The widely publicized incident involving Francisco Nava ’09’s e-mail threats and faked assault is over, and it is no one’s business either to personally condemn or to vindicate him. But there is still something to learn from the initial response ...(back to the article)
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I don't understand this article at all. How in the world can you blame McGinley for his initial article? All the news reports were unanimous...Nava did not let on anything about his mental instability to any of the Anscombe folks, and McGinley had absolutely no reason NOT to believe Nava. At the time, he had every reason to believe that what Nava said was true. The fact that he wrote an inaccurate article is simply a result of the fact that Nava deceived him. I find it extraordinarily irresponsible that people are blaming him. Also, the claim that the term "homosexual" is taboo is ludicrous. "Homosexual" is used by almost everyone, on both sides of the political spectrum. If Denz wants that to change, he can lobby for change. But he can't just make up a rule like he does here, and proclaim that people who haven't heard of this new speech protocol are homophobes. I think there's a valid case to be made, too, that while "homosexual" describes an orientation, "gay" is most often used when referring to various political movements, etc.
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http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2008/01/09/19759/
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great article. still waiting for complete apology from mcginley. hope he has the cajones to do so in his next column. in general it's a good idea to use the term preferred by the group in question. at one point "negro" was the preferred term of the group it was intended for, but it would be offensive nowadays. now many in the same group prefer black or african american. same logic holds for homosexual vs. gay. use gay if that's what the majority of that group prefer. simple common courtesy.
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The proper term is gay. Homosexual is insulting because it is used in lie lieu of gay by religionists who opppose equal rights for gays.
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I agree with Bryan. Does the author find the word 'heterosexual' insulting as well and, if so, why?
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Well said. Thanks for clearing things up in a fair and even manner without undeservedly bashing anyone. My only issue with your article is with the claim that the phrase 'homosexual' is an insult because of its history. While the term may have had a tumultuous history, it is in common usage today and nothing about the makeup of the word itself implies a value judgment. What word would you have us use instead? If we were to stop using every word that was at one time used in a derogatory manner it would be very hard to find the words to speak. But otherwise, great article.
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