Have we all agreed to go to baseball commentator Ray Knight’s house with pitchforks, torches and effigies? Good. Because he dared use the most super-offensive gay slur of all time in the entire universe.
Yes, during the Washington Nationals match against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix, he dared say that you shouldn’t play baseball like a “sissy.”
GASP!
BOOOO!!!! HISSSSSS!!!!
How about we take this to the next level?
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Oh no sir. We’re afraid you’ve gone too far this time.
Wait. He felt bad enough about it to issue an apology about saying “sissy”? Really??
“I never thought one time that that would be a word that would be used to connote that,” he said, adding that he meant it as an expression calling for a baseball player to “come on, toughen up.” “But absolutely, I get it,” he said. “Now I get it.”
GLSEN also complained about Knight’s choice of words, saying that sissy is often used against teens who are bullied.
So… can we qualify this as hate speech then? Is “sissy” the new “faggot”?
You see, bullies often use “sissy” to torment femmy gay kids because it is:
“a pejorative term for a boy or man who violates or does not meet the traditional male gender role. Generally, sissy implies a lack of the courage and stoicism which are thought important to the male role. A man might also be considered a sissy for being interested in traditionally feminine hobbies or employment, for displaying effeminate behavior, for being unathletic, or for being homosexual.”
But Wikipedia also says, that it also has a positive feminine connotation:
“Sissy: a relationship nickname formed from sister, given to girls to indicate their role in the family, especially the oldest female sibling. It can also be applied to girls as a term of affection from friends who are not family members. See Sissy Spacek*.”
But it also means “feeble or cowardly”—someone not willing to take risks who gets real sour or sullen about having a good time. A wet blanket. someone who is obstinate, overly fussy, needy, and inconveniently delicate or finicky.
This accurately describe your typical sensitive queer kid who doesn’t want to be forced into bullshit heteronormative sports activities.
But it also accurately describes an uptight prig that refuses to have fun—the sort of person who might suck as baseball because they fear its flying balls, violence, and utter boredom.
Louis CK feels the same way about the word faggot. When he was a kid, “faggot” didn’t mean a gay person, it meant a prig. And he would never call a gay person a faggot… unless of course, they started acting like one.
* FYI, Sissy Spacek starred in the 2004 film Home At The End Of The World, a film about
bob
Once upon a time, pejoratives were considered unacceptable in proper journalism. Sadly, this line has been blurred. Apologies won’t restore this delicate border of civility. Only replacing those who don’t (or won’t) speak properly will. In other words, there’s a lot of people who would love to announce baseball games, and I bet most of them can refrain from insulting the players.
chpinnlr
@bob: I agree wholeheartedly. While it may not be the end of the world, it is still a hurtful and derogatory term that is used as an insult to men that appear at all feminine. Using it to toughen someone up is about as helpful as milking a bull. I know because my dad used on me all the time growing up, it didn’t toughen me up it hurt every time I heared it.
Geoff By)
Jesus H. Christ! He apologized before this even became an issue. He got it! We need to pick our battles a lot more carefully. Not every slip of the tounge has to be a federal case. Becoming a bunch of PC scolds is no way to bring people to our side. Thia is one cased where we should just accept the apology and move on.
Sceth
I agree with Louis CK, but only in private, primarily because of people I would characterize with similar language.
Mike in Asheville
@Geoff By): Thank you for your voice of reason.
For fuck’s sake people (Queerty and @bob: and @chpinnlr:), if you can’t allow others to learn or grow or evolve from earlier beliefs and mores then would still be stuck with sodomy laws (only ruled unconstitutional in 2003 ending sodomy laws in 14 states; every state had sodomy laws until 1970) instead of fighting for marriage.
Every single person who becomes enlightened about the discrimination and ugliness faced by LGBT community means one less enemy and one more friend.
I say cheers Ray Knight and I hope that the many other sports commentators who joke and gosh about “sissy”, “fag”, “tomboy”, “tomgirl” become as respective as Knight.
Mal Tempo
What’s next? Pantywaist?
Jaroslaw
Mike in Asheville – hmmmmmm……., just a slip of the tongue, like what’s his name congressman who called Barney “Fag” oops I meant Barney Frank……..
Yeah, I get it that this is not the end of the world, but still, Gays have been on the radar screen bigtime for at least 30 years, since AIDS went out of control. It is hard to imagine complete and utter obliviousness regarding sensitivity towards Gays.