Friday, June 29, 2007

Why is "That is so Lame!" Acceptable?

I am very conscious not to use the word "retarded" even though I used it all of the time when I was growing up. I also have used the word "gay" quite a bit, and still do on occasion but make sure what company I am in. Sometimes there is no better description when your brother in law does his hair to look like Ricky Martin and wears a pink polo with the collar turned up.

One word I can say and never fear any repercussions is the word "lame". Which leads me to the question, why are we as a society so cruel to the lame. Are they not people too? When I had shin splints training for the marathon a few years back, my walk was a bit awkward. People called me lame all the time. My coworkers even thought it was cute to call me gimpy. Gimpy for Christ’s sake!!!

So what is my point?! Do I think we should stop calling things lame, like “Baby on Board” signs or “So You Think You Can Dance?”. The answer is no. Please do call them lame. Call them retard and also call them gay. Honestly, who really watches those dance shows. Let us be balanced in our derogatory comments. That is what our forefathers would have wanted it.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

How ironic ... there is only one word to sum up this post, and that word is "lame."

My sister is a lot like you ... still calling people retarded and gay -- a hold over from her childhood. She's not malicious, and has nothing against the mentally challenged or homosexuals -- it's just something she says.

I grew out of it pretty early on, but I think a lot of people in our age group have the same problem with ridding themselves of this habit.