Sticks and stones can break bones but some words truly have hurt people. There are a handful of words lurking in our verbal closets that have been shouted at people as they were beaten and killed for their association with those words. Some are so nefarious that they are known by their first letter only...
So why are they worn like a badge of honor by the upcoming generation?
It used to be that gay meant happy. Then it was applied towards homosexuals... then suddenly, it became hip to use it as if it were an insult... How did that devolve? Same for fag which used to be slang for a cigarette and faggot which was a "bundle of sticks". Once innocent words now used as insulting labels on other people. Young Americans throw these words at one another loudly and in jest but what they seem to forget is that those words may be empty to them but to others who have been beaten and abused in their name are being forced to relive fear and persecution for the sake of those "jokes".
Jokes are meant to be funny... to make people feel good. More and more our entertainment has become delighting as someone other than yourself suffers.
Personally, I can't help but look down on the person who is so low on creativity that they can't phrase a coherant strand of thought without summoning expletives and derogatory terms. They just seem poorly educated. One case in point that MANY people are guilty of is the word "gypsy". There is no race of humans called gypsies. They are either Rom, Roma or Romani depending on their location and heritage. The term Gypsy is a derogatory term used since long ago times. Most people don't even realize they are being insulting when using that word... they were just uneducated.
So this is a call to everyone to think before you speak. How might this word portray me? Is there another word I can use to express myself without insulting others and casting myself as an uneducated jerk?
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