.
And the story sucked both from a humor and literary perspective.
You’re talking through your hat. It’s hardly “marginalizing” to recognize that a molehill is not a mountain.
I could take all the arguments I see here and use them to protest the way us bald guys get treated in life and in the media. I could accuse you of being baldophobic or hair-centric. I could accuse you of marginalizing me because you disagree. But all my arguments wouldn’t change the fact that I was taking way more offense than was warranted any time I saw a commercial for rogaine.
We have so many things in life to be bothered by. Why go looking for more? And that’s what this is. People going out of their way to be offended.
Well, I’m off to go harangue some folks for doing something I hate, like eating broccoli. Because in doing so, they’re being insensitive to me!
Do you honestly not see how the use of the word tranny to refer to people like the woman in the story helps perpetuate a culture that makes it ok to mock and denigrate transgender people? Being transgender is not an easy road nor is it always a safe road. No one has gotten knifed for being bald or assaulted for being a broccoli eater.
Regardless of what people in other situations say is ok or not ok, in this particular format of communication, you have multiple people who are members of the demographic in question telling you that it’s not ok.
I’m not sure even the blog writer knew who he was referring to. The simplest case is to simply not use a derogatory word in the first place and avoid the whole mess.
I understand that it can be rough for a transvestite or transgender person. But I refuse to let them use their situation as a form of emotional blackmail to control my behavior. They need to get off their “I’m so persecuted” high horse and deal with it. This thread is a perfect example. It was a link to a mediocre story that was hijacked into an argument because one person wanted to have a fight. If Eve had simply let it go, no one would even remember this thread. But since it just had to be used as a venue for her crusade against all the injustice, here we are. Your continued harping on this matter just keeps showing me how right I am on it. I will not meekly let you tell me how and what I am allowed to think. Save your morality for yourself.
Just to be clear. Tranny is a bad word in YOUR opinion. Not mine.
Hey, You all are the ones insisting that it’s a big deal. That’s the whole point. And I guess you’ve run out of arguments since now you can only try to dismiss my view as sad.
Because it is a big deal to not use terms that are not acceptable labels for particular groups. It’s sad to insist on being able to call people by a name they don’t wish to be called. It’s a matter of basic respect and decency.
Tranny is a derogatory term, a lot of people in this thread are being jerks to Eve for no apparent reason, and the story in the OP was stupid, badly-written, and sucked.
You are correct on that matter. Nonetheless, the response to the OP was over the top and controlling. MsWhatsit, Eve brought it on herself. We don’t *all *knuckle under when folks harangue us for not living like they think we should.
You weren’t harangued for anything until you decided to defend the dipshit blogger who’s using insulting language. Again, this is a really pathetic issue to mount some sort of free speech stance. Transphobics don’t need to be white-knighted.
Again, trying to dismiss my argument by calling it pathetic. Try sticking to real points. As for making it a big deal, I’m arguing back at you exactly as hard as you are arguing at me. That’s the whole point. You guys made it a big deal.
As for the original cause, I don’t really care about the OP. It was the annoying response to the OP that was whiney and manipulative. Surely, you don’t think that I’m suddenly going to say, “Oh you’re right. I’m sorry” do you? Show me how much better you are and let this die.
When you have an argument that’s not “but I don’t wanna” maybe I’ll stop calling it pathetic.
Yes, when Eve says that she doesn’t appreciate people using the word tranny, the appropriate response is, indeed to say “Oh, you’re right. I’m sorry.” and not to try to defend its use.
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