So, I've been noticing something that has been permeating this site. I don't know if it's on the rise, per se, I may just be noticing it more. Doesn't really matter, what matters is that it's there. And that's all these gay insults. Calling people faggots, queers, homos, all this bullshit. Now, I'm a pretty laid back guy who, especially on the internet where I don't actually know anyone, isn't very quick to get into anyone's business. But this is just stupid, crude and backwards. We have gay members on this site. I won't name names because it's not my place to be dragging others into this but I'm sure many of us know a few. The way we use it, calling someone a faggot is the same as calling someone an asshole or an idiot. So what you're saying when you use one of these terms to get down on someone is that gay people are assholes, idiots, bad people who deserve to be looked down upon.
Now I'm sure that most of the people who say these things have never even thought of it this way...but now you have. And now you should stop. I'm not trying to say you're all shit heads for saying it, I used to say it all the time, but I changed when I realized how it would make the kid next to me feel if he was a closeted gay; like he could never be honest with anyone because they would hate him for who he was. I don't say those things anymore and I don't allow others to say them around me. I tell them that it offends me and I ask them politely to stop, and I've changed my friends too because they know that I won't tolerate it. It's within your power to, little by little, remove this part of your vocabulary from you and those around you, and if enough of us insist on it, it will be rid of this site. And I think it's about time that that happens.
