Sunday, April 22, 2007

Get a Thesaurus Please

When I hear people around my age (18-24'ish) use the word "gay" as a substitute for "stupid," I don't even feel angry or irritated. At least not at first. My initial emotional reaction is surprise; it's surprising to hear young adults who haven't outgrown or unlearned the incorrect and insulting usage of the word "gay."

When I was a freshman in high school, a friend and I would make fun of the misuse of this word by substituting word "gay" with "homosexual." Then it wouldn't quite make sense: "This project assignment is so homosexual." We thought it was funny at the time.

Furthermore, why say "gay" when there plenty of other good words to communicate a pejorative, belittling sentiment? The following list is a mere sample:
  1. stupid
  2. inept
  3. incompetent
  4. dumb
  5. slow
  6. challenged
  7. lame
  8. pathetic
  9. low
  10. sad
  11. obtuse
  12. vacuous
  13. dense
  14. mindless
  15. unintelligent
  16. senseless
  17. brainless
  18. half-witted
  19. fatuous
  20. doltish
  21. feebleminded
  22. ignorant
  23. moronic
  24. inane
  25. asinine
  26. uneducated
  27. idiotic
  28. demented
  29. dull

2 comments:

AKH said...

I agree with you completely. When I heard my younger cousins say something was gay, I asked what it had to do with homosexuality. I don't know if they stopped calling things gay or if just stopped saying it around me.

ShaneMo said...

Thanks for your comments. Your blog is an interesting read.