The Joy of Renting

[solarbird]

Prospective tenant 1 says, "How's reception up here, anyway?"
Prospective tenant 2 says, "It's good - mine's going strong."
Solarbird starts to say at the same time, "It's spotty - depends upon your company" but is interrupted.
Prospective tenant 1 says, "Mine's sucking - my cell phone company is so gay."
Solarbird interjects, "HI, I'M A DYKE. Using gay as a pejorative? Kinda dumb."
Prospective tenant 1 "Oh, wow, sorry, I totally didn't mean that."

Comments

Gay...

[shadarack.livejournal.com]

I have actually heard this quote, and I loved it!

"That's gay! And in a straight way, too!"

So. Don't take it as offensive for a straight person to say "That's gay..." Because they don't mean homosexual. They mean happy!

*giggles*

[banner.livejournal.com]

now THAT was a good come back! :-)

I am so tired of hearing the 'X is so gay' line.

[backrubbear.livejournal.com]

As opposed to Margaret Cho's "So the gay!" skit?

[marzipan-pig.livejournal.com]

somehow I think of you as 'queer' rather than 'a dyke' but perhaps I have some kind of limitation on how I use words or something. heh.

[cafiorello.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Trying to break my son of this. Any ideas how to stop a 13-year-old boy from using 'gay' as an insult, taking into account peer pressure and teen rebellion? We're ruled out electric shock. ;)
Cathy

[firni.livejournal.com]

First time I read that, I thought it said "the joy of ranting" and I was trying to figure out why it wasn't in Peeves.

[firni.livejournal.com]

I don't think it's possible, because I know "boys" in their 40s who still use it.

[solarbird]

Had more impact that way. ^_^

The next two lines were kind of interesting.

Solarbird (while walking past him): "Well, actually, I'm bi, but I fell in love with a girl."
Prospective Tenant 1 smiles a little embarassedly: "Yeah - that happens."

[poetry-lady.livejournal.com]

That's so "boy". That's so /name/. ??

Alternatively, you could say, "That's interesting that you find this a happy thing. Why is that?" Reinforce the "happy" meaning.

Another alternative, you could say "No, I think it's more of a human thing, not just one group."

(Or, I could be way off base. Anyone?)

[chipmunck.livejournal.com]

You know, You just brought up an intesting issue for me. Poeple think I am automaticly strait because I married a Man. But I am bisexual.
I get offended when Friends call me strait.. they are like "Well, your with a guy, so your strait" Gawww.. no I AM NOT! (I got this from a gay person once.. I can't remember who it was though)

[pobig.livejournal.com]

At the game company I worked at, the epithet of choice was split between "that's gay!" and "that's drunk!"

[gazerwolf.livejournal.com]

Oh..thats gonna be a hard one. It will take outsmarting him I suspect....and with your kid., not an easy thing to do.

Then again...you could go the route of having an adult discussion about it.

Possible topics:
Do you really like insulting thousands of people you don't know?

If you are going to insult somebody come up with something that is actually insulting.

(I like the second one best myself...heck it would probably be a lot easier to convince him that he can do a better job at insulting people...make it a matter of pride) 8->

[cafiorello.livejournal.com]

Oh, I like the second one too! I may combine it with poetry_lady's clever suggestion about it meaning happy.

"Gee, , what's happy about it? Oh, you meant it as an insult? Well, I'm sure you can come up with something that's not so ambiguous."

It worked for bitch--sometimes he calls me a harridan now. I figure any insult that a) will help him on his SATs, and b) the average person won't get, is a good choice!
Cathy

PS--still laughing about the outsmarting comment. We have to count on "old age and experience beating youth and guile"....

[solarbird]

That's so /name/.
<giggles> My school had a local insult: That's so Jake.

And yeah, Jake was just this guy at school. Another student, even. Long gone, too - but his reputation survived him.