ROFL you guys are priceless. to think that out of that WHOLE post the only thing you can come back with it.

"um liek you shouldn't use the word faggot"

do you honestly expect anyone with an ounce of intuition and concept of character to be fooled by that crap? Instead of coming back at her you just split hairs to find an excuse to ban her for a week. "ooh it's against the rules" same kinda bureaucratic bullshit managers like to insulate their conscience with when they lay off the single mother.

in perspective a week ban is nothing, but the reaction was so unanimously devoid of any kind of substance I cant help but fuel the fire.

what a joke. you guys are funny people indeed.

God I feel my brain die a little every time I see threads like this. I guess it's true what they say, the representatives of any group on the internet makes that group look stupid. Hopefully the pillows never bother reading this forum. A buncha pseudo-intellectuals giggling in the corner.

exclusivity is the name of the game here. If you aren't like the in-crowd keep your head down son. Evolution begat by inbreeding. I hope yah like stewing in eachother's juices. Same as everywhere else.

Now that I've made my peace about that stupid ass ban, I'm gonna go ahead and go back to my usual posting habits.

HAHAHA oh man Judy, Camio thinks you're a chick.

[quote="Camio"]ROFL you guys are priceless. to think that out of that WHOLE post the only thing you can come back with it.

"um liek you shouldn't use the word faggot"

do you honestly expect anyone with an ounce of intuition and concept of character to be fooled by that crap? Instead of coming back at her you just split hairs to find an excuse to ban her for a week.[/quote]

It's not like there was anything else in that post that was worth responding to. It was just

[quote="AWPJudy"]pages and pages about
shit that doesnt matter in the
slightest.[/quote]

I mean, seriously, the whole "you guys have no life" rant has been used only about 800 million times…

Rodeo Star Mate. I hope it's good.

When I see someone use the word "fag," my brain immediately attaches them to this group of mouth-breathing idiots: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6alOnuN-wCY

1) There's a reason you don't really see adults using the word "fag" or "faggot" - the ones you DO see using the words are typically some really hateful, bigoted shitheads.
2) "Fag" and "faggot" are the hate words of choice for those people who have decided it'd be a good idea to beat a gay kid to death with a baseball bat. These words are thrown around for no other reason than to make people feel shitty and ostracized.
3) I think it'd be different if gays were an accepted social group in our society. As many people still face a ridiculous amount of pressure, hate, and ostracism about their sexual orientation (whether they're out or not), doing anything that might be counter-productive to the whole gay-rights thing just...is not really what I'd want to do. Or see. It's not an "OMG! STSK and Judy said "fag," that means they hate gays!" thing. I'm aware of context and intent.

[quote="Camio"]"ooh it's against the rules" same kinda bureaucratic bullshit managers like to insulate their conscience with when they lay off the single mother.
[/quote]

What? Either she can perform the duties of her employment competently or not. It doesn't matter if she's an indigent single mother or Bill Gates.

I mean, shit, I know you can be really stupid, but seriously. Do you even know what bureaucracy is? It isn't one person enforcing the rules set by one other person, especially if that person is granted significant freedom to use his own judgment.

[quote="sheerheartattack"]I mean, shit, I know you can be really stupid, but seriously.[/quote]

"Don't argue with idiots. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience."

Also, I've only really seen the word "fag" used in a supposedly non-homophobic way after 4channers started saturating their speech with various derivations of the word. Before that, whenever I heard someone say "fag", it was either by some shithead 10-year-old who was trying to be cool, or by a homophobic, hateful bigot.

STSK's use of the word is definitely a derivation of the 4chan usage, which is just stupid if you ask me. It's like, "Hey, 4channers use slurs all the time, so I'm going to look like I'm one of the cool kids and start using them too!" Just because someone is trying desperately to look cool doesn't change the fact that it is, most definitely, a homophobic slur.

[quote="GoldenRhino"]
3) [b]I think it'd be different if gays were an accepted social group in our society.[/b] As many people still face a ridiculous amount of pressure, hate, and ostracism about their sexual orientation (whether they're out or not), doing anything that might be counter-productive to the whole gay-rights thing just...is not really what I'd want to do. Or see. It's not an "OMG! STSK and Judy said "fag," that means they hate gays!" thing. I'm aware of context and intent.[/quote]

See, my school is very liberal in nature (as far as the student body goes), and being gay is widely accepted there (it's very apparent in class discussions and classes such as AP US Government). There is a tendency for the words "fag" and "gay" to be used in the school as an insult or signal for a "lame"/unfortunate turn of events (not directed at homosexuals, but warped for general use). For example, and this is much more common, "You fag!" We've all heard it used in this context... and then there's the much more... strange use for gay, "That was gay!" In this case, it's used to convey the persons feeling toward something that has happened... I admit that because I am in that atmosphere I sometimes use the word as it is at school, even on the internet (the one time I said "gay" in that way on here, I got grilled). I'm not saying it's OK to use those terms, but I think it is worth pointing out that for a considerable amount of people, terms such as "gay" and "fag" are currently being used in ways that do not even refer to homosexuals in any way.

Like, I have friends that I play Brawl with and when they die, they sometimes shout "That's gay!" It sounds dumb, I guess... but it's something that has caught on with my peers.

[quote="Tidusauron12"]In this case, it's used to convey the persons feeling toward something that has happened... I admit that because I am in that atmosphere I sometimes use the word as it is at school, even on the internet (the one time I said "gay" in that way on here, I got grilled). I'm not saying it's OK to use those terms, but I think it is worth pointing out that for a considerable amount of people, terms such as "gay" and "fag" are currently being used in ways that do not even refer to homosexuals in any way.[/quote]

No one's arguing against that, and I don't think anyone's ever argued against that in this forum. The key is the implicit insult in the word, whether you consciously recognize it, intend it, or not. Anyway, enough of this for me.

