I had no idea how annoying or wrong-message-sending this could be.
I like jam, but , Dude--It aint none of those things, especially the last one. especially in a country where english is the language...Homie was havin problems with it becuz he said he dont understand where it ranks on a scale of formal or intimacy in any of his non english languages becuz they dont have equivalent of it, so it was hard for him to figure out where it belonged , like if u call someone that becuz u like them, or dont like them, if you are close to them or formal with them,etc. but you dont need to go around bein all ultra sensitive and shit now becuz one person has a misunderstanding of the meaning of a common word that almost all of us uses.
Jam me and you always talk n shit and you know Im cool wit u, so dont feel like I am talkin shit cuz I aint. but straight up, thinking that its homophobic or something is one of the most ridiculous things i ever heard. Not becuz I aint gay so i aint sensitive to issues like that or that i am ignorant of how it couldd be antigay or somethin, but Seriously, just becuz it really, really AINT. they just aint got nothing to do with each other. if you think its homophobic becuz men say it to each other instead of their names, becuz they are secretly homophobic becuz they dont want to use each others names becuz that would be too loving for them or somethin, i think you are kind of confused of the meaning of these words which is pretty m uch, nothing.
Imagine if you didnt know the meaning of a word in a different language, and you thought it was a insult cuz u aint familiar with it, but it turns out to be somethin else completely, even somethin semi friendly. U feel me? its something like that. america is a laid back very casual type of country in general compared to alot of other ones, and english is a pretty un formal kind of language, so if you call someone dude or bro or man instead of their name, it really dont mean a thing at all, you readin way too much into it. it aint cuz youre avoiding being close, or respectful to them, by sayin any of these words instead of their name. And, wats the alternative ifit aint their name? sayin ''hey you''? lol. now THAT actually COULD come offf as rude.
As far as why ppl say it instead of names, well Using somebodys name can get repetivie first thing. second, it can be formal like damien said. third it can also be more intimate . Like "i like the art you do man" is one thing, but "i like the art you do anthony" is kind of more serious, something that a person who is close to the guy would say. So i guess that is where you were seein the gay phobic part of it but trust us when we tell you it aint like that, its just that here we dont really address each other by name except when its necessary like introducin to new ppl, at school/court/watever, etc, at work, or shit like that. otherwise, its a sign of bein familiar with somebody or also if you dont want to seem too familiar. LOL no wonder youre confused, i guess it is kind of complicated now that you made it that way! Damn u!! lol jk.
Imagine if your girl spills your drink and instead of bein like , Dude, that wasnt cool ! you be like, Jahaira, that wasnt cool! it makes it so serious when it aint.
LOL i never thought I would be even thinkin about somethin like ethis much less writin out a whole post on it, ONly on bluelight yo, only on bluelight.....8)
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however grammatically, politically, whatever incorrect it is. 
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