Monday, October 26, 2009

Analysis of the "Saying gay is offensive" argument

In this in-depth analysis, I refute the validity of the claim that using "gay" in place of "stupid" is offensive towards homosexuals.

Please examine the following statements:

"That class is so gay."
"That class is so retarded."
"That class is so stupid."
"That class is so lame."

As you can see, all three statements above are misleading and do not represent the person's true sentiment: that the class is displeasing. "Gay" literally means that the class itself is homosexual, which is impossible because the class is an abstract concept and does not have a sexual orientation. "Retarded" means that the class is mentally ill, which is again impossible for the very same reason. "Stupid" means that the class is unintelligent, which is impossible because the class does not have a brain. Lastly, "lame" implies that the class is disabled, which is obviously impossible because the class does not have body parts.

One can argue that using these words in place of "displeasing" implies that gayness, retardness, stupidity, and lameness are very displeasing attributes. People who are gay, retarded, stupid, or lame are minorities that are being picked on as we use these conventions. While this argument has merit, it must be considered equally for all words "gay," "retarded," "stupid," and "lame," so as to not give an unfair advantage to homosexuals over other minorities such as disabled people. For example, one cannot say that it's alright to say "lame" but not to say "gay," because that would arbitrarily imply that gay people take priority over disabled people, which is DISCRIMINATION.

Because all variants of "this class is displeasing" are equally flawed in technical grammatical logic, opponents of using "gay" in place of "stupid" would have to devote their lives to convincing everyone to say "displeasing," not only in place of "gay," but also in place of "retarded," "stupid," and "lame."

This is silly and unfeasible, and would make everyone sound Victorian and/or British.

Therefore we should keep saying gay.

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