MovieChat Forums > The Dilemma (2011) Discussion > Homophobia as Comedy Again

Homophobia as Comedy Again



When the VERY FIRST LINE of the trailer is "Electric cars are Gay", you can pretty much tell exactly the lowbrow demographic this film is appealing to. I think I'll pass...

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[deleted]

yeah but electric cars are sooo gay. sounds hilarious

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the movie does look funny but they could of found a better way to put it. . .

Electric cars are nerds
Electric cars are weak
Electric cars are punks
Electric cars are douche
Electric cars are losers

(hello no creativity)

well obviously i'm not a writer but i'm sure someone in HOLLYWOOD could find a funny way to put it that would offend what 25% (made it up) of our population.

"I'm not crazy M'Lynn, I've just been in a very bad mood for forty years"

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Electric cars are nerds
Electric cars are weak
Electric cars are punks
Electric cars are douche
Electric cars are losers

^^^ None of these are funny...

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^^^ exactly!
What is so wrong with saying "electric cars are gay", wtf is wrong with people they can't take a joke, especially when it's coming from a guy in a MOVIE show is SUPPOSED to be a boor!

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Americans lost their sense of humor because they haven't won a war since World War II. Politics and Religion have taken the place of common sense and humor.

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now that is the line i wanted to read... bravo! however i doubt it is the winning of a war which changed this

america derives to the worse of double moral. and this goes for humour and other things. cannot lay it out here, not the platform. but not being able to laugh about one self, and always threatening with law suits, that is the america of today. not funny at all. take a chill and watch old british comedies of the 50ties.




Porque tambiƩn somos lo que hemos perdido!

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It's not just in America, too many people are all losing their sense of humour and becoming so PC that it is ridiculous.

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We won World War III-The IRaq wat!

Amanda Bynes is hot and Lindsay Lohan is not.
Profile pic: Courtney Thorne-Smith.

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Especially since that line was followed by "not homosexual gay, gay as in having your parents home during your party is so gay. That's what gay meant when we were young and didn't know that there were homosexuals - I mean, I was probably in my upper years of high school (late 70s) before I realized that except as a domination (power) thing, there were homosexuals besides the ancients. Ten years later, I was in the military at a training school and there were young men from the heartland that really had no clue.

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well all your lines suck...and it's 10%

Check Out The Loon!
http://www.thenewloon.com

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JimmyPSX claimed that "it's 10%" - i.e., the percentage of homosexuals in the American population. False. That figure was obtained decades ago by studies predominantly of prison populations which were then extrapolated to the general citizenry. In truth the figure is roughly 2%.

But of course gays love the 10% myth because it helps them wield psychological pressure on the media and the populace so as to impose their own societal agenda. Now, does someone like me have an alternate agenda of persecuting gays? No. But the reality is that gays don't just want to stop persecution; they also want society's approval. And that's an anti-freedom agenda of political correctness that inevitably results (and already has) in reverse-persecution of anyone who believes homosexuality is unnatural and/or immoral.

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Now, does someone like me have an alternate agenda of persecuting gays?

Of course you do. You're just not honest enough to admit it.

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I had asked, "Does someone like me have an alternate agenda of persecuting gays?" To which sundodger-1 responded, "Of course you do. You're just not honest enough to admit it."

Excuse me, but are you an idiot? What evidence at all do you have for what you just said? You don't even know me. All you've ever seen from me is several lines of text on a computer monitor. The reality is that I do not have an agenda to persecute gays; I only react when they pick the fights and push political correctness.

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[deleted]

"But the reality is that gays don't just want to stop persecution; they also want society's approval."

Yeah, or they don't want to walk into a movie and hear their sexuality used as a poorly written joke. Just like black people don't want to walk down the street and have some random person call them *beep*

I find it hilarious (sad) that people that read into a book that teaches acceptance, understanding, and forgiveness; one that also teaches lack of prejudice (cast the first stone), would also simultaneously believe they have the right to decide what God's plan is and what is or isn't immoral. It's also both sad and hilarious that people could believe that no one understands God's plan (works in mysterious ways) but also believe they can understand the meaning in his Book? Wow, it kind of makes you want to re-evaluate just who's going to Hell around here.

