I'm sure we can all think back to Christmas, trees were up in every living room window you went past, elderly women were running between shops trying to find their grandkids presents before the big rush, and everyone's favourite Christmas jingles were being played on the radio. One of these was The Pogues ft. Kirstie McColl - Fairytale New York, which contained a certain little word, which, according to Radio One officials "could have been used offencively".
The word I'm reffering to is, of course, faggot. Don't all rush in with the controversy horns. I mean, seriously, don't, nobody took any notice of the word which reffers to a horrible time in the history of the LGBT community. I'm sure if the n' word (which I won't actually use to keep things a bit easier for all of us) was used in the lyrics, I'm sure the controversy police would have been all over it.
A few weeks after the start of the season of good tide, radio stations finally started to listen to complaints about the offencive language, they finally blanked out the f word, and a few others aswell to make sure it didn't look like they'd gone soft, and everyone was happy, except for idiots who think much more about music than how people think.
People soon started to complain about the blanking of the words, and in a much speedier rush, radio stations soon put the words "faggot" and "slut" back into the song, making the offencive song which was made innocent, back to offencive. Why? I don't know, ask the radio one pigs who don't give a shit about offenciveness.
Another case of this struck me on St. Patricks day, whilst I was watching "the world stands up". Practically all of the comedians made a good-taste joke at homosexuality, untill the last comedian, who went on stage starting a new weakly homophobic joke. As the joke drew to the punchline, he happily ended it with the word "faggot". The audience laughed, cheered, and clapped their hands, and I died a little inside.
In contrast to this, there has been the unrecognised problem at "the laugh factory", where Seinfeld star Michael Richards let loose on a group of black audience members on the front row, who decided to get clever and try to shout abuse at him. Richards let loose, and used the n word many times and made jokes up about lynching, which I'll leave you to google about if you're unaware of that period of American history. Even though the use of both of these words were on completely different scales, the effect is identical, that the use of both of these words is just not on, at all.
In conclusion of this controversial escapade, the use of the f word is, for some totally fucked up reason, seen as perfectly acceptable, when the use of the just as bad n word, but for some reason the latter of the two is seen as the darkest of tabboos, and the use of the f word is somehow socially acceptable. However this whole thing seemed to happen, it needs to be found and stopped, and people need to be aware of how both words affect both of the groups they reffer to.

Because there have been plenty of racial revolutions (Martin Luther King etc.) but no homosexual revolution.

What n word. Oh, you mean nigger?

Come on, grow up, grow some balls. The whole controversy over the word nigger is in many cases unfounded. Words in themselves carry no meaning until they're used in context. A word cannot be inherently offensive, it can only be used offensively, a fine example is fuck. Fuck can be a fun time, and it can be offensive. Depending on how I use it. Nigger can be used offensively as well, but in and of itself it is not an offensive term. I can see that the word's going to be censored from certain media, just like the word fuck would be. I don't agree with it, but that's the way it is.

The same thing tends to apply for the word faggot.

The most hypocritical thing I see in terms of the word nigger is that black people will use it like a full stop sometimes. And they seem to be entitled. As soon as a white person says it, it's viewed as racism, or dorogatory. As I'm not black, I don't have insider control over that, however as a faggot myself, I'd never attempt to coerce others into not being able to use the word. If they offend me with the word, fine, fuck them. Black-listing words is unnecessary, and does very little on easing tensions between the divide.

crampo:

Read your history books. It's well documented that homosexuality did undergo a revolution through the '70s. What, you think old crusty white men in the higher ranks just rolled over in bed and thought, 'you know, fuck it, why don't I just legalise it?'

BravoLima wrote:

QUOTE:
What n word. Oh, you mean nigger?

Come on, grow up, grow some balls. The whole controversy over the word nigger is in many cases unfounded. Words in themselves carry no meaning until they're used in context. A word cannot be inherently offensive, it can only be used offensively, a fine example is fuck. Fuck can be a fun time, and it can be offensive. Depending on how I use it. Nigger can be used offensively as well, but in and of itself it is not an offensive term. I can see that the word's going to be censored from certain media, just like the word fuck would be. I don't agree with it, but that's the way it is.

