being offended

[YGIFS 19450]

whatever, gay-wad.  

We actually called that game "Bombardment."  Pretty sure we used homo and fag but we didn't know why.  Our schools were way too ethnically diverse to toss around ethnic/racial slurs.  Except in Chicago, there's an unwritten rule, the whites can use slurs on other whites, and boy did they ever.  My father had somebody of probably 40 ethnicities/nationalities and a half dozen sexual orientations work for him over the years and pointing it out to me or basing a decision on that never even occurred to me.  But get him started on the Lithuanians, Poles, Italians, and Balkans and holy shit...it was like watching Nick Fuentes get an atlas of Eastern Europe for Yom Kippur.  

I see sometimes when uneducated folk will kinda test the water by casually throwing out a slur for hispanics or Asians, or fag or anti-trans, or the n-word.  They're trying to see if you'll come down to their level and be "one of the guys."  It's wrong and deplorable, but I know why they're doing it...but I just never got the "retard" thing.  Why throw that out there?  I'm not participating in the racist or anti-semitic or homophobic bullshit, but you think we're gonna bond over after-dinner drinks once you blurt that out and expect me to say, "I know right?  What's up with those extra chromosome mongoloids anyway?  Half of 'em can't even walk straight, what the fuck's going on there?" 

 

[Helobious 9448]

19 minutes ago, HornOnTheBayou said:

 

@Orale, not to threadjack, but how old are you? Because I'm a young Gen X-er and we played "Smear the Queer" a lot in school. Mainly I'm asking because 1) I'm interested in how the word changed, 2) I'm fascinated and excited that the connotation changed so quickly, 3) I'm a high school teacher and I love how LGBTQ+ students are much more accepted by their peers than they were when I was in school, and 4) I just want to get a gauge on how old I actually am.

I’m a millennial and we called that game “cutthroat”. If anyone called it “smear the queer” they would’ve been called a fag/gay for sure, as that name sounds homoerotic as hell.  Can’t believe people ever called the game that.

[C-Man 27209]

23 minutes ago, YGIFS said:

whatever, gay-wad.  

We actually called that game "Bombardment."  Pretty sure we used homo and fag but we didn't know why.  Our schools were way too ethnically diverse to toss around ethnic/racial slurs.  Except in Chicago, there's an unwritten rule, the whites can use slurs on other whites, and boy did they ever.  My father had somebody of probably 40 ethnicities/nationalities and a half dozen sexual orientations work for him over the years and pointing it out to me or basing a decision on that never even occurred to me.  But get him started on the Lithuanians, Poles, Italians, and Balkans and holy shit...it was like watching Nick Fuentes get an atlas of Eastern Europe for Yom Kippur.  

I see sometimes when uneducated folk will kinda test the water by casually throwing out a slur for hispanics or Asians, or fag or anti-trans, or the n-word.  They're trying to see if you'll come down to their level and be "one of the guys."  It's wrong and deplorable, but I know why they're doing it...but I just never got the "retard" thing.  Why throw that out there?  I'm not participating in the racist or anti-semitic or homophobic bullshit, but you think we're gonna bond over after-dinner drinks once you blurt that out and expect me to say, "I know right?  What's up with those extra chromosome mongoloids anyway?  Half of 'em can't even walk straight, what the fuck's going on there?" 

 

Bombardment was Dodgeball. Smear the Queer was "everybody tackle the guy with the football."

[Deej 76759]

23 minutes ago, Helobious said:

If anyone called it “smear the queer” they would’ve been called a fag/gay for sure, as that name sounds homoerotic as hell.  Can’t believe people ever called the game that.

Methinks doth protest too much. 

[closetohumping 17438]

30 minutes ago, Helobious said:

I’m a millennial and we called that game “cutthroat”. If anyone called it “smear the queer” they would’ve been called a fag/gay for sure, as that name sounds homoerotic as hell.  Can’t believe people ever called the game that.

Cutthroat is a pool game we played.

[elguapo 4586]

2 hours ago, Texzilla58 said:

The differences between when I entered the workforce in the late 70’s and now that is pretty found.

