Okay, i was channel surfing the other day, and i came across this ad. It's a promotional ad to stop young teens from saying a slur (OMG! That's so gay!). I first want to comment alittle on the ad, but it really has nothing to do with the thread, so i'm doing it like this: Spoiler Who in god's name uses Hillary Duff for a spokesman anymore. She's not in anymore movies or t.v. shows. Why is she still on the air? Now, is our freedom of speech being deprived from us? I mean some words are bad, like the slur for black people. That one is actually bad because it has bad ties to them as slaves in America. I understand why everyone doesn't want people to say that anymore. One thing i cannot understand why they want us to not say "that's so gay." The word "gay" has been before the late 20th centery as meaning "happy" or "glad"; but now it means a "homosexual". About more than half the population in the U.S. use this term everyday to describe something bad. I guess no one read the fine print in the constitution when it says: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." Should it be change to: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances, unless someone finds it offesive.
i've used the word gay in a negative context several times, yet i have nothing against homosexuals themselves so i think that's being a little oversensitive anyways, we do have freedom of speech, but that doesn't mean it's always a good idea to use it
so have i. I have nothing against them personaly (i've actually hung out with some of them), but they think we use it in a negative sence. We're not talking of the lifestyle when we say something is "gay", we're talking about something. Some words have double meanings.
It doesn't have a double meaning. It has 2 politically correct meanings (happy/homosexual) and 1 politically incorrect meaning (stupid/bad, etc.) Of course freedom of speech is being removed. That's what happens when capitalists and conservatives come into power. They say all they want is "order", and "peace", but in order to achieve those ends, they feel that they have to suppress the people's rights to do it.
Freedom of speech means you can say anything you want as long as the goverment doesn't want it hush hush.
I watched that ad carefully, and I did not see anything about Congress restricting freedom of speech. The purpose of the ad is to get teens to stop saying stupid things like "That's so gay!" It's not saying that you're not allowed to say that, it's just trying to get you to think about what you're saying before you say it. Your free speech is not being taken away from you in any way.
Swear words in and of themselves are not bad. It's the context. And *dancewaterdance* is right, it's about them trying to get you to look at what you say.
i dont' think anyone is losing their freedom of speech even if there WAS a word being restricted. here's why i think that: that's because no law is ever absolute. for example, in the case of the freedom of speech right: that law doesn't entitle you to shout in a crowded theatre that there is a fire and that everyone should run. and like that law that says everyone has a right to bear arms: not entirely true because if you commit a crime you no longer have that right. no law is ever absolute. and even if Congress wanted to restrtict a word, how would they enforce it? it wouldn't work. anyways, the reason no one wants us to say "that's so gay!" is because it's stupid. gay is not supposed to be an insult like saying "you're a jew!" which shouldn't be an insult but sometimes is treated like it is.
Well...it's always been a bit restricted. In the military it's worse. The government can be controlling but it won't get too bad. Still, that was just an add. The government didn't put any force behind it.
hmm... i guess you're a bit right. i heard of some people saying Bush was, well, ******ed and stuff and they were arrested. and i'm just sitting there going "What the heck man?!"
Things are becoming to poltically correct and that's to put it nicely. No matter what someone is going to complain about something and then the government will try to control that too. We're becoming like robots being told what to do, what we can and can not say and how we should think. It's really pathtic and over the turn of the century we as a nation have let it happen.
