On Gus
- Thread starter S.M.G
- Start date
1. I think it's a wonderful thing. It's sad how much stigma we place on sexual orientation still.
2. I don't know, I think the future will tell. Hopefully it'll make some younger kids stop and relize the impact of their words.
3. Hopefully people will realize how painful it is to hide a part of themselves, and have the courage to be out Nd be the,selves.
2. I don't know, I think the future will tell. Hopefully it'll make some younger kids stop and relize the impact of their words.
3. Hopefully people will realize how painful it is to hide a part of themselves, and have the courage to be out Nd be the,selves.
el_mn_op
Member
"Why does this get so much attention when soldiers are dying in Iraq? They're the REal brave ones!"
"Omg he's so hot...he's perfect. But like, how could he not be gay?"
^Some commentary from my gay roommate lol
On a serious note. One thing that bothered me about the ESPN article was a preface at the beginning that said, "This story is part of ESPN's ongoing series exploring what it means to be an openly gay athlete in the post-acceptance world." I don't think that we live in a post-acceptance world; parts of this world, yes, but certainly not the entirety of it.
I think that having an openly gay role model in Gus will have an impact for a lot of individuals. Will it set off a widespread change in the entire ski community? I don't know. People seem to believe what they believe regardless of greater knowledge or whatnot. I do like to think that perhaps younger kids, and older, will think twice before they use homosexual terms in a derogatory way.
"Omg he's so hot...he's perfect. But like, how could he not be gay?"
^Some commentary from my gay roommate lol
On a serious note. One thing that bothered me about the ESPN article was a preface at the beginning that said, "This story is part of ESPN's ongoing series exploring what it means to be an openly gay athlete in the post-acceptance world." I don't think that we live in a post-acceptance world; parts of this world, yes, but certainly not the entirety of it.
I think that having an openly gay role model in Gus will have an impact for a lot of individuals. Will it set off a widespread change in the entire ski community? I don't know. People seem to believe what they believe regardless of greater knowledge or whatnot. I do like to think that perhaps younger kids, and older, will think twice before they use homosexual terms in a derogatory way.
I didn't read the ESPN article so excuse my ignorance on that. I just read what Twig posted and read what Gus had to say.
Holy fuck! I dunno, I was so stoked for him and stoked on the support that came from NS. Theres always a handful of haters but like 100% of what I've seen has been positive and encouraging. What more could you ask for? (rhetorical question, I realize it's not like this everywhere)
Anyways, I think it's great. It really shouldn't be a huge deal to come out. People should be able to be who they are without announcing it. I suppose we will get there with time
Im blown away at how much support has come from the ski community though. It's rad as fuck and makes me damn proud to be a part of such a kick ass group of people.
Holy fuck! I dunno, I was so stoked for him and stoked on the support that came from NS. Theres always a handful of haters but like 100% of what I've seen has been positive and encouraging. What more could you ask for? (rhetorical question, I realize it's not like this everywhere)
Anyways, I think it's great. It really shouldn't be a huge deal to come out. People should be able to be who they are without announcing it. I suppose we will get there with time
Im blown away at how much support has come from the ski community though. It's rad as fuck and makes me damn proud to be a part of such a kick ass group of people.
Cyanicenine
Member
Living in such a liberal part of the country here in Seattle (recently voted most LGBT friendly city in the US!), it just seems like such a non issue. It shouldn't be a big deal if he is or isn't, why does anyone care? That's my personal feeling, but I've grown up in a very accepting place and had tons of LGBT people in my life.
I know however, that plenty of other parts of this country aren't like here, and there is probably some skier kid in a conservative small town somewhere who feels a little less like he has to hide who he/she is. For that I suppose it's a good thing to do until we can finally reach a time when sexual orientation becomes a non issue in every part of the world.
As a side note I don't think people will stop using the word "gay" I occasionally use it myself. I think it can be used in a non derogatory way in the same way when someone uses the word "retarded" they don't mean to disparage those with special needs, or the word gypped, which was once a bigoted comment about gypsies.
I know however, that plenty of other parts of this country aren't like here, and there is probably some skier kid in a conservative small town somewhere who feels a little less like he has to hide who he/she is. For that I suppose it's a good thing to do until we can finally reach a time when sexual orientation becomes a non issue in every part of the world.
As a side note I don't think people will stop using the word "gay" I occasionally use it myself. I think it can be used in a non derogatory way in the same way when someone uses the word "retarded" they don't mean to disparage those with special needs, or the word gypped, which was once a bigoted comment about gypsies.
13528327:Cyanicenine said:
Holy shit I had never known that lol.
On the topic of like word choice.
I DON'T GET IT. I have a lesbian friend, she calls herself a fa**ot and all that(very lighthearted). When she sees something she doesn't like she calls it gay. I just don't get it. Is this one of those things where black people can call each other their nigg*s but as soon as a white person does it it's racist? lol.
