Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Knock it off


    This week, a full-page ad in The New York Times called out those who describe something that is “dumb” or “stupid” as “gay,” even if the user has no intention of referencing homosexuals. Their ad was a reminder that using terms thoughtlessly can be hurtful to friends, relatives and colleagues, adults and children. It is a lesson we should all heed.
    The Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN) is an organization of students, parents and teachers whose goal is to effect positive changes by working with students in schools.
    It seems as though by the year 2014 we would have learned that “political correctness” is no more than the avoidance of rude, mindlessly cruel terms. It should be unnecessary to put ads in The New York Times, or to launch anti-bullying programs.  In fact, we have not learned to ThinkB4YouSpeak, the name of GLSEN’s website.
    Nor is bullying restricted to middle-school students. One house of the Tennessee Legislature actually approved a measure that would have required teachers to notify the parents of students they assumed, even guessed, are gay. Thankfully, the other house thought before they agreed with that vote.
    Those who can’t be bothered to think before they speak, who want to use words they please without considering where the terms came from or to whom they might be offensive, still need a point-blank admonition. When it comes to mindlessly hurtful slang, or politically incorrect labels, it is time to just knock it off.




About Comments

Comments with content that seeks to incite or inflame may be removed.

Comments that are in ALL CAPS may be removed.

Comments that are off-topic or that include profanity or personal attacks, libelous or other inappropriate material may be removed from the site. Entries that are unsigned or contain signatures by someone other than the actual author may be removed. We will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or any other policies governing this site. Use of this system denotes full acceptance of these conditions. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.

The comments below are from the readers of mtexpress.com and in no way represent the views of Express Publishing, Inc.

You may flag individual comments. You may also report an inappropriate or offensive comment by clicking here.

Flagging Comments: Flagging a comment tells a site administrator that a comment is inappropriate. You can find the flag option by pointing the mouse over the comment and clicking the 'Flag' link.

Flagging a comment is only counted once per person, and you won't need to do it multiple times.

Proper Flagging Guidelines: Every site has a different commenting policy - be sure to review the policy for this site before flagging comments. In general these types of comments should be flagged:

  • Spam
  • Ones violating this site's commenting policy
  • Clearly unrelated
  • Personal attacks on others
Comments should not be flagged for:
  • Disagreeing with the content
  • Being in a dispute with the commenter

Popular Comment Threads



 Local Weather 
Search archives:


Copyright © 2024 Express Publishing Inc.   Terms of Use   Privacy Policy
All Rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Express Publishing Inc. is prohibited. 

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.