CAPS #3

A non-dominant group that is all over the news and politics lately is that of the gay community.  It seems as though being a gay American may be one of the toughest labels to have in what we like to think of as a rather modern day in age.  I took this blog prompt and began looking for anything to do with “gay bashing”, with the current possible laws starting up in Arizona I assumed there would be several articles dealing with the topic.  What I found though is, the topic is somewhat hush-hush.  It seems as if people are scared to use any negative labels towards the LBGTQ group as a matter of image, so any time I came across something that seem fitting for this blog there would be a statement to follow taking back anything and not much else on the topic.  That was until I found SEVERAL articles focusing on a recent run in with the paparazzi and Alex Baldwin.  To summarize these articles in short, Alec has been followed to a rather great extent by the paparazzi and in an attempt to get away from them and over come with anger Alec screamed “motherf-ing faggot”.  This stirred up a big mess for himself and the gay community.  Not only were people in the LBGTQ community furious, but they declared him a bigot and want his career ended.

          

       For an gay american, when someone uses  the word “faggot” they feel incredibly insulted.  It is a labeled work that has a lot of hate and discrimination built into it. It is not only the fact that the gay community takes offense to the word but that many people in our culture use the word as an insult or as a joke.  In an article on Huffington post, the writer discusses how their younger cousins tweeted “I support gay marriage, but I will never stop calling my friends faggots”, he then goes on to say that it was not only an ignorant comment but he is accepting the fact that he will continue to make the gay community the butt of his jokes.  In a huffington post blog, written by Lucas Waldron, he describes what significance the word "faggot" has with the gay community, he goes on to say:

     "Words like "faggot" are used to demean people who do not fit into the hypermasculine framework of our culture's power structure. The college-aged men who casually incorporate "faggot" into their vocabulary have never experienced the violence that their words create and therefore find it acceptable to call each other "faggot" and still claim to not be inherently homophobic." 

 (Waldron, 2013)

     Another huffington post article, In defense of Alec Baldwin, argues that Alec Baldwin is a good man, and the author, Lady Bunny, had met him personally and believes he is in no way a bigot.  The argument is that he said something out of anger after a stressful court case, but this wasn't the first time it happened.  According to a foxnews.com article, Baldwin has had several other cases of gay bashing and using the word "fag" or "faggot".  Why do we feel it is acceptable to use this word in fits of anger or in a joking manner? Is it because he is a beloved social figure and a tv/movie star?  The power of a label is something that we would like to believe is dying in our culture, but that may not be the case.  A group that faces so much already and is still fighting for their equal rights should not have to endure the use of such awful labels just because our culture feels it is ok.

In

References

Bunny, L. (2014, 02 25). In defense of alec baldwin. Retrieved from 

       http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lady-bunny/in-defence-of-alec-bladwin_b_4855854.html

Waldron, L. (2013, 09 04). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lucas-waldron/a-critical-response-to-faggot-calling-culture_b_3853380.html

N/A. (2013, 11 15). Alec baldwin apologizes for hurling 'anti-gay epithet' at photographer. Retrieved from http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2013/11/14/alec-baldwin-hurls-anti-gay-epithet-at-photographer/