The Internet Needs To Stop Being Such A Homosexual
Look, before we settled on the name Videogum, this site was going to be called Humanrightsgum, so it's not like we don't have healthy respect for the damage that can be caused by hate speech and bigotry, but there's something about this Shia LaBeouf scandal that just doesn't seem right. E! (the arbiter of justice in the world) reports:
A slap across the face from a friend isn't the only thing that left Shia LaBeouf red.A rep for the Indiana Jones star says he's "embarrassed" by a YouTube video that made its way around the Internet yesterday and earlier today. The clip, which has been pulled by YouTube, shows LaBeouf participating in a sophomoric slapping contest with a friend during what appears to be a boozy house party.
LaBeouf successfully provoked his pal to whack him by calling him a "faggot."
A rep for LaBeouf actually had to apologize over this? And say that Shia "regrets having used the word in any capacity and is very embarrassed that this footage is being seen by anyone"? Come on, internet. Can someone please explain to me why no distinction is ever made between the word and the obvious lack of malice behind the word?
Are gay people actually offended by this kind of thing? Do you honestly feel that Shia LaBeouf's drinking game is setting back the gay rights movement? I suppose an argument could be made that children seeing their hero Shia LaBeouf use the word "faggot" on YouTube would make them think it was OK to use the word "faggot" and then they would grow up to hate gay people and pass anti-gay legislation? In general it just seems like we invest a lot of power into words without spending that much time focusing on the meaning behind them. My reaction to a friend calling me a "kike" would be very different from my reaction to a neo-Nazi using the word. So Shia LaBeouf has to apologize over getting drunk and egging someone to slap him in the face (nullus) and Nas has to change the title of his album, while lawmakers and hateful people who've never heard of Shia LaBeouf or Nas go on generating actual hate crimes. I'm open to hearing a counter-argument, I've just yet to find one that's convincing. Reactionary anger towards words when the intention is clearly benign just seems like such misplaced energy. Besides, you know you can't stay mad at this:
Now if you'll excuse me, I just farted my soapbox into a million pieces.
UPDATE: You can watch the controversial video here, if you are interested.
Posted by Gabe at 1:17 PM in Backlashes, Viral Video
Tags: Shia LaBeouf
Do I think Shia LaBeouf hates gay people, no? Does using a word like that imply a belief that gay people are weaker, less valuable? TOTALLY.
This is obviously not scandal worthy, who gives a shit that Shia LaBeouf thinks about anything, but don't make it seem like it's no big deal to use hateful and loaded words like this on THIS site please. I like it here, and would be sad if I had to stop visiting.
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nigga please.
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Dean, this is the same site that used "gay" as a synonym for "retarded" last week, so you should probably lower your expectations of them.
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That is inaccurate. "Gay" and "retarded" are not synonyms, and we would never use them as such.
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Bullshit:
http://www.videogum.com/archives/vlogging/parents-do-you-know-what-your_010215.html
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your gay!
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shia's lack of malice does nothing to take away the fact that the word has historically been used to undermine, persecute, and intimidate lean, effete men from time immemorial (the word was scrawled in bathroom stalls along the bering steight). the fact that he didn't mean it takes nothing away from the historical and personal significance the word has on others upon hearing it.
that said, i call fags fags all the time because i am one so it's ok. DUH.
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The problem is trusting that everybody is able to make the distinction between usage and intent. There are times when using a word like faggot is clearly derogatory, times when it isn't, and times when it's hard to tell. Relying on random person A to understand the context of the situation and reason the intent correctly seems a bit foolhardy, no?
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exactly, and from what i can see in that video, it doesn't seem like he's being very ironic in a "isn't-being-bigoted-so-stupid-it's-what's-funny-not-the-word" kind of way.
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All of this sounds right. For the record, I'm not saying "let's just all use this word all the time because that will be the funniest thing." I guess when these types of stories break, I'm always just frustrated that it doesn't open a larger discussion of the issue. Someone says something, someone else gets mad, and then the first someone apologizes, and that's that. It offers no possibility for change in anyone's mind about anything. A homophobe isn't going to have to rethink his belief system because Shia LaBeouf made a public apology.
Not that I have any better suggestions for how you make homophobes rethink their belief systems.
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excellent, as a sign of good faith, i sign up as a commentor
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What young kid in his teens to mid twenties hasn’t called his friend “faggot”?
