I'm sick of people using the word tranny like it's okay. It's a hateful and damaging word. And clearly, that person knows nothing of the transgender community.
There are certain words that are charged with hate and are very destructive that we shouldn't use. It's always used with a negative connotation and is de-humanizing. Using certain words, like that one, is rude and hateful. And you really shouldn't assume someone is younger just because they point out a word as offensive. Grow up.
Sort of like 'faggot' and 'nigger'? I think that it's perfectly acceptable to refer to certain people as fags and nigs. Simply put, a gay is a homosexual, while a fag is a white piece of shit. Likewise, a black person is a black person, while a nigger's a black piece of shit. I'm not entirely sure how 'tranny' fits, but I leave it to your imagination.
No. Historical context still puts meaning to them. Calling someone a f** implies that being gay is negative. Tr*nny is often the last word a transgender woman hears before being beaten, raped, or killed. As transgender people still have a 1 in 12 murder rate (1 in 8 for trans women of color) hateful speech cannot be tolerated.
Answer me honestly. Is this a sensitive topic to you? Have you experienced hate yourself? I personally haven't, and I have relatively (relatively, not extreme extreme) extreme views, so I tend to express my opinions in a harsher way than I intend.
I also think that historical context (this is just opinion) is no reason to do (or not do) anything. History is history, accept that bad things happened, and let it pass. I think that something's only a bad thing (in the name-calling realm) if it's intended to hurt and/or it's offensive TO THE PERSON IT'S DIRECTED TO. Of course, sometimes a bit of pain is needed to be inflected as seen in my comment below.
Anyhow...
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Hateful speech cannot be tolerated. Unless they are absolutely unquestionably deserving of it. Like that meme of the pothead with the caption' who needs oxygen when they have swag?' Fag. Right there. Fag. What else is there to call him, pothead? That's too light a term to call one so stupid. This may seem extreme, but I can't think of a better example in my sleepy state. I'd say Justin Beiber's a good example but I don't want to bother thinking about his ugly mug.
I have. I have been called fag, tranny, transvestite, and similar by strangers and my own parents. The words we use hurts people and pushes the idea that gay or transgender = negative. It's not okay. It's never okay. And no, not "unless they are absolutely unquestioningly deserving of it." It hurts more than the one person it's directed at. It hurts the minority group as a whole. You don't need to bring an entire group down to insult one person. Be creative with your insults. And why is there need to call them anything at all? Clearly, they're stupid. Do we need to slap a label on it? It's not necessary and hurts other people. Better to say nothing at all than to push the ideas and language that causes suicide, murder, assault, and discrimination.
http://youtu.be/mUvdXxhLPa8
Warning, mature content.
I also think that historical context (this is just opinion) is no reason to do (or not do) anything. History is history, accept that bad things happened, and let it pass. I think that something's only a bad thing (in the name-calling realm) if it's intended to hurt and/or it's offensive TO THE PERSON IT'S DIRECTED TO. Of course, sometimes a bit of pain is needed to be inflected as seen in my comment below.
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Hateful speech cannot be tolerated. Unless they are absolutely unquestionably deserving of it. Like that meme of the pothead with the caption' who needs oxygen when they have swag?' Fag. Right there. Fag. What else is there to call him, pothead? That's too light a term to call one so stupid. This may seem extreme, but I can't think of a better example in my sleepy state. I'd say Justin Beiber's a good example but I don't want to bother thinking about his ugly mug.