The pendulum has swung a bit too far. A few years ago I was a merchant for a large international retailer and was making a presentation discussing the differences in the TV business between the US and Mexico. I made a number of references to the “Mexican” market, the demographics of our “Mexican” customers, and performance of our “Mexican” stores. A hand went up, and a young woman from marketing stated “I’m sure I’m not the only one here who would appreciate it if you would stop using a racial slur in your presentation?” Excuse me? “Mexican isn’t an acceptable term!” This girl had a degree from Princeton. Before I could gather a response that wasn’t going to be a slur about her ignorant yankee moronic ass her boss shut her down and she then left the meeting.

[PRONG HORN 3141]

40 minutes ago, Helobious said:

I’m a millennial and we called that game “cutthroat”. If anyone called it “smear the queer” they would’ve been called a fag/gay for sure, as that name sounds homoerotic as hell.  Can’t believe people ever called the game that.

 

Anything can sound gay if deep down inside you really want it to be gay.  

 

 

[Zepol87 9185]

6 hours ago, Macanudo said:

If someone other than Derka had started this thread, would it have died early on?

Doubt it

[troph 24783]

2 hours ago, safe sex said:

  

 

90% of posters on this board played a game of "Smear the Queer" at least once while growing up.

Including me. 

[Surly Bevo 24908]

After reading some of this thread this is how I picture Derka right now.

[Zepol87 9185]

1 hour ago, Orale said:

We played smear the queer when I was a kid too. I completely forgot about that. I feel like faggot was the more common slur when I was growing up and queer was just a strange word that wasn't used much in any context. At least not among my peers. 

That was the only time I heard that word growing up

[YGIFS 19450]

34 minutes ago, C-Man said:

Bombardment was Dodgeball. Smear the Queer was "everybody tackle the guy with the football."

I'm foggy, in Smear the Queer...how did the person with the ball get the ball to begin with?  Why would anybody want it if it was just to get smothered by sweaty, aggressive boys?  (checks notes).  Got it.  

[troph 24783]

2 hours ago, Orale said:

8 hours ago, troph said:

Queer is an amazing example of reclaiming. The conversation to add Q to LGBT within HRC nomenclature was highly emotional precisely because queer was a slur for most of the leadership, but the young people have taken it back in less than a generation or two. It has been so successful the term is now available to allies to use as well. It can still be a slur but it’s fast becoming anything but that. Fascinating to me. 

Totally. I'm a relatively young homo and love the word and use it freely. I honestly didn't know it had been a slur in the past.

Another example of reclaiming with the use of the word “homo”. We have a friend that refers to our community as “homos, fags and queers.” It’s hilarious. And actually “the queers” is a slur where “queer folk” or “she’s queer” isn’t. I’ve reclaimed “tranny” here. 

[troph 24783]

2 hours ago, Deej said:

Not well. She's always in advertisements for drugs that help her chronic psoriasis. 

That’s controllable. My ex has it no evidence of it at all with meds. Immuno suppressants yeah, but Cyndi Lauper was a super crush when I was 11-13.

[troph 24783]

5 minutes ago, YGIFS said:

I'm foggy, in Smear the Queer...how did the person with the ball get the ball to begin with?  Why would anybody want it if it was just to get smothered by sweaty, aggressive boys?  (checks notes).  Got it.  

Our version if the ball was thrown to you you had no choice. The punishment for avoidance was much worse - honor and pain not just pain. 

[achooloco 1067]

8 hours ago, ztejas said:

I'm of the mind that -er and -a are almost two different words entirely at this point. Only thing I'd add.

e.g. - those Latinos would probably be caught dead using the former version in public or among black people - whether or not it's inoffensive to throw the latter around. 

that would not be true to the latter part in my experience. definitely hear it amongst lots of people, mixed ethnically or not and of many mixed age groups, and i've been from bars in atx to outside street walking in nyc. But yes, the caveat being it was the soft A and said in reference to friends/family never in a denigrating way of one specific person or group of people.

