"That's so gay" - enough to get twelve-year-olds suspended

[Asher]

Originally posted by Drake Tungsten
I know about these things; the point is that you don't. Don't tell me what Lincoln is like when you don't have the first damn clue.

Fitting, weren't you just telling gay people what they shouldn't be offended by?

[Boris Godunov]

Originally posted by Asher

Fitting, weren't you just telling gay people what they shouldn't be offended by?

Oh, he has no right to be offended over it, since clearly it wasn't my intent to offend him.

[Drake Tungsten]

More likely it comes from bristling at the notion your **** stinks as much as anyone else's, I'd say.

No, it comes from you and Asher implying that homosexuals need to fear for their safety in Nebraska, like we're some ****ing backwater out of the Old West. I don't take kindly to ill-informed condescension.

Somehow I doubt you are well-versed on Lincoln's policies regarding gays

You would be wrong. Policies towards gays have been a huge issue here in recent years and anyone who pays even marginal attention to the local news knows what's going on...

[Boris Godunov]

Originally posted by Drake Tungsten
I don't take kindly to ill-informed condescension.

Yet you seem to not have a problem dishing it out when it is convenient for you, like when telling gays when they can and can't be offended.

Thanks for proving our point so well.

Game, set, match.

[korn469]

ok i'm sure using the word gay but meaning lame to an audience that contained any homosexuals would indeed be offensive, however, the world gay isn't primarily a sexual slur such as a word starting with d and refering to lesbians or a word starting with f and referring to gay men

you hear about gay pride all of the time, and unless i am wrong the term gay pride seems widely accepted by the vast majority of gay community

you cannot say the same for a word starting with n that refers to african americans, or a word starting with k refering to jews, or a word starting with d refering to italian americans, so the word gay in and of itself isn't offensive to anyone really, and it has a long tradition of use predating any references to homosexuality

now maybe the kid does need to take a time out, along with a sensitivity class, that's fine but suspension?!?!?

we live in a herto world, and this kid may not know a single person who proclaims their homosexuality, and this kid may have very limited exposer to anything associated with gay culture, plus 12 year old boys aren't paragons of either maturity or tolerance, yet the far majority do mature and grow more tolerant

obviously the boy wasn't decrying homosexuality, he was using a term most likely widely accepted and understood by his peers. in all probability 12 year old boys first definition of the word gay mean lame, bogus, or unjustified. it is my opinion that they have a right to co-opt the word gay to mean lame even if it is offense to most homosexuals, because homosexuals co-opted the word even though it was offensive to many heterosexuals.

the real problem here isn't intolerance of gays, it is

NO TOLERANCE POLICIES RUN AMOK!!!!!

the kid complained, and the same bureaucrats that suspend kids who bring nail clippers to school because they are armed and dangerous, suspended this kid
this is an overreaction on the part of the school, it ignores normal child development in the pursuit of a PC/clintonesq utopia, and it doesn't teach anyone a lesson, except for the mother, and it teachers her that the school gives a **** about her kid

[Drake Tungsten]

Yet you seem to not have a problem dishing it out when it is convenient for you, like when telling gays when they can and can't be offended.

I did no such thing.

Game, set, match.

This has been a pretty pathetic display on your part, Boris. You didn't even reach the admittedly low standards I have for you...

[mindseye]

I'm speaking within the context of hate crimes in general, with that specific one I mentioned as an example.

Noted, but no less irrelevant.

Fitting, weren't you just telling gay people what they shouldn't be offended by?

[mindseye]

Korn469, please read the thread before you post arguments already demolished.

[Asher]

korn469: The difference between the N-word and "gay" is that the N-word is, by its nature, derogatory and "gay", by its nature, is not.

But both can be used in derogatory ways. IE: Using "gay" as an insult for everything...

[Imran Siddiqui]

this is an overreaction on the part of the school

I agree. Sensitvity training or something similar would have been better, IMO.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui

this is an overreaction on the part of the school

I agree. Sensitvity training or something similar would have been better, IMO.

I definitely agree the school's punishment was out of line.

What I'd like to see is a message to students informing them all that it's unacceptable, and in the future will be dealt with by the administration.

And even then, I'd be giving out detentions, not suspensions...

[korn469]

Korn469, please read the thread before you post arguments already demolished

mindseye, just because you think you are right doesn't mean the argument has been demolished

korn469: The difference between the N-word and "gay" is that the N-word is, by its nature, derogatory and "gay", by its nature, is not.

But both can be used in derogatory ways. IE: Using "gay" as an insult for everything

i agree, but i think that means that extra caution should be used before punishing a person for using a word with a number of uses

my point is this kid might not have realized that he was using the word in a degrading fashion, he might have been using it in a way that seemed highly appropriate to him and his peers, completely unaware that people would find his use offensive

[korn469]

I definitely agree the school's punishment was out of line.

What I'd like to see is a message to students informing them all that it's unacceptable, and in the future will be dealt with by the administration.

And even then, I'd be giving out detentions, not suspensions

I agree with that. a verbal warning, then maybe a parent teacher conference, then detention, then a longer stay in detention, then suspension.

but an automatic suspension? that's bs!

[mindseye]

mindseye, just because you think you are right doesn't mean the argument has been demolished

Well, if you have something new to post, refuting the arguments previously made, I'm ready to hear it. Otherwise, they stand.

my point is this kid might not have realized that he was using the word in a degrading fashion

I think we all agree that, based on the limited information given, the punishment seems harsh. The central argument here seems to be whether or not the use of "gay" as "lame" or "bad" is derogatory to gays.

[korn469]

Well, if you have something new to post, refuting the arguments previously made, I'm ready to hear it. Otherwise, they stand.

i just got home and only read like the last 30 or so posts because of lack of time, next time i'll add a disclaimer

I think we all agree that, based on the limited information given, the punishment seems harsh. The central argument here seems to be whether or not the use of "gay" as "lame" or "bad" is derogatory to gays

is that the real argument? i completely agree that the use of the word gay to mean lame is offensive to gays, that is a very boring argument lol

now just because you say something that somebody doesn't like, if it doesn't threaten them, should you be allowed to say it? i think you should have that right, to me freedom of speech far outweighs people's feelings getting hurt