What about when a guy says to hid friend “stop acting like a little girl.” Or “you’re acting like a woman.”?
Should we stop doing that?
What about when my black friends call me honkey? Should I be offended, I mean, he’s black and I’m white and honkey has definitely been used in derogatory manner when referring to white people.
My point is, it’s really isn’t a big deal, It’s a guy thing, when you’re young you say stuff like that to challenge your friends to stupid slap and punch games, it doesn’t mean anything, in those instances the history of the word is null and void, get over it and stop being gay (ridiculous).
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If you using the words "faggot" or "gay" doesn't mean anything, then why use them? These words do mean something to people like me who are gay (nullus) and have been called that our entire life. They weren't trying to challenge us to a slap or punch game. More like a "lets beat down your self worth" game. AS you and Shia pointed out "gay" means rediculous and "faggot" mean pussy/weak;not something I want to be characterized as.
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i'm so sick of the gays just looking for any chance to jump on anyone for saying anything offensive. trent from pitnb said he was so offended and is waiting for a real apology rather than the deep regret. WHY? Shia didn't call him a faggot! it was something he said to a friend of his, in the privacy of a house party. He wasn't doing a press conference! whatever people say in their own privacy is their own business and i commend shia for not apologizing for it. as a gay person myself, i couldn't care less about this issue. i saw the video, and thought it was pretty stupid, yet humorous.
to easily offended gays- stop trying to contort everything into a nappy headed ho offense. this is completely different than that situation.
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There is nothing different between Imus and Shia comment. Both were "meant" to be funny. Come on, Black humor is funny, Homo humor-not so much.
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Matthew said: What about when a guy says to hid friend “stop acting like a little girl.” Or “you’re acting like a woman.”?
Should we stop doing that?
Yes. Yes, you should. The implication there is that there is something inherently negative in being a woman and, believe it or not, most women don't feel that way.
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Granted, a guy calling another guy a "little girl" is meant to imply that there's "something inherently negative in being a woman", but... come on. Do you really take offense to this? I've never felt even the slightest sense of outrage when a guy uses a phrase like that around me. It's so old and dumb that it has lost all meaning to me and most women, I would think.
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It's all cause and effect/consequence. Do i care what Shia says, as a gay man myself? Not really. I'm sure he didn't say it out of malice towards gays, in general. But in the time and place we live in, you're stupid if you don't think about what you say in front of a video camera, especially if you're a celebrity. I am a person who sometimes feels that not everyone should have freedom of speech because people say some really stupid shit, both offenders and the offended. As Americans, we are not good listeners. But we live in a society that values freedom of speech, so the consequence of saying something is having someone else have the right to have a response.
However, I agree with John's post. And to Matthew's post, just letting boys be boys is a protest to change and growth.
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“you're stupid if you don't think about what you say in front of a video camera, especially if you're a celebrity.”
If it wasn’t a celebrity who was caught on tape saying this, would they be expected to give a public apology…no.
Why not let “boys be boys”? (Onyx) How is that a protest to growth and change? I would think it promotes growth, hell, if boys want to be girls I’m all for that too.
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That is why I said "especially if you're a celebrity." I don't care if Shia apologizes or not. I don't think anyone made him apologize, but i'm sure he's aware that there might be some backlash if he didn't. That's what I was talking about consequences. And if it wasn't a celebrity, i'm sure there would be some form of response/consequence, not necessarily a public apology.
I don't care if boys are boys. what I mean is giving an excuse---the tired phrase "boys will be boys"---for the use of something that is negative, but slightly accepted, is not a sign of growth. it can be accepted, but doesn't mean its right.
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Also, the only thing you can change is yourself. So if you get tired of hearing the gays, or other minorities complain about sensitivity, you can always just stop using those words/terms and i'm sure people will stop complaining.
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John, but Imus was on the air on his radio show saying that. This was said among friends in his own privacy, not meant to be seen by public. I'm sure if everyone had a minidv camera on them and we could all review it, we would see that everyone says things that aren't politically correct, said in jest or not.
I think john stoessel would say, "Gimme a break!"
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Matthew, how dare you bring John Stossel into this!!!!!! Im enraged!!!!!
