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[Glowcat]

People are going to get hurt.  The best we can do is spread awareness and encourage responsibility.  In the meantime, statements like this only put people on the defensive.

Going around and using 'gay' as a pejorative, associating gayness with 'bad', in an era where homosexuals are still persecuted and in many ways second-class citizens, is at best privileged selfishness and at worst serves to continue systematic prejudice in the English language itself.

People respond better to "Hey you should really put some thought into that term you're using.  I happen to know it's very hurtful to many people.  Real gay kids grow up hearing this constantly and have major self-esteem issues." than they do to "You're a horrible person for saying that and should be ashamed."  Decent people will respond to the former.  The latter statement is reserved for people who have been identified has having real malicious intent.

Yeah, I might have said that in a rather rough manner. My intent was to get people to think about why they want to say the word, how its implications don't really effect them and therefore more thought should be given to why other people might take offense at the word 'gay' being used pejoratively, and consider the effect it has on other people before dismissing it as sensitivity. It's all water under the bridge so long as people understand why the action is wrong.

[Truean]

Yeah... I'm definitely not trying to diminish the impact that language has in situations like this... I'm just saying that it's not necessarily justified to accuse everyone who uses a word as doing so with malice or intentional irresponsibility.

True, unfortunately what ends up happening is it creates a place for bigots to hide. Cause, you really can't tell the ones who don't mean it and the ones that do....

Yeah, I can see this... on the other hand, we all know what witch hunts are like.

People are going to get hurt.  The best we can do is spread awareness and encourage responsibility.  In the meantime, statements like this only put people on the defensive.

Going around and using 'gay' as a pejorative, associating gayness with 'bad', in an era where homosexuals are still persecuted and in many ways second-class citizens, is at best privileged selfishness and at worst serves to continue systematic prejudice in the English language itself.

People respond better to "Hey you should really put some thought into that term you're using.  I happen to know it's very hurtful to many people.  Real gay kids grow up hearing this constantly and have major self-esteem issues." than they do to "You're a horrible person for saying that and should be ashamed."  Decent people will respond to the former.  The latter statement is reserved for people who have been identified has having real malicious intent.

Fair enough. Though it's nice when people come out in support.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbrI3F7p6-o&feature=player_embedded

Anything making fun of Rick Perry, is welcome.

[SalmonGod]

I'm quite happy with the ridicule Rick Perry is getting for this, too

Speaking of coming out in support, I've seen this getting shared by a couple people in my circles on G+ today.  Nothing but glowing words of praise and support so far.  I can't watch the video right now, due to workplace bandwidth throttling of youtube, but it looks appropriate for this thread.

Maya's Vlog - 2011-12-07: Intersex, Sexuality... And Me...

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

- How my intersex condition has shaped my life.
- How my environment has responded to it.
- Getting introduced to sexuality... and the consequences.
- Dutch intolerance and persecution as the worst part.
- Me as a person beyond sexuality and being intersex.

[G-Flex]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbrI3F7p6-o&feature=player_embedded

Anything making fun of Rick Perry, is welcome.

I disagree with this statement, and feel that the video in question is itself fairly prejudiced. It goes a bit too far in the anti-Christian direction, in particular. You don't fight hate with hate.

[Leafsnail]

Isn't that kindof the point, though?  Making fun of Perry's viewpoints by redirecting his views to targets his supporters feel are less acceptable.  I guess they could be the author's actual viewpoints (mixed in with the satire?), but somehow "God fearing vagina penetrators" doesn't strike me as an actual serious argument against either straight or religious people.

[EveryZig]

On the "pepper spray is basically a food product" thing, this is the best response:
@bstiteler: If pepper spray really was a food product, Fox News would oppose police distributing it to the poor.

[G-Flex]

Isn't that kindof the point, though?  Making fun of Perry's viewpoints by redirecting his views to targets his supporters feel are less acceptable.  I guess they could be the author's actual viewpoints (mixed in with the satire?), but somehow "God fearing vagina penetrators" doesn't strike me as an actual serious argument against either straight or religious people.

Eh, it could go either way. It could be taken as anti-religious ("haha look at how much the CHRISTIANS are screwed up") or could be intentionally ironic, like you seem to be suggesting. I'm not really sure.

[Truean]

Isn't that kindof the point, though?  Making fun of Perry's viewpoints by redirecting his views to targets his supporters feel are less acceptable.  I guess they could be the author's actual viewpoints (mixed in with the satire?), but somehow "God fearing vagina penetrators" doesn't strike me as an actual serious argument against either straight or religious people.

