Feeling really really bad about the F@ggot word

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pollyfinite
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08 Jul 2014, 12:46 am

I have been on the deviantART main chat room lately and even though their etiquette requirements say you aren't supposed to use any sexual/religious/etc hate words, people use this word as an insult and it infuriates me that the mods don't do anything. In fact, I was kicked out of the chat for two weeks for arguing with people how its awful to use those terms. They also use the term "ret*d" and I just get so mad. So yes, the obvious thing is to avoid that chat room, (their main room) but at the same time, I feel like I should write to the company again and again because it just makes me so mad. Am I fixating like an OCD thing? Like am I making a big deal out of it? Or do I have the right to feel so upset by it? I don't know if this is just my aspergers on crusade and I need to chill or I have a valid point that needs to keep being fought.


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tarantella64
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08 Jul 2014, 1:54 am

Yeah, I think it's reasonable. The thing is, when you protest behavior like that, it's true that some people will be jerks about it and think the funny thing to do is use those words more often, but others will actually be sensible about it and stop and think about what the words mean and why they're used. The fact that this upsets you in the first place is evidence of that -- when I was a kid, nobody would've thought twice about slinging 'ret*d' and 'fa***t' around, because these were classes of people regarded in horrible ways. As not-quite-human and as deviant outrages lurking on the edges of society. Changing the way we use the language went hand-in-hand with changing the minds.

So sure, speak up. And consider how much time you want to devote to it, and also consider that one of the prime excuses people give for carrying on with horrible behavior is "nobody objected but you." So yeah, help make that not true.



Outrider
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08 Jul 2014, 5:42 am

It's an offensive slur that society ignores; just like r*tard.

Words that relate to groups of people are normally looked down upon such as "n*gger" (if used offensively; I am black and don't find it offensive unless used offensively) but also other insulting terms that refer to a group.

However the "f*ggot" word is still behind and needs to catch up socially.

People use that "f?ggot" word so common and on the internet it needs to go out of style quickly.

Kudos to you for standing up for what you believe in. I agree. Send a complaint; be damned what anyone else says.

It's high time people learn that word really is harmful to some innocent people out there.



sacrip
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08 Jul 2014, 10:10 am

What are you really mad at? Does the very use of the word fa***t harm the LGBT community, no matter the context? Yes, many feel that fa***t and ret*d are the equal to n****r in terms of offensiveness, but many more don't, and your one man campaign to make it so isn't helping. On the internet, all rage is impotent rage. You don't have to join them, but don't try and beat them.


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tarantella64
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08 Jul 2014, 1:54 pm

sacrip wrote:
What are you really mad at? Does the very use of the word fa***t harm the LGBT community, no matter the context? Yes, many feel that fa***t and ret*d are the equal to n****r in terms of offensiveness, but many more don't, and your one man campaign to make it so isn't helping. On the internet, all rage is impotent rage. You don't have to join them, but don't try and beat them.


I disagree. You're unlikely to change the ragey as*hole, but there are people listening who aren't raging along but also quietly concluding that this is normal. If you speak up, you let them know that oh, actually, it's legit not to go along with this, one can choose.



lostonearth35
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08 Jul 2014, 2:10 pm

This reminds me of a clip from Kids in the Hall where they asked why that word, which I myself won't say, is so hated. Then they went through all the letters and decided it couldn't be the two "g's" because everyone loved the Doublemint Twins, and "o" is like you may as well be mad at a doughnut. It was decided at then end that the "t" at the end resembled the crucifix on which Christ died which was what turned people off, so they simply removed it. Of course they were just being funny. :lol:



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08 Jul 2014, 2:11 pm

Outrider wrote:
It's an offensive slur that society ignores; just like r*tard.

Words that relate to groups of people are normally looked down upon such as "n*gger" (if used offensively; I am black and don't find it offensive unless used offensively) but also other insulting terms that refer to a group.

However the "f*ggot" word is still behind and needs to catch up socially.

People use that "f?ggot" word so common and on the internet it needs to go out of style quickly.

Kudos to you for standing up for what you believe in. I agree. Send a complaint; be damned what anyone else says.

It's high time people learn that word really is harmful to some innocent people out there.


Depends on how you use the word. If used as the Italian, German and French word for the bassoon, there's no problem. Otherwise, I'd be saying, to quote Yosemite Sam, "Dem's fighting words!"



mr_bigmouth_502
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08 Jul 2014, 2:41 pm

The DeviantART forums are horrible. I used to use them all the time, but found that people there tend to be unhelpful at best, and absolutely infuriating at worst.

I find that people who use the term "fa***t" or variations thereof as an insult tend to be either unintelligent, ignorant, or both.



Rhodry
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24 Dec 2014, 1:10 pm

Certain words like that come from old English. fa***t its a fruit. And term from medieval times a brunch of dry kindling to start bond fires. Its also package of cigarettes in the UK. Somehow it was turn into negative word to gays or anyone they want. To put it simple.



visagrunt
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16 Jan 2015, 6:05 pm

Context is everything.

Where a person is using a word--any word--in a perjorative sense, with a view of demeaning or intimidating another person, then that is clearly out of line, and we are right to object to it. But where a person is seeking to reclaim a perjorative word--to destigmatize it and empower themselves through that action, who are we to say that they are wrong to do so?

Many of us--but not all--describe ourselves as "queer." This word was just as much a perjorative, but we have changed the lexicon, and imbued the word with a new, positive sense. There are, therefore, circumstances in which I could see myself having no objection to the use of the word. But as always, one must obey the first rule, "Know your audience."


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fablebird
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01 Feb 2015, 2:11 pm

Lord alive, the dA mods suck.

One time a man threatened to rape me and run me over and kill me on dA, so I reported him, and all they did was send him a message saying to tone it down. This was when I was 15, and I was terrified that would actually happen.

Needless to say, I sent a rather livid message to the mods, but I got no response.

*sigh*