Except that one time when i almost got run over and an arab looking dude, probably egyptian since i was near little egypt, kept wanting to fight me since I flicked him off for running a red and got out of his car to hit me. He could not stop saying it with a hard ER and i'm as mexican as fuck. 

[achooloco 1067]

48 minutes ago, elguapo said:

don't know Tex from adam but i also know dumb fucks were saying trader joe's was racist for how they described their ethnic sections. so his story might be bullshit but it tracks.

[C-Man 27209]

1 hour ago, YGIFS said:

I'm foggy, in Smear the Queer...how did the person with the ball get the ball to begin with?  Why would anybody want it if it was just to get smothered by sweaty, aggressive boys?  (checks notes).  Got it.  

Once you got tackled and everyone unpiled, you'd throw the ball up in the air and somebody would catch it and take off. At least that's my recollection.

 

Oh, and Bombardment was a looser form of Dodgeball. There were very few rules.

Edited July 19, 2023 by C-Man

[tchookem 3900]

And yet many of the same people who get offended by that use hot wheels on a regular basis. Hypocrites. 

What about "Shit on Wheels"?

I think that emphasizes his individual shittiness as the negative rather than any disability.

He's a turd that happens to be wheelchair bound, and not a turd because he's wheelchair bound.

Is that kosher?

[Al Bundy's Napoleon Hand 13581]

STQ was basically who could do the best Billy White Shoes Johnson impression.

[Underdog 28611]

7 hours ago, YGIFS said:

I'm foggy, in Smear the Queer...how did the person with the ball get the ball to begin with?  Why would anybody want it if it was just to get smothered by sweaty, aggressive boys?  (checks notes).  Got it.  

IIRC, ball was tossed up in the air and either caught or bounced around until it was picked up.  I don't recall ever using fag or homo growing up in the 70s, it was always queer, you're a queer.  

 

[Bill Lumbergh 7171]

[Al Bundy's Napoleon Hand 13581]

1 hour ago, Al Bundy's Napoleon Hand said:

STQ was basically who could do the best Billy White Shoes Johnson impression.

...who holds the record for scoring 579 touchdowns against the Cleveland Browns

 

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4976]

I was born in '85, and I don't remember the word queer being used that much as a serious derogatory term. Yeah, we played smear the queer, but it was always a word that didn't really make sense to me as a derogatory term. If we wanted to call someone gay in derogatory way we said faggot. Queer was a word that old people used if they wanted to say something hurtful. I'm not saying it didn't happen, but it just felt off if somebody tried to use it with venom.

['stache 21802]

I’m defined as an old millennial and the f word was way more common to insult. Queer was still out there just not used much and wasn’t as insulting as everything else. Also strangely a lot of sex based stuff aimed primarily and male gays, butt pirate, fudge packer, pole smoker, etc. and “gay” was a catch all for lame.  

Edited July 19, 2023 by 'stache

[956 Worldwide 34705]

I’m on the cusp of Gen X/Millenial (meaningless dividing lines) and that game was “Kill the Man with the Ball” among my friends although I heard it called “Smear the Queer” once when I had traveled with some big group. I can’t remember. 
 

F** and the longer forms was a common insult. Along with all other sorts of homophobic slurs as insults or to describe stuff you didn’t like. Racial stuff of any sort was pretty out of bounds, though. The r-word was super common until I got to college and then you’d be looked at as an a-hole or jerk if you used it. 

It’s good that we’ve expanded the groups of people who receive simple decency from society.  We should move that way and not fight to keep the circles smaller, and we should be ok with recognizing that sometimes in the past we all acted like real jerks out of either ignorance or lack of effort.

 

[ztejas 43418]

Younger millennial. We called it smear the queer. Fag was definitely more of an insult than queer. I'm not sure any of us thought queer was that offensive - it was already dated. 

[Bevo 13575]

15 minutes ago, 956 Worldwide said:

I’m on the cusp of Gen X/Millenial (meaningless dividing lines) and that game was “Kill the Man with the Ball” among my friends although I heard it called “Smear the Queer” once when I had traveled with some big group. I can’t remember. 
 

