See, communication happens between more than one person. So you can decide that you really meant “covered in bees” when you said “pansy”, but it’s pretty stupid to get offended when people think you mean “gay”. Because it doesn’t matter what you meant to say, the fact is you said something that is widely taken to mean gay.
Because I take him to be minimally rational and aware of basic human interaction patterns to such a degree that he would not, without more, believe the following:
(1) Most of the board members who have participated in this thread disagree with me,
(2) A few members have agreed with me,
(3) Therefore, the best explanation for this state of affairs is that most board members agree with me, but aren’t saying so, and besides, most people agree with me and disagree with the majority of this board.
Are you really that perplexed by all this, Miller?
There have been a couple of threads before on “Things you only see/hear on the SDMB”, including actively hating cellphones, not owning a television, the idea that chain restaurants are inherently terrible places to eat, and so forth. These are not commonly held views amongst the “normal”, non-hipster crowd.
You, personally, the generic SDMB member, might have a social circle encompassing half the GLBT community/Cellphone haters/Non-TV owners wherever you live, but “average” people (ie, not SDMB members) don’t.
(Bolding Mine). Exactly. You’re cherry-picking from the people who have posted in the thread, who constitute maybe 12 people out of a board with something like 2,000 “Active” members.
My observation was actually in response to billfish asserting that “The masses had spoken”, and I was making a counter-observation that maybe a dozen people on a messageboard of 2,000- and a messageboard self-acknowledged to be full of “unique” people- doesn’t really qualify as “The Masses”. I wasn’t actually making a comment on your stated views one way or the other.
I’ve been on a movie quote kick lately…this doesn’t help.
Sir, you heard from the men who don’t like my humor, but what about the silent masses who do? And as far as polkas, they are a much-maligned musical taste.-Lt. Steven Hauk (Bruno Kirby) in Good Morning, Vietnam.
Gawd, what a bunch of panseys? pansi? whatevers…
Well, shit, M.E., I guess all I can say is that I don’t have the powers of ESP that you must have and which apparently inform you of the opinions of the other 1,988 boards members who are not participating in this thread and whom you’ve never met nor otherwise consulted with on this topic.
So, are you going to answer the question, or what?
Yeah, I think I already did.
I was hoping for something a little more than, “'cause it’s me,” but if that’s all you got…
What if collectively people think that a word means something when it doesn’t?
methinks your conclusion needs some tweaking.
I don’t claim to have ESP or know what the other board members are thinking. What I do claim is that the opinions of a dozen people out of 2,000 are not “The Masses” and further this board isn’t reflective of “reality”; not necessarily on this topic in particular, but in general.
So not only are you a hypocrite, but you’re too stupid to know the difference between answering a question and evading it.
As for chessic: You used a word that has a definition that includes a derogatory remark toward gay people. It doesn’t matter that you didn’t mean it that way. You’re responsible for the words you say.
Also, I’m going to love it when we can actually use the word gay to mean lame, since the origins of the word don’t matter.
What’s it to you? I doubt you even know/understand what Miller asked. Can you put his question in your own words?
Oh, what a load of bullshit. It ENTIRELY matters what way I mean a word. “Pansy” also has a definition that has nothing to do with homosexuality.
Do I really have to go through the dictionary to find examples of multi-definition words where meaning matters? If I say “Give me some slack”, would you ever respond with “What’s this have to do with pants?” If I say I went for a run, would you think I was talking about baseball? If I eat a hot dog, would you think I just grilled up a terrier?
No, because you’re presumably not an idiot, and you have a handle on the English language… And since “pansy” doesn’t mean “gay” any more than “faggot” means “bundle of sticks”, it should be painfully clear what my meaning is. You know which definition I’m using and which one I’m not.
So put away your offenderati badge and get with the times.
For the record, I use pansy for girls all the time. Anyone who can’t climb a tree is a damn pansy, regardless of what’s in their pantsies.
An interesting development. (And no, I never cruise the Oxygen boards.)
Who practice Wicca and are in polyamorous relationships.
So are you using the definition that refers to flowers? Because either A) you were making up your own definition, 2) you were referring to the flower, or C) you meant “effeminate man” (the most widely, commonly accepted definition of the term other than the flower). If you are trying to claim that you meant “effeminate man” but did not have sexuality in mind (or that they are unrelated), I would say you are lying. The stereotype of the gay man in our community is the quintessential effeminate man. This is also a sexist stereotype because it is linked to a notion that “real men” don’t have any feminine qualities, which are frowned upon. You did say that you meant “whiny bitch,” but that’s also undoubtedly sexist, so it probably wouldn’t be an improvement.
Pansy definitely does mean gay (although that’s not its only definition). Here’s another dictionary entry, if you didn’t like the OED. People can’t read your mind, so when you post something that has two closely-related meanings, of course your statement will be taken to mean either or both. Clearly I’m not the only person who read your post that way.
It is a sad commentary on the times that anti-gay remarks and violence are still accepted by so many people. However, if you have noticed, legal protections for LGBT people in various settings have been increasing, and will certainly continue to do so.
How did my name get involved in all this?
But as long as I’m here, Chessic, you should follow your own advice. Sure, you’re being harassed here. But just sit back and take it. Stop complaining about it and trying to defend yourself because that just makes you a pansy.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t this really about the fact that, after an incident happened in which black people were literally told to leave a store, **Chessic Sense **commented that anyone who finds that shit offensive should be the target of violence in order to beat the compassion out of them?
Meanwhile everyone here is having a discussion about anti-gay violence, while ignoring the original issue, and Chessic is amplifying his assholism in every post.