Don't Say Gay

[SavageEagle]

I'm sick of all this political correctness. So what if someone gets offended by a figure of speech? The 1st amendment guarantees free speech, but I have yet to find an amendment that guarantees the right to NOT be offended.

Actually I was reading up on this a little bit... In America's 1st Freedom, for those who are NRA members and get this great magazine, I would like to direct your attention to the article "What's the difference between a 'Living Constitution' and a Dead Document".....

Almost everyone subscribes, at least to some extent, to living Constitutionalsm. Today, we all agree that the First Amendment protests the right of a journalist to write, "The president is an idiot." Yet as the great legal historian Lenard Levy detailed in his book, Origins of the Bill of Rights, when teh First Amendment was ratified, the original understanding of the guarantee of "the freedom of the press" was mainly that it prevented prior restraints. That is, the government could not censor speech before publication, nor could the government forbid someone to publish a newspaper without a government license.

Yet Post-Publication punishment for speech could be Constitutional. Levy demonstrates that when Congress passed the Sedition Act of 1798 during the administration of John Adams, the criminalization of "seditious libel" was consistent with originalunderstanding of the First Amendment. Indeed, the Sedition Act was much more speech-protective than were its British antecedentes. For example, if you wrote, "President John Adams is an imbecile who lacks any understaning of how to perform the functions of the presidency," you could be prosecuted under the Sedition Act. But if you could prove that Adams really was an imbecile, then you would be entitled to an acquittal.

However, as Levy explains, many Americans considered the Sedition Act to be an outrage. And they took out their anger in the election of 1800 in which Jefferson defeated Adams, even though Adams had handily beaten Jefferson in 1796. From then onward, Levy writes, the First Amendment was understood to prohibit even post-publication punishment for writings that criticized the government.

(please excuse any errors as I just read and re-typed that word for word from the magazine....)

So you see, techinally the Founding Fathers would have considered all this libel and we would be charged on Constitutional grounds.

Just some food for thought here.

 

[Clay]

so when did gay go from meaning happy and joyful to being a word that homosexual people latched onto for their use?

 

[SavageEagle]

They were happy they wouldn't be reproducing themselves anymore?

 

[haldir]

I'll tell you what is offensive is the use of the word hillbilly. But do I ever hear the left ever try to stop the use of that word... NO. There is a church in town that sells Hillbilly Hot Dogs. One of those that signed the petition to add gay right to the city codes. How hypocritical.

 

[SavageEagle]

Shut up honkey.

 

[redneckmedic]

Funny thought, if you called me a cracker, redneck, gun nut, or water waster, I would tip my hat, smile and say thank you (even if you were trying to insult me) because that is what I am. I am proud of who I am and calling me that is a compliment and shows that I represent my self well.

***BTW secondary thought when did the word "FAT" become derogatory? I thought it was no different then skinny and used to describe an appearance? Or is it that being described as fat is now not PC because someone is ashamed of their appearance?

 

[redneckmedic]

Shut up honky.

Oh and add honky to the above mentioned list!

 

[public servant]

***BTW secondary thought when did the word "FAT" become derogatory? Or is it that being described as fat is now not PC because someone is ashamed of their appearance?

Hey, hey, hey!!! Hello??? I'm standing right here! You don't have to point it out to the world...do you???

 

[Roadie]

I know its a stretch but my daughter watches the regular line up in the AM and PM on noggin and WFYI. I am constantly knit-picking the "liberal agenda" in some of those shows, might be all in my head but I see PETA all over Wonderpets and "Going Green" in some of the other crap. Must be my foil hat or my liberal hate, flip a coin.

Don't forger Dora, the Hispanic Indoctrination cartoon

If I can't say "that is so gay" then I need everyone to stop using "that's phat", it offends us that are "calorically challenged".

 

[redneckmedic]

Don't forger Dora, the Hispanic Indoctrination cartoon

If it offends us that are "calorically challenged"

Or is it that being described as fat is now not PC because someone is ashamed of their appearance?

Oh whatever, I have meat you and you pull off Phat very well, embrace your positive traits, us fatty's need our own commercial!

 

[public servant]

Wow...I had no idea Dora was Hispanic... Who knew??

 

[Bill of Rights]

this thread is pretty gay!

That was Shooter521's comment in the "gay debate" thread a few days ago!

It's called etiquette. There are lots of things you should probably NOT say in mixed company, people you don't know. In private...probably no big deal. I was scolded growing up for saying such things. No "gay", "retarded", "homo", "queer", and NEVER the "n" word. Something I cannot say even to this day. I was also told to avoid: I was "Jewed" down. I was "Gyped". or "Indian" giver. Not that the words are bad in and of them selves, but rather the context they they are used. If you cannot think of a more appropriate(intelligent) word/phrase to describe someone/something then you probably need to spent more time studying a Thesaurus. All of these words/phrases seem archaic anymore.