In the end, some people assume freedom of speech means more than it does while others think it's less. Some people assume that because there is freedom of speech, they can say whatever they want to with no repercussions for it. What it means is that you can say what you want but if you say it amongst the wrong people, you won't be persecuted by the government but you can be hit by others in other ways. For example: The Dixie Chicks went to GB and sang there and after made some speech about how Bush sucked and went on about the war. The government did nothing to them. However, many people found it offensive that the Dixie Chicks would go to another country and voice their opinions so negatively there and they acted in a way that many found inappropriate and rude, using their fame for voice power. Their record sales declined and people dropped out of going to their concerts. People do have a power and it's best to remember that. It is their right to do something if they find something said abhorrent. Note though that no one was really harmed. Freedom of speech is not really being compromised. This is a bunch of people trying to make a stink over 'OMG that's so gay'. When you think about it, saying that makes a person sound rather stupid. However, this is for the PC movement and there is no 'law' preventing anyone from saying it. We can still say about any word out there...just not on TV or movies lower than 'R' ratings. I find the whole political correct stuff to be pretty silly but in one sense, there is a point to their madness, though they of course go extreme and overboard. When amongst different sorts of audiences, I tend to curb my speech since well, I was raised to feel it's rather rude to not do so and it will only harm you because despite 'freedom of speech' people CAN react and punish you for being out of line in their sort of audience. I'm not going to cuss when I'm at a business meeting or doing a speech for school, for example. However, when I'm hanging on the street with friends, doing fun stuff with peers or alone beating on a video game, I will probably cuss away because it's my nature. I attempt to not talk foul or 'impressionable' language around kids because I don't need to make parents' jobs harder on them. Granted, after the kids are teens, I care less about this since they've heard everything and say them anyway for the most part. I consider 'right speech at the right time' to be as important as 'right dress for the occasion'. I'm going to wear professional clothes or suits to some occasions and I'm going to speak well at those sorts of functions that require me to do so. When I'm casual in attire, I'm going to talk as I regularly do unless around minors or at some scene that would make it inappropriate. Freedom of speech to me doesn't mean forgetting to have human decency and respect for others. Of course, I draw the line on this PC crap when it comes to being myself and someone gets offended because I said a 'naughty' word in his/her presence if the person is an adult and the scene merits I can say whatever. I will pay the consequences, but there's nothing the person can do except complain I'm being obnoxious and perhaps he/she needs a reality check. I agree that a commercial to address 'Omg it's gay' is stupid but in the end, it's certainly not going to be made into a clause under 'freedom of speech' by any means. It's just some people voicing their opinion that you 'shouldn't' say it. They can't stop you from doing it. The funny thing is that many if not all of my gay friends say something is 'gay' too. I've been at stores and they will comment 'oh that shirt is so gay!' and they don't mean that it is a 'happy' shirt. xD I feel no shame when I will say 'so you'll buy it?'. We get a laugh out of it because that's how friends are. Racial slurs, gender or sexual orientation slurs are rather common with me and my friends. Not because we believe in them, but because we find them to be rather stupid and amusing. Simple, stupid people use the slurs in seriousness and it's something we all have to cope with, so when using them, we mutate them to serve our purposes. Many people do that and I think in a way it's constructive so that we aren't going around and bashing every person in the head who we would consider biased and lame. We take the words instead to mean what we want them to and I think it works out better than PC crap ever will. Anywhoo, I was long winded here but that's my take on it. No one can force teens to stop saying what they are and most gays don't even care since they too will say it. However, when they care is when there are people who are gay and they are attacked for being so. If these people doing this advertisement want to do something about helping gays out, it's not to attack the words; it's to start dealing with the people that hold animosity to gays instead...but PC people won't recognize that.
If you guys met some of my old friends........they say a lot, and i mean a lot, of bad things...it doesn't even make sense sometimes....I think as long as we have freedom of speech, people are goin to abuse it. Nothin we can really do I guess.
Freedom of speech is still around. For instance, it's pretty much the only reason why, say, the Westboro Baptist Church still can legally function. =P That being said, there are things that some will find offensive and some will not. For instance, you mentioned "that's so gay". I have mixed feelings about this. I've said it only a few times, and some of my friends say it; in that case, I can overlook it. (It actually annoys me more if they do it, remember that they're around me, then overapologize.) But, I'd prefer people didn't use it; while it doesn't mean 'happy' anymore, it doesn't mean that the word 'gay' will mean stupid. I think, it seems like it's an insult to gay people. Like, sure, people may not think "Well, I have nothing against gay people!" (and some gay people use worse 'gay' insults, anyway), but to me it looks like it's saying "That's so stupid! And gays are stupid, so it's gay!". It's not literally saying that, but that's sort of the connotation, especially because people DO use "gay" to mean "homosexual". If it were a word that is falling out of use, it wouldn't be as bad, but "gay" is still widely used. As Harlequin said, it sounds rude, childish, and stupid. (though I will admit, it can be used to make things funny. for instance, my friend Chi says, "That's so gay it makes Yuki go 'daaaaayum!'" and things like that.) But all in all, it's not an issue of freedom of speech; it's an offensive phrase. While people may think it's being 'too politically correct', I disagree. I think that, for one, it's 'too politically correct' to stop people from saying stuff like that because they aren't gay and don't agree with it. And second, it's not like people are telling you not to say a ton of different things; they simply want to try and stop the use of an offensive phrase. You can voice your distaste for something far more eloquently and intelligently than "OMG THAT'S GAY!".
its true... you can say what youd like stil nowadays but you have to be careful not to offend others... it goes along with stereotypes and how they affect those around you...