F** and the longer forms was a common insult. Along with all other sorts of homophobic slurs as insults or to describe stuff you didn’t like. Racial stuff of any sort was pretty out of bounds, though. The r-word was super common until I got to college and then you’d be looked at as an a-hole or jerk if you used it. 

It’s good that we’ve expanded the groups of people who receive simple decency from society.  We should move that way and not fight to keep the circles smaller, and we should be ok with recognizing that sometimes in the past we all acted like real jerks out of either ignorance or lack of effort.

 

I get it, but I need some assistance with new smear words. I mean, fag and stupid and nationality based smears are obviously a no go. So, this leaves just body parts like pussies and cocks. Being fake British, I've gotshitgibbon and cockwomble but I am a little hesitant to use those attacking surly posters. Are there any others that I can throw in?

[Lord Melbourne 24]

23 hours ago, Dbeasy said:

I do wonder about the future of comedy given that historically a lot of the humor was at the expense of someone else. In 50 years will it be a completely humorless society with people walking around in misery with blank looks on their faces?

Wait, did I just describe the last ten years of Texas football?

We’ve come a long way since Blazing Saddles. Even a lot of movies from like 15-20 years ago would have trouble getting made. Stuff that made most of us laugh. I have young kids so I don’t make it to many adult movies, but it seems like comedies are less prominent.
 

All that said, there will always be a market for more old school comedy. Chappelle sold out the Spurs arena in San Antonio last week. 

[Helobious 9448]

Man you guys played some bullshit versions of “cutthroat” as we called it. It’d usually be just 3-4 guys. One guy on one end of the yard or whatever, the other 2-3 on the other end. Solo guy gets ball tossed to him and just has to make it to the other end of the yard without getting tackled. Couldn’t leave yard or whatever small designated space to avoid tackles. Idea was your only choice was to power your way to the other end. You get tackled or score, next guys turn, so on. All about building grittiness and toughness. 
 

Calling it “smear the queer” and wanting to play with a bunch of dudes running around all piling on one guy would’ve gotten you laughed at and bullied pretty hard. 

[Deej 76759]

Just 3 or 4 guys piling on you isn't as gay?

[Fudge Nuggets 19190]

I'm offended that this stupid ass thread is still going.

[Lord Melbourne 24]

5 minutes ago, Deej said:

Just 3 or 4 guys piling on you isn't as gay?

Not sure. Ask Northwestern football players. 

[Helobious 9448]

7 minutes ago, Deej said:

Just 3 or 4 guys piling on you isn't as gay?

Well our game had a very clear objective and heavily required strength & toughness. Sounds like everyone else’s version involved one guy getting chased around just trying not to get tackled by 10 guys. You tell me which one sounds more gay. Nttawwt either way I’m just telling it like it is.

[Deej 76759]

I guessing the one with Helobious in in would be more so. 

[gofuckyourself 8209]

Consult some TikTok video comments for the only definitive answer.

 

[Fudge Nuggets 19190]

1 minute ago, gofuckyourself said:

Consult some TikTok video comments for the only definitive answer.

 

User name is definitely thread appropriate.

[Bevo 13575]

22 minutes ago, Deej said:

Just 3 or 4 guys piling on you isn't as gay?

It's cool as long as no one talks about it.

[Cheeseweasel 26438]

12 minutes ago, Helobious said:

Sounds like everyone else’s version involved one guy getting chased around just trying not to get tackled by 10 guys.

Did you get tackled on purpose?

[C-Man 27209]

14 minutes ago, Helobious said:

Well our game had a very clear objective and heavily required strength & toughness. Sounds like everyone else’s version involved one guy getting chased around just trying not to get tackled by 10 guys. You tell me which one sounds more gay. Nttawwt either way I’m just telling it like it is.

Is it offensive if I call Helobius a moron? Because he’s a moron.

[Deej 76759]

5 minutes ago, Bevo said:

It's cool as long as no one talks about it.