The same thing tends to apply for the word faggot.

The most hypocritical thing I see in terms of the word nigger is that black people will use it like a full stop sometimes. And they seem to be entitled. As soon as a white person says it, it's viewed as racism, or dorogatory. As I'm not black, I don't have insider control over that, however as a faggot myself, I'd never attempt to coerce others into not being able to use the word. If they offend me with the word, fine, fuck them. Black-listing words is unnecessary, and does very little on easing tensions between the divide.

Well said.

QUOTE:

crampo:

Read your history books. It's well documented that homosexuality did undergo a revolution through the '70s. What, you think old crusty white men in the higher ranks just rolled over in bed and thought, 'you know, fuck it, why don't I just legalise it?'

True, but on nowhere near the same scale. There is a good reason why different races are more accepted, and thats it.

What scale are you going by?

There were street marches, beatdowns.

My guess is that the typical dominant white male sees black people as at least being similar to himself, albeit a different colour. Whereas homosexuals, by the very nature of our activities, is so 'opposite' to what he believes he should do.

Homosexuals simply cannot play the card that we're unprotected institutionally more than African-Americans. This thread's based on speculation, when it's very possible that the word faggot on the radio would be just as hyped by everyone.

Leading up to the local council elections over here, a contender for mayor of a particular city said his opponent (rather idiotically, politically) would turn the city into one big Gay resort. That guy got steamrolled by the media in the same way as if he was shown being offensively racist toward Aboriginals.

Baby was a black sheep. Baby was a whore.
Baby got big and baby get bigger.
Baby get something. Baby get more.
Baby, baby, baby was a rock-and-roll nigger.

If I have to hear one more god damn thread trying to compare the color struggle and the gay struggle I will fucking snap.

As someone who is of Color and gay theres a difference between faggot and Nigger. I know it must hurt you guys that you are called a mean word, but here's the thing; as a White Male you are so unused to discrimination that being treated any differently gets you up in arms.

I think its so disgraceful when people try and make something racial (Which people can see) and social (Not automatically noticable, Like homosexuality) seem like there the same thing. Boo freaking woo; people say faggot, everyday I here nigga (Which is TOTALLY different, but still I dislike) do you here me complaining, no! You wanna know what I do, I say screw it people will say it no matter what. after awhile no one will use it and society as a whole will think its some old school insult. Plus telling people what words they can and can't say makes things worse

White males being unused to discrimination? On what fucking planet do you live? My brother and his friends have been bashed by Aborigines because they were 'white fellas'. My mother has been verbally abused over decades of teaching Aborigines, Somoans, polynesians, Torres Strait Islanders etc. because she was apparently a white bitch, according to parents and students. Apparently they didn't have to listen to her because she was white. An Aborigine can sit there and call me a white fella with no problem, but if I call him a black fella, I'm labelled the racist. I had my nose punched by an older kid when I was little because I was white. My other brother got cut because the guy wanted to see if white fellas bleed. Job positions and universities are given preference to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders to everyone else simply because of politically correct discrimination, and not on the merits of the individual.

Stop playing the victim card, you're not unique, you're not even special.

Discrimination exists everywhere in every culture, no matter if you're white, black, yellow, green, blue, whatever.
Some people are just straight up inconsiderate assholes just becuz they can't accept ones that are different than them.
^_^

Last couple posts make interesting points, and it is true that depending on the area different people will be discriminated against. Each society, or perhaps community would be better here, has a hierarchy of discriminatory practices. In some places it's balck people that have it worst, in some it's white people, in others it's brown. Sometimes it's based on sex, sometimes it's based on religion, or orientation or whatever else. Sometimes people are even unlucky enough to have more then one working against them.

Words are that and some do cause people to react due to how they have been used in the past, my personal opinion (which is apparently worth absolutely nothing to some people) is that if a group of people has a problem with other people using a particular word then they shouldn't use it either.