"In truth the figure is roughly 2%. "

Glad you have the ability to read minds. No one could ever know this answer is even remotely correct. Nor is the 10% for that matter or any other number. It's not as simple as just asking a cross-section of people nor is it as easy as finding out Ethnicity. I mean, it's pretty hard to hide Asian and African features. There's no definitive way to look at a person and mark "Gay" on a form. They have to willingly admit to it..and with morons like this guy above..you can bet most won't be coming out of the closet anytime soon.

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hordequester's post is the kind of response people make when they don't know how to construct a proper argument, or are too biased to assess the facts. But maybe some others will listen.

"Yeah, or they don't want to walk into a movie and hear their sexuality used as a poorly written joke. Just like black people don't want to walk down the street and have some random person call them *beep*"

This is absolutely irrelevant to the point I made. The point I made is that a given demographic doesn't have any right to force the rest of us to approve of their lifestyle choice. They have a right not to be persecuted - but they don't have a right to be agreed with about their (im)morality!

"I find it hilarious (sad) that people that read into a book that teaches acceptance, understanding, and forgiveness; one that also teaches lack of prejudice (cast the first stone), would also simultaneously believe they have the right to decide what God's plan is and what is or isn't immoral."

I find it hilarious that you think I or other Christians are taking it upon ourselves "to decide what God's plan is and what is or isn't immoral." Quite clearly, we are getting those things from the Bible itself - not our own notions. The Bible teaches what it teaches; you're free to reject that, but there are sound reasons to view the Bible as divinely inspired and to base one's life on it.

You know what's incredibly ironic - and moronic - about political correctness? It's that if you believe homosexuality is wrong, you're labeled "homophobic," but if you're pro-gay nobody labels you "Christophobic" or "Biblephobic" or whatever. In other words, if I disagree with you, you accuse me of having a phobia just because I disagree! Talk about irrational.

Ah, but immorality drives us into the arms of irrationality. We want what we want on a moral level, and thus seek to justify ourselves with irrational, emotion-driven arguments.

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How could homosexuality be 'natural' if it doesn't by nature promote propagation of the species?!? Please folks. It's a fetish like any other sexual desire and it's a lifestyle choice, and I have no problem with people doing whatever they want, I've even hired gays at my office, all nice people, but please let's not distort the meaning of the word natural. Thanks.

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Natural you say? Isn't it natural when you are born that way?
It is natural when nature produces it, as far as i know gays are not created in a lab.
You can also find bisexual and homosexual behavior in other mammals: horses, lioness', chimpances, dolphins, etc. oops! even some penguins are gay and they are not mammals!!

You can say a lot of things about homosexuality but you can never say it is not natural. In fact it is so natural that not only humans do it.

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Well, some people are "naturally" born with deformities and various medical conditions, so does that make those things "good," then? Just because something is "natural" doesn't make it good or healthy. Besides, it's never actually been scientifically demonstrated that gays are "born that way." That's a faith position on the part of gays and their supporters.

I have no inclination to persecute gays; I'm just pointing out the reality here.

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whether you like it or not homosexuality is natural, good or bad. You are not contradicting my point.

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[deleted]

"Actually, it is scientifically considered that homosexuality is not natural, as it does not conform to the ordinary course of nature, and conflicts with the purpose of the biological, human design. Anything that deviates from such courses is considered to be a concoction of genetic dysfunction, and psychological and environmental stimuli. Likewise with animals.

Is homosexuality normal? No, because homosexuality doesn't conform to something typical, standard, or expected. This results in inevitable prejudice and discrimination."

Actually, the scientific research [and I mean the type that is published in academic journals] is that humans are naturally bisexual. As was the norm in pre-Christian cultures [Greece, Rome, Britian, Egypt etc.]

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WORD!!!

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Seriously? only 2%, feels more like 20%! I have nothing against gay people, I love my gay friends and many of them are. But I lol'd when he said "smart cars are gay". Sorry, but they are, no man driving a smart car will ever be considered a stud! Not on first impressions anyway.

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WHAT THE FVCK IS A BIEBER????

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You sir are a master with words.

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It's definitely higher than 2%, but likely lower than 10%. You'd be surprised at who is gay. I didn't know one of my coworkers was gay until he and I had been working together over 3 years. And this movie isn't homophobic, it's just stupid and unfunny. It's your typical Vince Vaughn plot without anything new. Since the plot is not based on a comedic situation, it's just not a funny movie. None of the characters are inherently funny, so that also makes it unfunny.

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A few points from a gay well adjusted man.

1. I live in the suburbs and there are more bisexual married men that are having and seeking sex with other men than I ever saw in the 'gay section' of the bigger city.