[quote="GoldenRhino"]
No one's arguing against that, and I don't think anyone's ever argued against that in this forum. The key is the implicit insult in the word, whether you consciously recognize it, intend it, or not. [/quote]

Yes, that's the problem with it. It is going to offend people (and it is offensive language in the first place), especially in this turbulent/controversial time for gay rights. I fully recognize that, and I try no to use those words at all because of that.

Anyways, HOW BOUT RODEO STAR MATE COWBOYS AND COWGALS

Admittedly, I have used the word "nigger" as an interjection whilst in the presence of close, personal friends. It's acceptable and humorous, and completely devoid of racism. However, the simple fact of the matter is, I would never consider doing so in public, or amongst those I do not know well, or amongst those I know may be offended by such speech. It's easy to see our small community as a private association of close friends, and in many ways it is, but there's no denying that this is a public forum, or that there are people in our community who may be offended by such speech. GR has explicitly stated that such speech offends him, and while offense is not a ground for censorship, such universally offensive speech is only acceptable if no one who may hear them will be offended by them - unless, of course, you [i]are[/i] being racist, etc., in which case it is never acceptable.

Confirm/Deny: If we were all going by Terra's rules, most of us would be banned ages ago.
[quote]
4. [b]mean-spirited[/b], racist, or other demeaning remarks will not be tolerated. keep it nice and respect your fellow forum members. use of any racial or sexual slur (with perhaps the small exception of academic discussion) is cause for post deletion and/or banning. [/quote]

How come we can't call someone a "fag" but we can call them "stupid, idiot, dumb"?

As TA12 said, we're not explicitly saying anyone is a raging homosexual by calling them "fag", but we are humiliating/insulting someone directly by calling them "stupid", etc. Brye was insulted by the bullying you guys gave on him, when he really didn't ever insult any one of you, but now Judy says "fag" and it's suddenly such a horrible thing that he has to get banned?

I'm sure no one here cares if the next poster likes their same sex or whatever. The way I see it, it's just an excuse to stir up drama and the ol' banhammer.

[quote]I guess it's true what they say, the representatives of any group on the internet makes that group look stupid.[/quote]
Quoted for truth

[quote="sheerheartattack"]GR has explicitly stated that such speech offends him[/quote]

Just to clarify myself, I'm not directly offended by the word "fag" or "faggot" - it just grates on me because I really do think there's a lot of ignorance and real bigotry behind (again, not implicating any of you). The thing is, while it might be harmless in a closed group of friends who are all positively straight, busting it out in more public places could be problematic.

Consider: Some IMer says "Hey stop being a faggot" in some thread. A closeted, or openly gay high school age lurker reads this, and thinks "Oh wow, the kid who threw his gum at me called me a faggot today too." I don't think reinforcement of the hateful term helps anyone (whatever the IMers intentions may have been - likely harmless).

I choose not to say it, and I get annoyed when others say it because homophobia is still a hot, current problem in our society. Your personal justification, rationalization, or claims of innocence don't really matter - people are still having to deal with hurtful words like this used against them. I'm not trying to be politeness-police, or censorship-police, or Mr. If-You-Can't-Say-Something-Harmless-Then-Don't-Say-Anything-At-All (so Sheer, please don't jump on me ). There's a time and place for joking, for good-natured name calling, whatever. I'm just trying to keep the pressure off of the people who may not have a voice* in this particular forum (or wherever).

*I'd argue it rarely happens that someone like Mare or STSK uses the word "fag" - then a gay bystander pipes up and says "excuse me, that word offends me." And then Mare/STSK say "Oh I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you by it. I even have a few gay friends!" And then the gay bystander says: "Ah, I see. Problem solved! ::hug::"

Silly hypothetical: If "Mac user" were adopted as the insult of choice by preteens and teenagers and people didn't really consciously tie "Mac user" with someone who uses Macintosh computers, it was just a general insult...I wouldn't get all offended, because [b]people don't face daily discrimination and persecution for being Mac users[/b]. People don't get beaten up for being Mac users.

You guys gettin' me now?

[quote="Raid"]
[b]As TA12 said, we're not explicitly saying anyone is a raging homosexual by calling them "fag", but we are humiliating/insulting someone directly by calling them "stupid", etc.[/b][/quote]

I'm not saying it's OK, I'm just saying that I have peers/friends and we use those words amongst ourselves everyday. I'm not saying it's OK to go around calling people fags all day (or saying "THAT WAS GAY" whilst walking down a public street). I mean even though there aren't many members that are gay here... because this is the internet, certain things just aren't going to be tolerated.

@GR: I get ya man.

[quote="Tidusauron12"][quote="Raid"]
[b]As TA12 said, we're not explicitly saying anyone is a raging homosexual by calling them "fag", but we are humiliating/insulting someone directly by calling them "stupid", etc.[/b][/quote]

I'm not saying it's OK, I'm just saying that I have peers/friends and we use those words amongst ourselves everyday. I'm not saying it's OK to go around calling people fags all day (or saying "THAT WAS GAY" whilst walking down a public street). I mean even though there aren't many members that are gay here... because this is the internet, certain things just aren't going to be tolerated.

@GR: I get ya man.[/quote]

Oh, I'm not saying it's right, but all I'm saying is that we say 10x more mean/harmful stuff to eachother. But when we say "fag", we don't really mean it, and people make a big fuss out of it.