Eh, it could go either way. It could be taken as anti-religious ("haha look at how much the CHRISTIANS are screwed up") or could be intentionally ironic, like you seem to be suggesting. I'm not really sure.

The entire thing in the mockery is tongue in cheek. None of it is meant to be taken seriously.
Rick Perry on the other hand, means every single word and syllable.

This is classic, textbook satire. And if anyone has thought that it was "anti religion," then it has worked perfectly, though it is not.

Jonathan Swift never wanted people to eat the babies, but that is exactly what he wrote about in detail. They published him everywhere and to this day, he is famous. He got his point accross.

Come on man, "I'm a filthy heathen and I approve this message." <--Screams satire.

He's showing people exactly how nuts they are by turning it around on them. Classic. I can dissect every single line and show you how it fits flawlessly as satire.

[KaelGotDwarves]

On another note, after two days Rick Perry's "Strong" video is the 3rd most disliked video on all of Youtube, falling short of Justin Beiber and Rebecca Black.

It's the unholy trifecta of unholy youtube videos.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

It's only third disliked because it has only been around for a few days. It'll overtake Baby and Friday soon enough.

[G-Flex]

Come on man, "I'm a filthy heathen and I approve this message." <--Screams satire.

He's showing people exactly how nuts they are by turning it around on them. Classic. I can dissect every single line and show you how it fits flawlessly as satire.

Yeah, yeah, I know how satire works. You honestly don't have to explain that to me. But people can be tongue-in-cheek and intolerant simultaneously. I've heard plenty of people jokingly refer to themselves as things like "filthy heathen" while lambasting religion in a not-so-friendly manner. I'm just saying that some parts of the video are a little ambiguous when it comes to that.

[ChairmanPoo]

Well yeah, but I've never actually heard anyone refer to a mentally handicapped person that way

It's a very frequent term, actually.

[Willfor]

It's only third disliked because it has only been around for a few days. It'll overtake Baby and Friday soon enough.

Since being paid for YouTube content has been brought up, I just want to bring up the anecdote one of my teachers had when Rebecca Black was brought up. If you look at the amount of hits that the hate surrounding Rebecca Black brought up, and you factor in that the people who own the rights to that song right now are getting paid for all of those hits, you come to realize that you can monetize internet hate. In fact, it may be even more profitable to be hated on the internet than to be loved. If the site you are being hosted on is paying you for what amounts to a DDOS worth of hits, and every hit works out to a percentage of a cent, that's still an assload of money being made.

The trolls were, in essence, being trolled. For all of the hatred that was being thrown around, everyone who clicked that link gave money to it in some way.

Everyone who hated the video and yet clicked on it anyway may have contributed to Rick Perry's campaign funds, unless there are special provisions preventing this. Probably not enough to offset the destructive power of the internet, however, I find that most people don't want to financially support the people they vehemently dislike at even minimal levels.

[shadenight123]

oh hey, i'm thinking of throwing my hat in this ring with an article too.
problem is, it's italian.
http://www.corriere.it/cronache/11_dicembre_09/trento-genitori-aborto_d44bfb28-2243-11e1-90ea-cfb435819ac4.shtml

i'll translate the salient points however:

Divorced Family with 16 year old daughter.
Daughter fell in love with an albanian guy.
She ended up pregnant, and the boy is 18 and, parents say "a violent person".
The girl wants to keep the baby.
The parents are furious and went to the judge, the judge stated that he cannot come in between this decision, since it's only available to the boy, (who has no voice in the matter it seems) and the girl.
So the parents are currently asking wherever or not they can at least have a notice of keeping distance from the girl by the boy, to make the baby, if born, unrecognized by the albanian boy, and if possible, to even cancel his surname in the matter.

so...discuss!

[scriver]

It's the girl's choice. She may only be 16 and not fit to make that choice - maturity-wise - but her parent's shouldn't be able to force her to do what they want. If the boy doesn't want to be a father either, well, that's unfortunate, but the choice isn't his either.

Furthermore, on the topic of fatherhood and keeping him away from the child, I'm pretty much in line with the traditional Swedish school - a child deserves a father. Not only because it might want to get to know it's dad when it grows up and because a child shouldn't be kept from it's father (unless he is considered a danger, of course), but mostly because the father was in on the fun when making the kid, and he better be ready to pay for the consequences of that fun as well - even if he wanted the child to be aborted.

Also, is it mandatory for kids to take their father's surnames in Italy? Even if the parent's aren't married? That seems like a rather old-fashioned law, if that's the case.