Gay Homophobe. My Proposed Retaliation and Re-education Plan.

Dear ATSers,

I haven't written a rant in quite a while, so it seemed the time to try again. It isn't an angry rant, but it fits nowhere else.

It concerns the words Gay and Homophobe.

Phobia, as we know, is a Greek word meaning fear or morbid fear. The Greek preface "Homos" means "same."

So if someone hadn't changed the definition 45 years ago, Homophobia would mean, as it was intended, "Fear of the same." It is mildly interesting that of our two political parties, the Democrats (another Greek word) are the party afraid of the same, therefore using the traditional definition, Democrats are Homophobes.

But the definition was changed, and now, on ATS at least, Homophobia has come to mean not fear of sameness, but a morbid fear of Homos. I would use "Homosexuals" as the word, but that is an inelegant mixture of Greek and Latin.

” ‘Homosexual’ is a barbarously hybrid word, and I claim no responsibility for it.” –H. Havelock Ellis, “Studies in Psychology,” 1897

But "Homophobe" is not the only word which has a different meaning when it's used in Gay matters, so is the word "Gay" itself.

Gay, a word which was first used in the 1300's has had it's meaning completely obliterated. No more "Gay Paree (Ph), Gay Divorcee, Gay 90's." There isn't any very good replacement. It used to mean:

a : happily excited : merry
b : keenly alive and exuberant : having or inducing high spirits

a reply to: charles1952

Some people whose use the term homophobe or any of it's relative cousins are saying I'm mad your not gay or I'm mad because I have to respect you dont' want to sit in the same room while I lick a Popsicle in your face.

a reply to: charles1952

Language changes over time and meanings don't always match up directly with their Latin roots.

Right now there's no logical word for someone who hates those who are in same sex relationships.

Homo is currently used in English to relate to those who are in same sex relationships or have attractions toward the same gender. That doesn't mean that homo as a root doesn't apply to other meanings, but the primary one in common use is a person who has sex with the same gender.

With that being said, maybe it would be better to come up with a different word like Misohomosexist or something or the other.

It's still goofy sounding and so for now "homophobe" is here to stay.

I have never met anyone who feared those who have attractions toward the same sex. I have just met people who hated/disliked. Homophobe if taken by it's literal latin root meaning doesn't apply to the majority of the people it's directed at. Either way there isn't another alternative for now.

a reply to: OrphanApology

Dear OrphanApology,

You bring up a question worthy of its own thread, thanks.

Is the "hatred" (if that's the word) for the person, or for something else. It's easy to say "I hate X political party members," but the person is probably not what is really hated, it's probably the policy.

What is hated here?

With respect,
Charles1952

BLAST! I'm being called away. I promise to get back, really. - C -

a reply to: charles1952

Well hating a significant aspect of someone is as good as hating them as a whole.

I can say that it isn't the black man as an individual that I hate but the fact that he is black, but does it really make a difference? I'm still a racist no?

Sports euphemisms can be amusing...he bats for the other\both sides...she doesn't look away in the changing rooms...etc. However the issue surely must be how ridiculous it is to even try to encapsulate the essence of a person with a descriptive word or sentence. As a human being, and also one who enjoys the opposite sex as my preferred\only partners, I might find it galling to be referred to principally as a hetero...

I used to go to Gay days in Gay Michigan quite a few years ago. It was a great party. Most of the gay people were there, I'm talking about the residents of the town of Gay, not the other kind of gay people. Of course there were a couple of Gay people there too....Now this is getting a little confusing even to explain I can't keep track myself.

Most people from gay are not gay....I better quit before I get things all messed up.

a reply to: rickymouse

I wonder if anyone named Gayle Gaylord, who happens to be gay, lived in Gay and then went to Gay Day? That would be REALLY confusing.

a reply to: OrphanApology

I hung around at the Gay Bar once in a while. I used to know a lot of Gay people. The town of Gay and the Gay Bar were there long before they called gays gay.

a reply to: OrphanApology

Dear OrphanApology,

Good. I agree with you completely, as far as your example goes. Please allow me to toss out another. If a man walks into a room and says "I'm a Washington Politician," he'll be hated, but when he retires and goes back to his car dealership he'll be Big Bubba, or whatever.

Many times the bad feelings come from the hated person's goals, actions, or threats, and not from the person himself.

I still wonder, in the gay case, what is being hated. Probably not the person themselves, but what the hater feels are other factors the hated stands for or engages in.

I know that's kind of sloppy, but I'm trying.

With respect,
Charles1952

P.s. Let's assume, for a minute, that a gay gets hatred for walking down the street doing something well, let's just say unusual. Could it be that the hater hates what he is seeing happen, and the gay takes it to mean that the hatred is for him as a person? If that's the case, no wonder, they're complaining about things. - C -

a reply to: Jonjonj

Dear jonjonj,

Thanks. I agree that one word is not enough to characterize any human being. Is your complaint that one word is insufficient, or that one word gets boring? Certainly the Gays have chosen word after word which they take a fancy to, and society has accepted it. I've read where there are over a dozen different types of sexual orientation that have been taken under the Gay umbrella. I don't understand any complaint along [i[those lines.

With respect,
Charles1952

fag 2 (fæɡ)

— n
1. ( Brit ) a slang word for cigarette

dictionary.reference.com...

