Slurs, we all know them. They are within every community and there is one for EVERY community. For the black community there's nigger, slave, "help", for Asians it might be chinks, for white people there's honkey, for straight people there's breeders, religious communities bible thumper, and for the LGBT community, there's dyke, tranny, and faggot.
These slurs were always used to demean and insult people. As a black person, when you were called a nigger, you were being referred to as lower class. You were dirt. It was something that would potentially start a fight.
Nowadays, the power to the word "nigger" has been taken away... To a certain degree. Now, people use the word constantly, but used in a different way. They may argue that their saying "nigga" and not "nigger" being that there is a difference. But today, there is, isn't there?
When someone says "nigga", they generally don't mean harm and only mean another word such as bro, or people. Black people have turned that slur, nigger, into and everyday word where not many are offended by it. When people say "nigger" it is often used as a joke or to start a fight because they are using it in the meaning of a lower class person and dirt.
This used to be a word that I would refrain from using. When I was younger, I saw the word as one thing, a slur. The word wasn't funny, and it didn't describe me. But since I have grown up, I have become more loose about the word. In fact, I find myself saying it often. Where had my feelings about this word disappeared to? What made them change? Power.
I realized that the word had changed. Thanks to time, this word hadn't meant shit. It was just another word that used to be something that it isn't anymore. Just like words such as bitch and hoe. Words like these don't mean a damn thing like they used to. You find girls saying it to each other all the time and now even hear men saying it. The words have been powered down and have now lost their meaning.
I bring this up because I have heard a lot of the word "faggot" lately. Faggot was and is a word to oppress gay people, but the true meaning is a bundle of sticks. Just like the word "nigger", it wasn't a good thing to be called. It meant you were lower class and different then everyone and deserved to be called something "other".
I hear it a lot more than I used to and it does come from friends. I've told them that I don't like the word and they catch themselves saying it around me and sometimes hate having to sensor themselves. I do get the occasional, "Why does it bother you so much, I'm not talking about being gay!" And I would always respond with the sane answer I would when it was nigger getting tossed around: "I hate the word because it was used to oppress the LGBT people and the power of a word like that has been used to kill many of our LGBT youth and I will NEVER be accepting of a word like that!"
I felt the same way about the word "nigga". I refused to be one of those people who through around that word like it was nothing when it was a word used to oppress many people before me and people in my background. But look at me now, using the word without as much of a second thought of how it made other people feel. Sometimes I feel ashamed about it, but should I? Time has done this.
I realized, I am not one of those people. I know what the word means and the history it has. I am not using it in the context of its history. I'm using it to show how time has changed. To show how accepting our world has become to use a word like that and be ok. Maybe It's time to do that with the word "faggot". And not only faggot, but other slurs like dyke, queen, lesbo, and homo too. And I can't forget our "T" for tranny.
Maybe that's exactly what our community needs. The power of these slurs to be removed. I grow tired of having to be annoyed with these word and fighting with my friends about why they should and shouldn't use them. There are people in our community who use these words with no problem, and maybe that's exactly what we need for our youth, so that they will no longer feel the oppression in this world. I hear gays with powerful voices use these words and notice how they never bat an eye. Calling each other fags, dykes, and homos in playful and accepting ways just to show how times have changed and how these words are only history that will soon be diminished, but never forgotten.
But is that the right thing to do with these words? Should we accept them? Maybe we should tear down these words and allow them never to be used. So that no one will ever feel their pain. No one will ever have to remember how they have been oppressed with those very same words and have it haunt them for the rest of their lives.
But then that brings controversy. People will fight and argue freedom of speech while others fight back saying that It's hate speech. People hate being censored, shit I should know. I have been cursing since I was in 6th grade and haven't stopped since. I hate having to watch what I say, because I have freedom of speech. Now I don't go around screaming "fuck you and fuck that and fuck this" in front of a group of kids, but I am growing as an adult and I should be able to speak my mind. But that only goes but so far.
I don't use my freedom of speech as hate speech, which is where the acceptance comes from. If people don't use these words in an oppressing matter, then it will be fine to use some of these words, depending on where you are and who you say it to of course. Just like the word nigger; as long as you don't have hateful intentions, you usually won't have a problem. Just as I feel it should be with other words sometimes.
But again, all this depends on the people you're around. I wouldn't advise you throwing these words around all the time because you feel they should be nothing because that's how you upset people. I don't really know how to feel about these words, so I open it up to everyone. How do you feel about these words? How do you feel they should be handled?
I think this gay cub has said enough for now. Society, I think I got you on this one. Have a great easter everyone and a great spring break to all the others!
~Be Breezy!~
No comments:
Post a Comment