I really feel like stereotypes and racism and sexism and general hatred needs to be addressed. My view point is if it exists you mine as well make a joke of it. You mine as well laugh about it because when you do, you take the negative power away. I think shows like Family Guy actually have a something going by poking fun at these kinds of issues. They make really offensive things into jokes and I think that's really the only way to handle it. Hatred will always exist, but when you make light of the situation it makes it less vicious in a way. Now obviously theres a difference between making jokes about something in a good hearted way, and being down right spiteful. Obviously I think theres something very wrong when people say hateful things and mean them hatefully. But when you start to joke about these things it's a way of reclaiming the offensive terms. Because in my opinion offensive words aren't offensive you if aren't using them in that context. For instance what does calling someone a fag who isn't really a homosexual really do? The term is already offensive, and may always be offensive to certain people but it doesn't have to be. Our emotions and feelings are what make words offensive in the first place. Because when it comes down to it words are words. They are all comprised of 26 different letters and have no meaning until we give them meaning. If we brush them off and laugh along, the insulting terms or phrases eventually become powerless. Take the word leg for example, in the 16th and 17th centuries legs were so private it was considered a swear word. People were genuinely appalled by the word, the way some people today are appalled by the terms vagina or penis. (which really does not make sense to me, and never will, but nonetheless...) This shows the shift in the general consensus of what is seen as taboo. As the years go by words fall out out of use for various reasons, one being that we no longer place high value on the particular insult or term. Obviously legs are no longer obscene, therefore it is no longer considered a curse word. In the 18th century the word damn was a particularly sensitive word, so much that it would generally be written d--m. But sensitivities change and that is a rather mild term being used without a second thought. The word occupy is another example that, at the time, was used to describe the act of sexual penetration. This shows that words are always evolving and changing. So if in time words change why can't we skip that process and change them ourselves? Reclaim them. If we are all able to laugh about our stereotypes, it takes the demeaning aspects away. Once a bee stings you, it dies, this can be the same for language. Let the pain hurt you for a while, but watch it be killed and laugh as a result. We hold the power, not the words. We have the ability change and redefine them as we please so why not? Derogatory terms don't have to exist, we make them exist. So for as long as they're around the best thing to do is laugh it off. The people who are trying to be hateful won't be able to stand it, and the people who agree will appreciate it.
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