Joe

A rose by any other name… is likely to piss just about everyone off.

This is something I learned debating other atheists. I shouldn’t be too critical, I’m just as bad. ‘Bright’ makes me violence prone. (Seriously… bright?)

In my experience, if you want to anger a non-believer, the key… is not claiming that god exists. We love that sh-tuff… it’s like a drug. We need to get our fix.

Rather… call us agnostic, atheist, apatheist, ignostic, humanist…etc..

Eventually, you’ll hit on the right combination of sounds that makes an atheist’s blood boil.

But… what’s in a word? Aren’t we being a little irrational?

…according to new guidelines by the Ontario Catholic School Trustees’ Association, they should be called “Respecting Difference” clubs.

Yes, that is correct, the word GAY is offensive… to catholics. Wait… what? Isn’t it the lefties who are supposed to get all PC and upset about names and labels?

Hmmm…so, we’re supposed to respect difference, but that doesn’t include calling people what they prefer to be called? That doesn’t sound right…. eh, then again, people call me all sorts of names… Sticks and stones… pimps and hos.

So, I’m tempted to say, so what, vivre le difference, the kids should just ignore this silly obsession with words. But therein lies the rub, it is because people want to deny GAYS the right to define themselves that makes this happy word so important.

To call these clubs anything but gay-straight alliances is a denial of queer students’ existence, further perpetuating their marginalization by society and peers, added James, a student at St. Peter’s Secondary School.

Now, I’m getting old, so my old brain sometimes slips up, with words like ‘indian’ and ‘oriental’. I was never good at geography and sometimes I’m just lazy. Thankfully, I grew up after ‘coloured’ had already lost favour. That one would really be embarrassing.

I don’t think we should judge people-like-me too harshly though, simply for the old habits our brains can’t always let go of. That said, personal identity is important. I may not use the right phrase to describe you, but you damn well have the right to call yourself… whatever you bloody well like. (And even politely remind me, when I goof) And the very idea the catholics want to ban the word, makes it all that more important that GAYS use it, and use it long and use it hard.

I should note, I’m for defunding the catholic system in Ontario to the full extent that the constitution will bear. So I am not unbiased on this issue. With that in mind, I’d like to thank the Bishops for being so completely ridiculous… about a word… and again. It makes me quite GAY about the prospects for ONE SCHOOL SYSTEM.