I’m a big advocate for human rights.
As I’ve said before, gay rights really equal human rights.
That’s why when I came across this flowchart on Facebook yesterday, I just had to share (click image to open in a new window):
Also, be sure to watch Ash Beckham’s 5-minute Ignite Boulder talk (embedded in the original blog post) as well as below:
A lot of what Ash said in her 5-minute talk stood out to me.
I especially loved this quote, starting at 2 minutes, 14 seconds into her talk: “You can legislate tolerance; you can’t legislate acceptance.” Think about it.
I also really love that she addresses the fact that most often when people misuse the word gay, it’s not because of hate or bigotry, but due to laziness: “It’s a really easy word to throw in, but it’s not what you are trying to convey.”
What are you doing to eliminiate the pejorative use of the word gay from your lexicon and/or that of those around you? As I mentioned with disabled vs. differently abled, words do matter.
One way you can prevent the misuse of the word gay is to not be bystander when someone uses it incorrectly in your presence. The next time you here someone use gay to describe something that is stupid, unfair, irritating, or eccentric, don’t let them get away with it. Address them. Tell them why it’s wrong. Send them the link to this flowchart.
Again, words do matter.
Thanks Ash for reminding us about this. Thanks Mike Metcalf and DegreeSearch.org for creating such an awesome flowchart.
DJ Waldow
Waldow Social
@djwaldow