Or your wearing your Yankees jersey and $10 Amazon silver chain. You just pretend one of the guys is A-Rod., 

[BehoId, The Underminer! 11669]

12 hours ago, Texzilla58 said:

The pendulum has swung a bit too far. A few years ago I was a merchant for a large international retailer and was making a presentation discussing the differences in the TV business between the US and Mexico. I made a number of references to the “Mexican” market, the demographics of our “Mexican” customers, and performance of our “Mexican” stores. A hand went up, and a young woman from marketing stated “I’m sure I’m not the only one here who would appreciate it if you would stop using a racial slur in your presentation?” Excuse me? “Mexican isn’t an acceptable term!” This girl had a degree from Princeton. Before I could gather a response that wasn’t going to be a slur about her ignorant yankee moronic ass her boss shut her down and she then left the meeting.

Yes, we all have Facebook.  

[Underdog 28611]

17 minutes ago, Cheeseweasel said:

Did you get tackled on purpose?

Helo playing stq...b

 

[Cheeseweasel 26438]

This whole thread is Helobius as hell.

['stache 21802]

1 hour ago, Lord Melbourne said:

We’ve come a long way since Blazing Saddles. Even a lot of movies from like 15-20 years ago would have trouble getting made. Stuff that made most of us laugh. I have young kids so I don’t make it to many adult movies, but it seems like comedies are less prominent.
 

All that said, there will always be a market for more old school comedy. Chappelle sold out the Spurs arena in San Antonio last week. 

Blazing Saddles could absolutely be made today. It's context was mocking racism, not exacerbating it, or using it in a cruel and hateful manner. Have you seen Mel Brooks' History of the World Part II series released a few months ago on Hulu? All sorts of race and ethnicity based humor, and I think pretty good (not as good as the original movie, but very enjoyable). 

[BehoId, The Underminer! 11669]

10 hours ago, achooloco said:

don't know Tex from adam but i also know dumb fucks were saying trader joe's was racist for how they described their ethnic sections. so his story might be bullshit but it tracks.

it's one thing to say "there was this idiot that thought 'Mexican' was racist.  she didn't like me saying "the mexican market" and stuff like that."  it's a whole other thing to write it up like a boomer damn-millennials-story where you try to fit in all the foxnews details that are not how the world works. 

i've often thought when i go to a bar, man i hope a rabbi, a priest, and a mathematician don't walk in here together, because i'd never be able to tell anyone.

[Bevo 13575]

6 minutes ago, BehoId, The Underminer! said:

i've often thought when i go to a bar, man i hope a rabbi, a priest, and a mathematician don't walk in here together, because i'd never be able to tell anyone.

Pretty sure now that you've mentioned it, you can count on it happening.

[Lord Melbourne 24]

13 minutes ago, 'stache said:

Blazing Saddles could absolutely be made today. It's context was mocking racism, not exacerbating it, or using it in a cruel and hateful manner. Have you seen Mel Brooks' History of the World Part II series released a few months ago on Hulu? All sorts of race and ethnicity based humor, and I think pretty good (not as good as the original movie, but very enjoyable). 

Hoo boy. Agree to disagree. We don’t do a lot of nuance nowadays. The quicksand scene, the sheriff is near, #6 dance, you said rape twice etc etc. 

 

I have not seen the new History of the World so I could be wrong. Given that it’s on Hulu, not many others have seen it either. 

[BabaYaga 15290]

7 minutes ago, Lord Melbourne said:

Hoo boy. Agree to disagree. We don’t do a lot of nuance nowadays. The quicksand scene, the sheriff is near, #6 dance, you said rape twice etc etc. 

 

I have not seen the new History of the World so I could be wrong. Given that it’s on Hulu, not many others have seen it either. 

This.  Zero chance anyone would get within a mile of making that movie today, as great as it is.

 

[LW Goatman 1121]

11 hours ago, YGIFS said:

I'm foggy, in Smear the Queer...how did the person with the ball get the ball to begin with?  Why would anybody want it if it was just to get smothered by sweaty, aggressive boys?  (checks notes).  Got it.  

The guy with the ball has the option to dole out punishment as well, only the weak (or really fast) tried to escape. You really had to go on offense or be a victim, kind of like prison I guess.