2. Gay is not a 'chosen' lifestyle. It is a 'chosen' as looking in the mirror and seeing brown eyes at some point in your life and then 'chosing' to have blue eyes ... and bam ... you now have blue eyes.

3. It has been proven that swans mate for life, as with several other species, however there is an area where I live that has many swans (not with clipped wings) in the city. There are a set of lesbian swans, that one goes off and messes with one of the males, and then comes back to her female partner to raise their young. So now did they learn to be gay or were turned out by another gay female swan?

4. This whole foolishness that someone can be turned gay. This is to suggest that somehow the very bases of our core, of sexual desire, can be ... changed by someone introducing you to gay sex. That being said, are we to presume that a true str8 man can be turn.... I THINK NOT... or the ones that have posted here are agreeing that they could be turned out if some gay man puts the moves on them and has sex with them.

I will agree in part with the post that a black man would not like to hear the comment, 'that black car etc is so N word' but I think that there are also some gay men that get there shorts in a bunch over a simple word used this way however there is a back meaning too....MANY of these gay men and women had been or are still being bullied and for them its hurtful.

Last thing, the Bible. It is pointless to argue with someone that brings out the Bible because they have already made up their mind however, God does not make mistakes. He had and has a purpose for each and everyone of us, it is up to us to live a good productive, make a contribution to society and then meet our maker.

I do have one funny thought.

What if all the people that have some bias when they meet their maker, that is what you get. SO for the racist....hee hee God is a (file in the blank) Who said that God looks like a WASP?

Cheers and lets all enjoy our lives and help and be there for one another...

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"Electric cars are nerds "

"Electric cars are punks"

"Electric cars are losers "

The line calls for an adjective you ninny.

"Electric cars are douche "

Doesn't make sense.

"Electric cars are weak "

So is this line. "Gay" works best.

"(hello no creativity) "

People actually use "gay" in that way, whether you like it or not. How about realism?

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No kidding you're not a writer. It's could HAVE.

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Hollywood should stop shoving it's gay agenda down everyone's throat.

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[deleted]

Not sure how it made me a bigot? Do you even know what it means?

Or is it just that you're a real life homo who was cut-up by my "fag" remark? Grow up.

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Or is it just that you're a real life homo who was cut-up by my "fag" remark? Grow up.


It seems that you do not understand what irony is either.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5GZIDnMzZQ Why does Canada need a queen?

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I thought it was funny. Sure, it could have been in bad taste but he goes on to say "not in the homosexual kind of way, but in the my parents are chaperoning the school dance sort of way".

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Using the word "gay" to refer to something "stupid" or "bad" is not just bad taste--it's incredibly demeaning and hurtful. The fact that he qualifies his statement by saying "not in a homosexual kind of way..." completely illustrates the point--it's a baseless, humorless punchline meant to get a reaction out of the handful of unevolved barbarians who still stay stuff is "gay" and "retarded".

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English is a fluid and living language where words can change their meaning over time or even have multiple meanings.

Newsflash, gay is one of those words.

Gay = Happy
Gay = Homosexual
Gay = Pathetic

All are equally valid and acceptable uses. If you think otherwise it is YOU who is the close minded bigot demanding everything stick to only your limited conservative worldview.

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No. If you use the word gay to refer to something that is pathetic then you are a homophobe.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5GZIDnMzZQ Why does Canada need a queen?

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So you are ok with it being used to mean happy?

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I don't think you know the meaning of homophobe...
how is using a word in a different way suddenly make you afraid of fags?

I am equally unafraid of homos after using the word gay to describe something stupid.


when this baby hits eighty-eight... you're gonna see some serious *beep*

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sweiland75 you are a moron! How does using the word gay to describe something pathetic make a person a homophobe? I have been using it in that context long before the gays bought the rights to it.

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by sweiland75 (Sat Apr 2 2011 21:41:59) Ignore this User | Report Abuse

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Don't compare Sheen to retarded people. That's offensive to retarded people.


You use the word "retarded" in a derogatory way.....
The word that describes you is "hypocrite"

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Vince Vaughn is right that cars today (and for me for about forty years!) suck.

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People, people, people. While it's true that they may have intentionally tried to use the gay community as the butt of a joke, I am offended that you are not concerned about the other demographic they are clearly attacking and you have completely missed ... those with prostate problems. It's a growing concern in the elderly and they made a blatant joke about them with the "challenging urination" comment.

