Interestingly enough, the word "gay" has now been launched into a derisive connotation by the younger (college and under) generation in the expression "that's so gay" or substitute he, she, or it for "that". So do we need a new word again?
And, sometimes, there is now a hurtful, spiteful or even venegeful twinge to the historical and linguistic revisionisms launched by certain individuals or small groups of individuals within various groups, and I think it is this creeping reverse mean-spiritness that began leaving a lot of people cold about the direction this whole PC process is taking. For instance, it was released by some folks a few years back they had discovered that the model who sat for The Statue of Liberty (this will tie in with the PC/art debate) was a black woman (well, that's intriguing, I thought, something worthy to note historically if so), but then the article and implication took the stance that, since the model for the statue was a black woman it is therefore, now, a symbol for African-Americans and not the traditional symbol of European immigration. Now hold on there just a minute!, I thought. The Statue of Liberty is the cherished and time-honored symbol of the waves of European immigration that came to this country in the late 19th and early 20th Century, and since both sides of my family came here through Ellis Island, it is very meaningful and important to me. And nobody has the right to try to take that away from me. No matter who sat for that statue, if a Martian sat for that statue, it would still stand as a hallowed symbol of European immigration. And, truthfully, I felt insulted and offended, by what I felt to be a mean-spirited and spiteful attempt to strip The Statue of Liberty of its cherished symbolism. Yes, let history note that an African-American model sat for the statue if this is validated, but don't, then, strip the statue of its poignant symbolism and meaning for millions.
