Watch your mouth

"That’s so gay!” “Shut up, you faggot!” “You’re such a fag.” \nAh, it’s so good to be back. The above are a few examples of the staggering intellect and forward-thinking attitudes I witnessed last weekend, my first one back from a summer in San Francisco, a haven for godless liberals and pinko commies like myself. While gone from it, it’s easy to forget the archaic thought patterns rampant in the college setting. \nLet’s get straight to the point here. People think, “stupid,” “pointless,” “ridiculous” or any number of negative terms. What their mouths say is “homosexual” or “queer.” Thus, with thoughtless – possibly drunken – comments, people are communicating that individuals of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community can be equated with those negative descriptors. They didn’t mean it? They’re sorry? Neat. End of column.\nOh no, they’re not getting off that easily. The fact that phrases like “That’s so gay,” fly out with such ease in our little community of students from all over the country and world is indicative of a far larger problem. One characteristic of language is how common slang and euphemisms simultaneously reflect and reinforce cultural beliefs. The equation of homosexuality and negativity in our common language communicates to me that we accept bigotry. Essentially, it’s safe to hate the fags. Hell, our president does it, so it must be okay – just like lying about a military service record and sneezing at the Constitution are okay. Obviously, he and his crew are stellar examples on which to base a system of morals. God talks to him directly, after all.\nEvery time someone describes someone else as “gay” to mean “stupid,” or a “fag” to mean a “dumbass,” they are reinforcing the dangerous culture of hate that exhibits itself in violence and ludicrous discrimination. In 31 states, it’s legal to fire someone for being gay. \nOur GLBT soldiers, risking their lives for a country where they can’t even get married, have to hide who they are or risk a dishonorable discharge. Speaking of the gay marriage debate, why is it even a debate? Massachusetts is the only state to have ever recognized marriage between homosexual partners on an equal footing with heterosexual couples, not a partnership with some fancy name. Separate but equal is not equal, or have we forgotten that? Eleven states are currently discussing banning ANY legal recognition of gay partnerships. The fight for equal protection for millions of GLBT Americans is very real.\nBy using those negative euphemisms in common speech, people are advertising that GLBT individuals are indeed lower beings who deserve to be treated with inequity. I doubt that every person who speaks those words actually believes these things. It only takes a moment to think before you speak, but it can make a world of difference.