You know, it's weird because I remember being completely blind in regards to race and gender when I was little. When I was in kindergarten, I played with boys and girls of all races without thinking they were any different, and my best friends, the neighbor kids next door, were black. Skin color was like the difference between different color eyes, and I remember being confused and upset when I learned as a kid about racism. As I grew up, it became harder and harder to not to notice race. It's not a matter of feeling negatively toward people of other races, but I am conscious of the societal weight behind the concept of race, all the historical and cultural implications of it. I feel we won't be truly free from this tension until we can interact like I did with people when I was small - not just treating people equally, but not caring to differentiate between them.
That assumes that you didn't absorb racist cultural behaviorisms from others (say, those responsible for your upbringing), and enact them unawares. Unfortunately, most people do. Often people of foo-privilege claim to be foo-blind, when in fact they are fooism-blind.
Consider that thing that you are particularly sensitive about. Whatever it was that people made/make fun of you for. The thing that sets you apart from seemingly everyone else, in a negative way. Now imagine that stigma being used by a large majority synonymously with negativity. Regardless of the fact that most people will use it "innocently" with no ill intent, there are others who are more malicious and those experiences generally make a larger impact in the psyche. So everyone else using it too becomes a real PITA, unless you eventually come to terms with the fact that people are stupid and aren't worth giving a fuck about.
Everyone has their own set of connotations regarding language. For the most part, if someone finds my word choice upsetting due to their personal experience, I will avoid using those words around them. I have little respect for those who insist on knowingly using said words around said people, as they are typically self-centered, self-righteous, and thoughtless.
That assumes that you didn't absorb racist cultural behaviorisms from others (say, those responsible for your upbringing), and enact them unawares. Unfortunately, most people do. Often people of foo-privilege claim to be foo-blind, when in fact they are fooism-blind.
I dunno, I think it is a tribute to my parents that I was oblivious that skin color meant anything other than, well, skin color. I think it was more that when I was 5, I tended to view people as only individuals, and any differences were merely differences between two people. To that kind of thought process, race and gender are not the cultural signifiers that they become when viewed through the lens of grown-up society. For good or for ill, race means something to most people, if just for the fact that it represents a culture, a history.
I'll stop saying retard when faggot ceases to be the internet's favorite word ever (which means never and I have no intention of doing any such thing but I'm coaching this in some faux morality).
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Consider that thing that you are particularly sensitive about. Whatever it was that people made/make fun of you for. The thing that sets you apart from seemingly everyone else, in a negative way. Now imagine that stigma being used by a large majority synonymously with negativity. Regardless of the fact that most people will use it "innocently" with no ill intent, there are others who are more malicious and those experiences generally make a larger impact in the psyche. So everyone else using it too becomes a real PITA, unless you eventually come to terms with the fact that people are stupid and aren't worth giving a fuck about.
Everyone has their own set of connotations regarding language. For the most part, if someone finds my word choice upsetting due to their personal experience, I will avoid using those words around them. I have little respect for those who insist on knowingly using said words around said people, as they are typically self-centered, self-righteous, and thoughtless.