> The thing is this: "gay" has been used to mean "bad" > for a long time > now. It's ingrained into the culture. Every > morning I wake up, I get > to be reminded, "Oh yeah, that's right, my own > culture says that I'm a > bad person for simply being alive". > > It's not just one time by one stranger on one > mailing list. But every > time reminds me of all the other times. I didn't > choose to be who I > am, but each one of us can choose what we type in an > email, whether or > not to edit it before we send it, and whether or not > to send it at > all. > > Common courtesy and kindness to others takes just a > few seconds of > your day but it makes life better for everyone. It's also been used to mean "Happy" and similar even longer. Words can have more than one meaning and it doesn't mean that all meanings are on in the same. I don't assume all gay people are happy go lucky or even pleasant. I'm bisexual and if someone saw something dumb and said "Oh man, that's Bi" I see no reason at all that I would take offense. I'm also white. WHen someone says they told a "LIttle white lie" I don't get upset and berate them for saying all whites are liars or that being white is the same as being a liar. I take words in their context, I undertsand what people mean and I don't let something as small the way someone combines their gutteral noises knock me off kilter.