Something to keep in mind, the longer and more feverant a word produces knee jerk responses, the more others are going to use it..
If one person goes "oh man. that's gay" and 20 people bitch about it.. it's probably likely the issue will be pushed, if for no other reason then to get a laugh out of making a mountain out of an ant hill over a word 2 people are defining differently.
It boils down to "what's offensive". And frankly, everything is. A good example was a stand up piece done by Robin Williams on his Broadway DVD. He picks on Osama Bin Ladin.. and even the Koran. Saying that if a Muslim dies..while killing infidels, they're supposed to go to heaven and be greated by 71 virgins. Making a joke.. he said there 's a mix up in translation.. and it's really 71 Virginians.. and begins to act out George Washington and several prominent Virginians kicking the living shit out of Osama Bin Laden. The crowd laughs and loves it. Yay kick it the shit out of him! kill him! woot!.. then he goes on to make sem-racist joke about Arabs being Taxi-cab drivers.. and the crowd boo's.
So based off this, to make a generalization against a group is horrible.. but to wish violence and death upon an individaul .. is funny? That's the insanity about political correctness. We have taken it to exponential degrees where we believe it's more horrible that death... and that is really pathetic IMO.
The Bible is quite offensive to homosexuals. Should we refrain from certain scripture to please a group of people? Affirmative Action pisses off white conservatives. Making fun of "rednecks" techinically is no different than making fun of blacks. Saying "Indian" instead of "Native American" itself can cause people to get rather heated.
The thing i've noticed is that political correctness has become so wide spread and deeply rooted into our society now, it's gone beyond merely trying to be "respectful" but has us fearing what others think of what we say 100% of the time. We might hesitate on a word, or blush when we say something... keeping in the back of our mind "oh this guy is black.. so i can't or shouldn't say it "like this" " It's widening the gap we have between groups of people... having the opposite effect than was intended in the first place.
And when it comes to stereotypes.. we'll never escape those either. I think the best thing to do.. is simply laugh at them. If we can't laugh at our own.. and each other's generalizations.. for right, wrong, indifferent.. i don't think we'll ever get along as races, genders, or sexual preferences. And i'm sure most comedians would agree with me on that.
from beachboyty:
The terms that could apply to hate speech (or actions) have been rendered useless and meaningless in so many cases due to their evolution, misuse, and overuse. Terms like "bigot" "homophobe" and "sexist" can be used with the same kind of bias as "nigger" "spic" "fag" "bitch". They have in many ways become nothing more than a knee-jerk response that allows us to neatly categorize and dismiss people who express politically incorrect opinions. What's more, the witch hunt becomes so fervent that the terms are often applied to comments/people/attitudes that are not necessarily politically incorrect, but merely fail to be politically correct enough.
So that you are homophobe not just for saying, "I hate fags", but also for FAILING to say, "Homosexuals, and all those falling under the broader term 'queer', continue to be a marginalized people group in this society. All those who count themselves decent will recognize this and enthusiastically support legislation which not only corrects systemic inequalities in the administration of public policy, but also seeks to compensate for the unique disadvantages facing queer communities as a result of these historical inequalities."
If you veer even slightly from that perspective, guess what...you're a homophobe.
You're a collegiate athletic director who fires an African American basketball coach...you (along with the university as an institution) are a racist.
You think it is a good idea to ensure that the parents of a teenage girl are informed before she submits to a surgical procedure to terminate a pregnancy...you are against a woman's right to choose what she does with her body.
You question the occupancy of Palestinian territory by Israeli troops...you are anti-semitic.
You believe Muslim leaders should be more vocal about the immorality of targeting civilians in warfare, regardless of the rationale...you hate Muslims and are contributing to the violence being perpetrated against them in the wake of 9/11.
It goes on and on and on. And what it boils down to is the same social laziness that creates true bigotry in the first place. That is, it just takes too much effort to think outside our own box, to analyze someone's viewpoint/lifestyle on its own merit without looking for "litmus test" signs that will allow us to quickly categorize them in the appropriate group and direct our treatment toward them accordingly.
We just aren't comfortable with gray areas...and that means that we just aren't comfortable with plurality. The KKK isn't comfortable with plurality of cultures/ethnicities. The Rainbow Coalition isn't comfortable with a plurality of opinions/perspectives...at the risk of being labeled a bigot, I have to ask...what is the difference between one and the other? What is the difference between intolerance of someone else's physical features/lifestyle and intolerance of a that person's opinions/worldview?
To be sure, any number of lifestyles should not be tolerated. Likewise, the outward expression of any number of worldviews should not be tolerated. But the criteria for such cannot be merely difference or non-traditional. The criteria for active intolerance ought to be limited to that behavior/lifestyle/speech that, either intentionally or through wreck less disregard, causes another/others to be endangered, harmed or otherwise forced to live a diminished quality of life.
A final thought: On a personal level, this is why I don't care to be around most radical progressives any more than I do Right Wing Wackos. People that live in the extremes seem to constantly define themselves by what they are against, what they dislike.
Who has time for a life lived on that kind of negative energy? How can someone find themselves constantly focusing on what makes them angry and dwelling on people they don't like, or taking the time to formulate developed thoughts on people and lifestyles they "don't agree with"? Gimme a break! Life is filled with too much beauty and opportunity to sell yourself short like that. Take some valium and stop obsessing about shit that you don't like that, when it comes right down to it, isn't of personal concern to you anyway.
Someone wants to be a bigot...who cares?
Someone wants to be a fag...why the fuck should it bother anyone else?
Someone believes in some crazy new age religion...hey, its a free world.
Someone doesn't think affirmative action is good for society...it's her opinion, you don't have to adopt it if you don't like it.
But for fuck's sake...stop bitching about "they" and start living your own life with a little bit of happiness and some good will toward men.