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What I find interesting is that the people who usually get upset about things from Shia or Nas are not the people who would potentially be offended, but the reactionaries who turn everything into a story. I'm not a big Shia fan, but wouldn't you be more concerned that he was drunk several years ago (seeing that he only just turned 22) and was possibly underage than calling a friend a "faggot"? No? Oh, well I guess it's just me.
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So why don't celebrities have to apologize to people born out of wedlock when they use the word “bastard”? Words evolve and connotation becomes much more important then definition.
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I actually have to agree. It's retarded anyone cares what Shia Lebouf said on a leaked internet video (disclosure: I am homo).
However, I don't know if I think it's right to lump Nas in with this example. If Shia Lebeuf released an album called "faggot" I may be offended, but I think a YouTube clip is totally a moot point. While Nas may be using the term for artistic affect and shock and it is his people and all, you have to realize that this will lead to whities who love his music to go around innapropriately saying "nigger", even if it was originally intended for artistic effect and probably for a black audience. I don't really think an unnoficially leaked youtube merits the same level of intention of scrutiny or professional acknowledgement, because if anything it's just embarrassing to all involved and holds very little weight in the actual world. If he had just ignored the video, it would mean less, but by acknowledging it and making an official apology, it's almost as if he is saying "Yes, I hate fags. You found out my secret, I am sorry. I said the word with totally malicious intent."
Also, I think the idea of Shia Lebeof in a "slap fight" (which sounds pretty girly in itself) while calling someone faggot is kind of hot, even if the video sucks. It's like a lame excuse for guys to touch eachother under the guise of performed heterosexuality... I swear I've seen porn like this.
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This really isn't a big deal BUT you have to remember that gays are struggling to gain equality and with any civil rights movement you have to stand against the use of words used to denigrate the group. This IS a word used to denigrate. If Shia isn't sorry, I don't want to hear an apology. Judging by the picture posted, I think he'll enjoy the attention he gets regardless of how people react. Does he have a stocking on his head?
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I volunteer with LGBT youth, most of whom are called 'faggot' on a daily basis, and I guarantee you that they're hurt when they hear a mainstream cultural figure use that word as a synonym for 'asshole.' It's a slur, it hurts people, and it's entirely appropriate for someone to apologize when their use of it becomes public.
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The dubious distinction between word and intent is always the first excuse made -- usually as a semantic argument that "faggot" isn't necessarily a slur against homosexuals. Are you suggesting that "reactionary anger" is the only real reason the word has so much power? Your intellectualization of the word/meaning might help you get around the offense it causes to some, but it's hard (nullus) not to see how loaded it is when even in a "clearly benign" video it is the word "faggot" that elicits the intended (violent) reaction.
Of course Shia using the word will probably not result in a deadly hate crime. But when you set the bar that high (low), how would "scandals" about one word ever -- gay-fart!
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I think that everyone is missing the point of this story, and that is that we should all just give up using play ground insults that offend people and man (or woman up) up and apologize, publicly.
I'll start:
On more than one occasion I have called women dykes, mug runchers, furry bowl soup eaters and the like... I apologize.
On more than one occasion I have used the word gay as a pejorative and for this I'm embarrassed, and I apologize.
Several times in my life I have called someone, with intent to insult them, spastic, retarded, crippled etc. This is unforgivable, but I hope you accept my sincerest apology.
I have used several racial slurs, which I will not repeat here. I want to make clear that I've never done this with any malice or intent to make someone feel inferior or oppressed. However, I still feel again embarrassed and I apologize.
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I'm done... wow, that was liberating in an AA 12 steps sort of way.
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"Faggot" is always used in a derogatory way, unless it's between two gay guys ironically, sort-of-but-not-really how black people use the N word with each other. Now what you think about that sort of usage is up to you, but faggot is definitely derogatory and hurtful to the gay community. Why do you think straight guys use the word faggot to piss each other off or to embarrass each other? Because it works! That's one of the words that will get a guy riled up the most quickly, because it questions their sexuality and macho-ness and directly hurts their ego. Using the implication that someone is gay to do that just doesn't help anyone and serves to keep homophobia alive and well in the world... which is unfortunate. I thought Josh Homme was better than this- lashing out like a middle schooler. Pathetic.
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My biggest complaints are: 1.) He was a kid, like 15 years old, he wasn't doing anything different from what most of us do in our own homes. 2.) if he was playing a character and made the remark, it would be totally acceptable. Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt, still holds truth.
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