The Same Old “Faggot” Dialogue

You may have heard about GLAAD and Jake Shears lashing out at rapper/singer Azealia Banks for calling a certain blogger a “messy faggot”… A certain blogger who previously called someone a “faggot”, then justified it by saying it was “the worst possible thing that thug would ever want to hear” (because, according to him, all black people are apparently thugs).

One blog noted that the outrage against Azealia’s tweets doesn’t measure up to the response to Dan Savage, who used the very same word earlier this year to belittle members of GOProud. Some might argue that it’s all about context, intent and the voice behind the slur. Did Savage have the right to use “faggot” in a derogatory manner because he’s a gay male? Meh, not really.

Azealia, of course, didn’t help her case when she wrote, “A faggot is not a homosexual male. A faggot is any male who acts like a female. There’s a BIG difference.” O RLY!?!? We’ve heard this justification time and time again, and the logic just doesn’t hold up. This school of thought perpetuates the idea that men with feminine qualities are inherently bad or inferior.

It’s bullshit, but hey, she had some other answers.

She apologized to anyone who was indirectly offended by her “foul language”. She pulled the bisexual card. She went on to state that she’s never gotten as much attention for using other slurs, even though kids are bullied and tortured with them too.

At the end of the day, this is all just fucking ridiculous! Azealia’s a mess, GLAAD’s a mess, and we’re all a mess for not being able to care about hate speech until it’s thrown at a tired, washed-up gossip columnist who hasn’t had anything original to say in a zillion years. Hell, I’m a mess for even bothering to write this post, but I guess I just wanted to open up this dialogue for the 987th time on this blog…

Is there ever a “right time” to call someone a “faggot”? Let’s discuss.

- Dewitt