"The "N" word".... I've asked this before, but if we are forbidden the word "******", why are we not forbidden "cracker", "honky", and "whitey"? We also seem to be forbidden in today's society to use tems that refer to any other group? Still, I suppose it will eventually get confusing enough to implode on itself: "...that "W" word over there.." "wait, do you mean the white guy or the wetback?"

Actually I was reading up on this a little bit... In America's 1st Freedom, for those who are NRA members and get this great magazine, I would like to direct your attention to the article "What's the difference between a 'Living Constitution' and a Dead Document".....



(please excuse any errors as I just read and re-typed that word for word from the magazine....)

So you see, techinally the Founding Fathers would have considered all this libel and we would be charged on Constitutional grounds.

Just some food for thought here.

Good points there. If, however, freedom of the press originally protected only from prior restraint, what about freedom of speech? No one can know in advance (and thus prevent) what's going to be said. I'm not critiquing you, Ryan, I just would like to better understand this. I know you quoted from A1F (great mag, BTW), but for anyone out there who is more a scholar of this kind of thing than I am... Speak up, please.

TIA!
Blessings,
Bill

 

[redneckmedic]

Wow...I had no idea Dora was Hispanic... Who knew??

And her boyfriend Diego. They're adventures in helping animals and saving the planet. Though numbers, letters, and colors.

HOW DO YOU SAVE ANYTHING WITH OUT A GUN?!?!

 

[Roadie]

Or is it that being described as fat is now not PC because someone is ashamed of their appearance?

Oh whatever, I have meat you and you pull off Phat very well, embrace your positive traits, us fatty's need our own commercial!

Sorry, until you are fat like me, you just wouldn't understand! How dare you trivialize my segment of society!

In seriousness, I am not the least bit PC, at all! I have a mixed race step son and I called him "boy" all the time, and never realized I was offending him because he thought I meant it racially, I didn't even make the connection, that is how un-PC I am.

As for the fat thing, thanks, I think I have lost almost 50lbs, in a few months I won't have to worry about it anymore, anyway. woohoo!

 

[Roadie]

And her boyfriend Diego. They're adventures in helping animals and saving the planet. Though numbers, letters, and colors.

Hispanic, green, PETA, global warming indoctrination! lol

 

[Denny347]

I totally see nothing wrong with using the word GAY...the problem with offense is that since homosexuality and all of the other choice variances of it has become common place in our society, they have hijacked the word gay to mean their lifestyle choice, but it certainly didn't mean that back in the 60's or earlier...Just look at the Flintstones...like they were talking about having a huge homo orgy "meet the Flinstones, we'll have a gay ol' time"
If someone takes offense to Gay, they are shallow and misinformed...they should take more offense to queer...imo

It's context. There is nothing wrong with using "gay" in that context..."Gay ol time." Howver, it seems like the only way I hear gay is of course to describe a homosexual or someone saying "That is so gay." "Don't be gay." "How gay." Which is using it in a negative context. Is there not a more intelligent phrase to convey a message?

 

[Denny347]

I'm sick of all this political correctness. So what if someone gets offended by a figure of speech? The 1st amendment guarantees free speech, but I have yet to find an amendment that guarantees the right to NOT be offended.

I agree 100%. We have every right to sound like gay retards if we want...

 

[techres]

The use of "Jewed down" is still common in Indiana. And when I hear it I wonder if the person is really an Anti-semite or just a jerk. It's not polite to say the least...

You're free to use it all day if you want. But don't be surprised if it changes how I deal with you. Hope you didn't need that repair done quickly or wanted to be invited to the next cookout!

 

[ATF Consumer]

It's context. There is nothing wrong with using "gay" in that context..."Gay ol time." Howver, it seems like the only way I hear gay is of course to describe a homosexual or someone saying "That is so gay." "Don't be gay." "How gay." Which is using it in a negative context. Is there not a more intelligent phrase to convey a message?

Yeah, I suppose they could say "that's so homosexual"
I like it...direct and to the point.

 

[SavageEagle]

Good points there. If, however, freedom of the press originally protected only from prior restraint, what about freedom of speech? No one can know in advance (and thus prevent) what's going to be said. I'm not critiquing you, Ryan, I just would like to better understand this. I know you quoted from A1F (great mag, BTW), but for anyone out there who is more a scholar of this kind of thing than I am... Speak up, please.

TIA!
Blessings,
Bill

I know you're not critiquing, I just thought it was interesting because before reading that article I hadn't thought about it. Because we all, or well, most of us, talk about the original meaning of the 2A, I thought maybe shedding some light on what our Founders meant with the 1A was prudent here. I've not read Levy's book but I think it would be a good read.

What I'm not sure about is if saying Gay or Fat or ****** would be a prosecutable offense under the 1A's original meaning.

(Man I hate saying the N word.)