Why do people still think calling someone gay is an insult?

~~Davetello~~ · 10-07-2014, 09:36 PM

I use another forum, based around soccer. And on that forum casual racism and homophobia seems to be the norm. It's a much rougher forum than this, and essentially has no moderating. It's a free-for-all.

Most of the people who indulge in this sort of thing are amongst my 'friends' on there. And honestly, even though they're knowledgeable guys for the most part, sometimes I just wanna tell them to quit it with the prejudice. But I just can't be bothered arguing about it.

They often say these things in defence of other peoples' attacks on me. I don't ask for help and I can take care of myself, but I'm one of the older users there (in age, I'm actually relatively new to the site i.e. just over a year) and am respected as a knowledgeable poster, so it's natural that some people will leap to my defence. For example, there are a few people there who have a severe dislike of me because I am critical of a certain player (this player attracts legions of creepy, sycophantic fanboys generally in football, the sort who think he's above criticism). These people are clearly fanboys of this player, and truth be told most of them are pretty clueless about football generally. They clearly have some sort of mancrush on the guy, and they do deserve to be treated with contempt for attacking others and talking balls, but I still feel the constant 'queer' and 'f a g g o t' accusations are uncalled for. I mean they might well have a liking for men (this footballer seems to attract the androgynous type) but I don't see the problem with that. The far bigger issue is how clueless they are about the game, as well as their blind devotion to someone who doesn't know they exist and wouldn't p!ss on them if they were on fire.

So yeah, I'm using anecdotal evidence to express my dislike for racism and homophobia on the internet. I don't care if these people are gay or in the closet. What I do care about is that - if they do have a gay crush or a mancrush on this player - it's leading them to overrate and exaggerate his abilities.

Other comments on this site include attacks on Mexicans and claims that Polish people living in Britain are absolute scum. And the worrying thing is that many of the people who indulge in this sh!t are actually very intelligent people and, as already stated, get on very well with me. It's a bit like stormfront but more jokey, because I get the feeling that some of these people are playing up for the cameras, so to speak.

So, I ask again - why do people think being called gay is some sort of insult? If someone called me a 'homo' or a 'f a g g ot' I'd just laugh at them as I know I'm straight. And even if I was gay - so what?

10-07-2014, 09:36 PM	#1
~~Davetello~~ Banned Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Greater Glasgow, Scotland, The Ununited Kingdom Posts: 1,712	Why do people still think calling someone gay is an insult? I use another forum, based around soccer. And on that forum casual racism and homophobia seems to be the norm. It's a much rougher forum than this, and essentially has no moderating. It's a free-for-all. Most of the people who indulge in this sort of thing are amongst my 'friends' on there. And honestly, even though they're knowledgeable guys for the most part, sometimes I just wanna tell them to quit it with the prejudice. But I just can't be bothered arguing about it. They often say these things in defence of other peoples' attacks on me. I don't ask for help and I can take care of myself, but I'm one of the older users there (in age, I'm actually relatively new to the site i.e. just over a year) and am respected as a knowledgeable poster, so it's natural that some people will leap to my defence. For example, there are a few people there who have a severe dislike of me because I am critical of a certain player (this player attracts legions of creepy, sycophantic fanboys generally in football, the sort who think he's above criticism). These people are clearly fanboys of this player, and truth be told most of them are pretty clueless about football generally. They clearly have some sort of mancrush on the guy, and they do deserve to be treated with contempt for attacking others and talking balls, but I still feel the constant 'queer' and 'f a g g o t' accusations are uncalled for. I mean they might well have a liking for men (this footballer seems to attract the androgynous type) but I don't see the problem with that. The far bigger issue is how clueless they are about the game, as well as their blind devotion to someone who doesn't know they exist and wouldn't p!ss on them if they were on fire. So yeah, I'm using anecdotal evidence to express my dislike for racism and homophobia on the internet. I don't care if these people are gay or in the closet. What I do care about is that - if they do have a gay crush or a mancrush on this player - it's leading them to overrate and exaggerate his abilities. Other comments on this site include attacks on Mexicans and claims that Polish people living in Britain are absolute scum. And the worrying thing is that many of the people who indulge in this sh!t are actually very intelligent people and, as already stated, get on very well with me. It's a bit like stormfront but more jokey, because I get the feeling that some of these people are playing up for the cameras, so to speak. So, I ask again - why do people think being called gay is some sort of insult? If someone called me a 'homo' or a 'f a g g ot' I'd just laugh at them as I know I'm straight. And even if I was gay - so what? Last edited by Davetello; 10-07-2014 at 09:45 PM.