The fact that you have completely missed the real issue is full-on homosexual ... for lack of a better word.

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[deleted]

exactly


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5GZIDnMzZQ Why does Canada need a queen?

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I'm an academic and an intellectual in the Archival Science field, and to be perfectly honest, I use words like "retarded" and "gay" ALL the time. Why? Because I'm reasonably young, and anyone who is in the current work force in any sort of capacity that involves interaction with the public at large is going to have their vocabulary impacted and infected.

Words EVOLVE! It's natural in every language for words and idioms to change meaning over time. Think about the word "Gay". Less than 50 years ago, it meant "to be happy, gleeful, optimistic". Simultaneously and increasingly later in the century, it was a term given to homosexuals. Who knows, some guy might have coined the term to refer to a homosexual he was actually FOND of: "Why, Chuck's SO GAY: he's so happy, gleeful and optimistic." It could have started from beginnings as harmless as those to evolve into the quasi-derogatory word it is now.

As the term moved into the late 20th century, the meaning changed to something "crappy, annoying, pessimistic." Who knows if the meaning grew from it's negative association with homosexuals and how they were being viewed by some in society, or if it was a natural evolution: gay is homosexual to homosexual is bad to bad is gay. Just because they use the word in its current form, does not mean that they condone or ascribe to the word's prior or current synonymous meanings. Give me a break!

The exact same thing applies to the use of "retarded". Retarded = impaired, delayed, hindered. Saying, "This traffic jam is friggin RETARDED" does not mean that I hate retarded people. It means at that given moment, I am being delayed, and hindered. It has evolved to mean a variety of things such as: stupid (duh), annoying, inconvenient...and so on.

I was in no way offended and actually think the movie is going to be a fun and potentially insightful trek into a moral dilemma. I think it's going to be better than you think, and will likely appeal to more than the 18-25 year olds. This seems like a 30 - 45 demographic - particularly relevant considering the prevalence of cheating and instances of divorce.

I digress...



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Because I'm reasonably young, and anyone who is in the current work force in any sort of capacity that involves interaction with the public at large is going to have their vocabulary impacted and infected.


I wouldn't, because I am capable of my own critical thinking.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5GZIDnMzZQ Why does Canada need a queen?

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I'm an academic and an intellectual in the Archival Science field, and to be perfectly honest, I use words like "retarded" and "gay" ALL the time. Why? Because I'm reasonably young, and anyone who is in the current work force in any sort of capacity that involves interaction with the public at large is going to have their vocabulary impacted and infected.

Words EVOLVE! It's natural in every language for words and idioms to change meaning over time. Think about the word "Gay". Less than 50 years ago, it meant "to be happy, gleeful, optimistic". Simultaneously and increasingly later in the century, it was a term given to homosexuals. Who knows, some guy might have coined the term to refer to a homosexual he was actually FOND of: "Why, Chuck's SO GAY: he's so happy, gleeful and optimistic." It could have started from beginnings as harmless as those to evolve into the quasi-derogatory word it is now.

(...)

The exact same thing applies to the use of "retarded". Retarded = impaired, delayed, hindered. Saying, "This traffic jam is friggin RETARDED" does not mean that I hate retarded people. It means at that given moment, I am being delayed, and hindered. It has evolved to mean a variety of things such as: stupid (duh), annoying, inconvenient...and so on.



finally someone puts down in words what we are all thinking for finding this thread retarded and gay xD

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[deleted]

[deleted]

[deleted]

Bet $5 you are wrong, and that it will be a low brow comedy appealing to young and/or uneducated/unsophisticated people.
BTW, you are just wrong in your rationalization about current usage of those expressions. The usage for both has clearly negative connotation, with no reference whatsoever to original or alternative meanings. But you know that if you are as academic as you claim. Also, who claims to be an academic, or feels a need to?

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It seems unlikely you are a true academic, because true academics would not feel a need to advertise that fact.
Your logic is suspect as well, in that it is clear that the previous or older meanings of "gay" and "retarded" are not what the modern movie makers mean.
They are looking for cheap laughs so they use middle school (not young adult professional) language. That is the home of both those usages, and still the most common situation in which they occur.
You do deserve brownie points for attempting to appear educated, but it would be better to wait until you actually are educated.
Now, if you really are an archival scientist, why don't you post a quick essay on how you feel about the SAA's attempt to standardize the curriculum in graduate programs, something that isn't catching on as fast as the serious archivists would like.
Is your advanced degree in library or museum studies?