Sometimes you hear people (usually British people) say they want to "suck a fag". Nothing derogatory or obscene about that. They're just saying they, "want to go smoke a cigarette."

a reply to: charles1952

All hatred is a hatred of certain aspects of something or someone. We do not hate as a whole but hate parts of different things. If I say I hate pizza it is not pizza I hate but actually the crust and how it sticks to my teeth(an aspect). I also dislike how the pepperoni grease ruins the cheese and makes the bread soggy(aspect). So even though I say I "hate pizza", it's actually many small aspects of pizza that I hate. That then translate into hateful behavior toward the pizza(throwing it away, thinking how gross it is, not buying pizza).

A man who hates a woman's clothing because he feels women should wear burkas is being hateful toward her. This particular woman does not want to wear a burka, and the aspect of her not wearing a burka is a huge part of who she is. So the man lives in a country where he can then pass laws to force the woman to wear a burka, and now his hate of that small part of her dress has translated into a hateful action toward her as a whole. It then becomes a hatred of the woman as a whole person. That is what hate is.

It might be that someone dislikes the fact that a gay man or woman has gay sex. But when they start speaking differently, more hatefully toward that person it translate into hateful behavior toward them. Like someone telling a lesbian she will go to hell for her actions. Regardless of the reason for the supposed hellfire, that person is still telling someone they will be burned to death for being attracted to the same gender. Hateful action indeed.

The only time I have been scared of a gay person was when a butch lesbian wanted to fist fight me. I brushed past her/him in a crowded bar and the mere fact that a real male touched her/him resulted in blind rage. All of my mates back at the table were pissing themselves laughing and had their phones out, filming, just in case I got my ass whooped. I just backed away and let her/him role play their interpretation of an alpha male.

originally posted by: weirdguy
The only time I have been scared of a gay person was when a butch lesbian wanted to fist fight me. I brushed past her/him in a crowded bar and the mere fact that a real male touched her/him resulted in blind rage. All of my mates back at the table were pissing themselves laughing and had their phones out, filming, just in case I got my ass whooped. I just backed away and let her/him role play their interpretation of an alpha male.

lol

That reminds me of a woman I wouldn't want to fight:

originally posted by: charles1952
I don't think I can ever forgive the movement for the corruption of that glorious word.

Well if Straights aren't afraid of Gays, who should be? Gays. The rate of intimate partner violence among Gays is higher than that among Straights.

So, in the interest of fairness and equal rights, whenever I see or hear "Homophobia" The rational word in response will be "Queer." Perhaps "Abnormal" would also work, since it is statistically true.

Or you know, you could always forgive the gay movement like you're meant to forgive everyone else and actually attempt to start a reasonable dialogue to prove people wrong without resorting to bringing up domestic violence statistics or STDS in some kind of esoteric round about discussion about word theft.

Did you know the word 'Atheist' started life as an insult? And the word 'daemon' didn't always mean evil entity. Word definitions are changing for all kinds of reasons, sometimes just accident and sometimes for the political, but it's what people are trying to express that is important. Focus on that.

I rate being able to express one's relationships and beliefs above an extra word for 'happy'.

Well, my complaint, if any, is about the fact that one can characterise any given group by a descriptive word. I have no problem with losing words per se to common usage, in fact I embrace it. If not however could I express wtf without actually
Typing it.

Perhaps one should think about all the words that have been appropriated in the English language, instead of just the dozen or so that offend...I believe the word gay itself is French of Latin origin...anyway, respect for your post sir. Hold on,Did I just imply your seniority?

a reply to: rickymouse

Ha man if I lived in that town I would make Tshirts and go sell them at gay pride.

a reply to: charles1952

Here in Australia there is one particular ice cream that still uses the word Gay in the traditional form. Golden Gaytime, I've been putting Gaytime's in my mouth since I was just a kid back in the 70's. These were around before gay became Gay, but the company Steets kept the name because they're a bit of an Aussie icon.

a reply to: Pinke

Dear Pinke,

You've always been good to me, please be patient a little while longer. I'm going to step into some dangerous territory, but with no evil intent.

How do I forgive the Gay movement for taking the word? They don't want to be forgiven, they will continue keeping it to themselves, a need for forgiveness never enters their minds. Forgiving them for that is useless.

A dialogue to prove people wrong about what? Their lifestyle? I'm not trying to prove anybody's wrong about that. Their misuse of language? I think that's been fairly well established.

Word definitions are changing for all kinds of reasons, sometimes just accident and sometimes for the political, but it's what people are trying to express that is important. Focus on that.

Dear Pinke, you're going to far here. But, if you insist that what's important is what people are trying to express I assume I should start calling Straights "Normal." And those who have a fear of "Normal" should , naturally, be called "Perverts."

I'm trying to show you, and everyone else that words matter, and some of the words appropriated by the Gay movement have caused hurt and division. You might think I'm being offensive, but I'm actually "Raising Public Awareness" and demanding my human rights. (Does that show you how it sounds to the other side?)

So, unless "Normal" and "Pervert" are the way to go, let's me more sensitive about words.

I rate being able to express one's relationships and beliefs above an extra word for 'happy'.

This, to me, is inexplicable. I've been told that Gays have been everywhere for thousands of years. Are you trying to tell me that in all those ages, no gay has come up with a word for their relationships and beliefs until the middle of the 20th Century? Balderdash.

With respect,
Charles1952

P.s. Gay is not another word for happy. Happy isn't even a synonym for gay, it's that different.
www.merriam-webster.com...