megalithic Posted June 2, 2014 Author Share Posted June 2, 2014 That's a straw man surely. Which is why i didn't reply to it. Plus i'd already addressed it earlier in the thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinfoilhat Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 Which is why i didn't reply to it. Plus i'd already addressed it earlier in the thread. So it is a straw man! I thought as much - it's a phrase I don't like to use as it gets banded about wrongly too often so people don't have to reply. And it might be offensive to people constructed out of straw and/or people who collect and/or use it a lot in their daily lives. Never thought of that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megalithic Posted June 2, 2014 Author Share Posted June 2, 2014 In Scotland to lose your bottle or to bottle it, He is a bottler! means to lose your nerve. No idea what the OP means. Maybe bottler wasn't quite the right description. Here's an example. "Is johnny coming on the canal fishing ?" "No. His mum says he can't". "He's a reyt gay". (He's a reyt bottler) I don't use it in that context myself, but almost all the young uns do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flanker7 Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 Language evolves - forsooth twas always thus. The recent trend is a forced evolution according to the tenants of the Politically correct lobby. Nevertheless the flexibility of English (and other languages) and the human imagination is always quick to react. No-one can control the way we say things. In this case 'gay' was itself an evolution from homosexual. Consider these:- "from middle asia" "Romany - Gypsey - Traveller" "Dogging" "Wet" "Wife - spouse - partner" We know what we mean. We know what they mean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aliceBB Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 No-one can control the way we say things. Well, they can. The question is whether it is desirable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megalithic Posted June 2, 2014 Author Share Posted June 2, 2014 I'd just like to say, it's been quite refreshing discussing such an emotive subject on SF without it being subverted in the usual way, descending into farce, then being locked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aliceBB Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 I'd just like to say, it's been quite refreshing discussing such an emotive subject on SF without it being subverted in the usual way, descending into farce, then being locked. The night is yet young Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megalithic Posted June 2, 2014 Author Share Posted June 2, 2014 The night is yet young To be fair, even if the mods locked it now it wouldn't be a bad thing. I think everyone has got their particular take on it across. And it's been largely sensible to this point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
always Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 I'm gay and laugh at homophobia because most guys want me. Fit tall guys are always a commodity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plain Talker Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 This did make me laugh though. A good question though! You might be driving a Porsche! That's a straw man surely. The word Jew has and always been used to describe a Jewish person. Calling someone a Jew in derogatory sense (implying tightness with money) is playing on stereotypes and is wrong. Calling something gay (like the gay car earlier) isn't the same thing at all. It's harking back to schoolyard idiocy is all. Is it offensive? Depends on the context. I don't agree, TFH. Both of the phrases you refer to are derogatory, and not acceptable. The contest is that both comments are used in a derisory context, and are offensive. Using derisory terms for sexuality as a slur is as out of order as using their gender, race or disability. (or even their religious choices) When my steplad was a tot, I had to take him to our GP for his booster jabs. He was only a little lad, and he cried, because, naturally, it hurt. I comforted him with a cuddle, saying "There, there. It's ok, it'll not hurt, in a minute, Shhh-shhh" and "loved him better". The Doctor, who was a miserable old so and so got very irate, as I tried to calm my upset little boy. He said "Oh, stop mollycoddling him! You'll turn him into a cissy!" I said "Excuse me, but he is hurt, and upset. I'm comforting him and calming him. That won't make him a cissy!" Another, similar incidence, was with the boys' birth mother. Their dad and I expected proper manners, and "please" and "thank-you" from the lads. Everyone commented about what a lovely polite lad they were. Their birth mother (who, I have to say, wasn't exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer) wasn't happy that we expected (And got) good manners from them. In a disgusted voice, she said "Huh! Making them say please and thank you! You'll turn them into 'puffs'!" We were very offended. These are both instances of using derogatory terminology, about sexuality, which were offensive on a number of levels. it's not at all acceptable to use the "N" word or the "W" word about a black person, so why should it be acceptable to use terms like "Poof" or "Gay" in a derogatory manner? The only "poof" that is an acceptable as a term to use in "this" house, is when I refer to the oversized cushion/ stool that I rest my feet on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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