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If you want to convey that you are being delayed then "This traffic jam is retarding" will work, as will "I am retarded by this traffic jam". "This traffic jam is retarded" won't work because that would mean the traffic jam is itself delayed rather than the cause of the delay. The word is being applied as a derogatory reference to mental retardation whether you intend it or not, because that's where the term as used by young people evolved from.

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no it's not demeaning or hurtful for people who aren't morons

Check Out The Loon!
http://www.thenewloon.com

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There is NO other way! Gay is homosexual.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5GZIDnMzZQ Why does Canada need a queen?

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You are wrong. No matter how many times you say it on an internet forum.

But don't take my internet forum word for it, go pick up a dictionary and look it up to see from an official source, gay has many meanings, not just your limited close-minded world view.

While you are at it here are a bunch of other words with more than one meaning, no matter how much you wish it to be otherwise.

*beep* = A bundle of sticks.
Fag = A British slang term for cigarette.
Pouffe = A low seat or cushion for resting ones feet.
Pouf = An 18th century hairstyle.
Dyke = A constructed wall, traditionally made of earth, for holding back water.
Fudge Packer = Someone who works in the confectionary industry.

Now stop being an ignorant, bigotted, hatemonger and embrace the wonderful diversity in the English language.

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[deleted]

God, this thread.

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but electric cars are GAY! lol. but no really his point is more that his car buyers are looking for masculine vehicles not something small and peppy

don't look at me like that! It's not my fault idiot and liberal are such similar words

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Well at the start of The Hangover Phil's voicemail says "Don't text me it's gay". I don't think that The Hangover was lowbrow or homophobic, the line was just used to show what kind of a character Phil is.

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Actually I found THE HANGOVER crass and homophobic too. "Paging Doctor *beep* *beep* that.

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How ironic you think that rejecting something "small and peppy" are not masculine. What is the alternative? The opposite of masculine is feminine. Are you suggesting that, to put it in your words, that being feminine is gay? That would lead me to believe that you are projecting your own latent homosexuality.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5GZIDnMzZQ Why does Canada need a queen?

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masculine is not the same thing as being straight, there is no correlation what-so-ever from me mentioning that a 'character' in a film is using the word 'gay' in a bad light to make a point that his buyers do not want electric cars which are not, sorry to say, the definition of 'masculine cars' in American society. The quote of the character from the film was not meant to be particularly discriminatory but the fact of the matter is that not just the stereotype but the majority of gay men happen not to be particularly large or masculine- masculine in the context that they are not trying to be 'hardcore' and 'tough' and a hundred other adjectives. it is not discriminatory as much as descriptive of a popular trait among gay men

don't look at me like that! It's not my fault idiot and liberal are such similar words

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There's more to it than that. Using gay as an insult only makes homosexuality look like a joke to people rather than a serious thing. And in a time where people still think it's a choice and are completely prejudice against gay people it IS more than 'just a word'. It's using a minority as a subject of mockery.

And you might think I'm taking this too far, but it's issues like this that make people afraid to come out as being gay, or have a difficult time trying to live their lives being gay. Think about it.

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"One death is a tragedy, a million is a statistic." - Stalin

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I agree with quinn. I'm gay myself, and it is frustrating to constantly hear it used in a negative way. What if your name was Fred, and instead of people saying "that's so stupid" they said "that's so Fred." Trust me, it wouldn't feel good.

Hilary Duff did a great PSA about it a couple years ago: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVicCD8FmMs

"I was tired of January... tired of June... I felt a change a coming..."

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Listen, I'm gay and definitely not offended by it... and the lesbian actor, Queen Latifa, didn't seem too offended either. It's funny. C'mon!

Hot Girls First Time: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VP3OhLS_C4M

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That's great that you're gay and not offended by it. Good for you. But I am offended and have every right to be. Not all gay people are the same.

"I was tired of January... tired of June... I felt a change a coming..."

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[deleted]

[deleted]

[deleted]

Don't confuse mc bore with correct grammar.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5GZIDnMzZQ Why does Canada need a queen?

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Dude, that's complete obfuscation. Of course it's intended to mean "Homosexual". I doubt he's meaning the cars are happy. And using "Gay" as a substitute for "lame" is homophobic, end of story.

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[deleted]