I do get that if you were harassed using these terms(used with the intent of harming someone) then I can understand why it would be offensive.
I mean people used to call me a dago because I wasn't an American citizen at the time. So like yeah that sucks a lot but like it doesn't need to be a bad thing. Hell fucking yeah I'm Italian and I'm damn proud of it. It's one of those things that you gotta be proud of and shove back in someone's face. Don't let people's choice of words fuck with ya.
It's different for everyone I suppose. There's always gonna be those people out there who are gonna try and put people down, just gotta stand up for who you are. I feel like that goes a lot farther than telling someone they shouldn't/can't use a certain word.
LynxNation
Member
To quote Doug Bishop, "But that is the whole point - the fact is the word you're using means something negative. Sure it may not hold meaning to you, but it does hold meaning to someone who is gay. I mean if Everyone started saying "Dude, I Bishop'd that shit" meaning they were a total fuckup.... at a certain point even if they didn't really mean it towards me it'd kind of hurt. Imagine everyone constantly saying that around you? It'd suck."
Just because it means nothing to you, or a friend, does not take away the negative connotations of the meaning. I try my hardest not to say anything offensive along those lines because I know people who have been hurt by it. If you're saying something is "gay" which in your mind means lame, stupid, something negative, it's relaying back to why that would be so hurtful to someone who would be gay.
Just because it means nothing to you, or a friend, does not take away the negative connotations of the meaning. I try my hardest not to say anything offensive along those lines because I know people who have been hurt by it. If you're saying something is "gay" which in your mind means lame, stupid, something negative, it's relaying back to why that would be so hurtful to someone who would be gay.
Cyanicenine
Member
So I've been mulling this over for the last few days, trying to isolate what it is exactly that I don't like about banning the use of the word gay, and I came to a couple of conclusions.
First is that I don't like the cherry picking. There are so many potentially offensive words in the english language, many of which go completely unnoticed. For example how many of you are okay with using the words bitch, cunt, pussy, slut, I could go on... The number of words that are with out a doubt sexist and bigoted against women in their origin are numerous. Do we ban the use of these words? Have you personally been offended by the use of these words? For me the answer is yes and no. Yes when there was ill intent behind the use, no when the context obviously meant no ill intent. For me that's what this all ultimately comes down to, intent and context. Any word can be offensive if that's the intent behind it.
Secondly what unnerves me is simple freedom of speech. If we are unable to articulate ourselves because we are in constant fear of offending someone, constantly needing to walk the narrow path of what is considered PC, we are worse off for it.
A perfect example of our society being worse off from too much political correctness is the fact that comedians won't work college campuses:
Comedians offer some of the best insights into the flaws and illogical workings of our society. People like George Carlin and John Stewart have been immeasurable in the contribution to the collective consciousness. Yet the embracing of political correctness would prevent this. Sometimes it's good to be offended, sometimes we need to, to make a point. I think we are worse off as a world if we cut ourselves off from being potentially offended, potentially challenged in our beliefs. I personally, do not want to live in a world where people are walking on PC eggshells.
Link to the article about comedians:http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/09/thats-not-funny/399335/
First is that I don't like the cherry picking. There are so many potentially offensive words in the english language, many of which go completely unnoticed. For example how many of you are okay with using the words bitch, cunt, pussy, slut, I could go on... The number of words that are with out a doubt sexist and bigoted against women in their origin are numerous. Do we ban the use of these words? Have you personally been offended by the use of these words? For me the answer is yes and no. Yes when there was ill intent behind the use, no when the context obviously meant no ill intent. For me that's what this all ultimately comes down to, intent and context. Any word can be offensive if that's the intent behind it.
Secondly what unnerves me is simple freedom of speech. If we are unable to articulate ourselves because we are in constant fear of offending someone, constantly needing to walk the narrow path of what is considered PC, we are worse off for it.
A perfect example of our society being worse off from too much political correctness is the fact that comedians won't work college campuses:
Comedians offer some of the best insights into the flaws and illogical workings of our society. People like George Carlin and John Stewart have been immeasurable in the contribution to the collective consciousness. Yet the embracing of political correctness would prevent this. Sometimes it's good to be offended, sometimes we need to, to make a point. I think we are worse off as a world if we cut ourselves off from being potentially offended, potentially challenged in our beliefs. I personally, do not want to live in a world where people are walking on PC eggshells.
Link to the article about comedians:http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/09/thats-not-funny/399335/
neutralzombie
Active member
i'm sort of glad we can talk about, but i really don't understand why his sexuality is such a huge deal... gay, straight, hes human, he skis, hes good at what he does. i don't give a fuck who he fucks.