Homophobia is Not Freedom of Speech
There's been something of a divide in UK internet communities recently concerning UK hardcore. There is a soon-to-be-deleted Facebook group called UKHC, which was originally intended to serve for discussion on bands but tended to end up consisting of arguments between two general groups of people: people that disagreed with people using the word "faggot" or "fag", and people who had absolutely no desire to see how problematic and offensive that word can be.
Subsequently, the group is being closed voluntarily due to these debates flooding its feed, and two separate groups have formed representing each side of the fence: UKHC 2, which represents the anti-homophobia group, and UKHC II, which is basically full of bros who whine about political correctness and that people don't like it when they use problematic words.
Joining groups and "fitting in" has long since been any concern of mine, but long story short, the kind of attitudes expressed by those in UKHC 2 have been nothing short of awesome, and it is such a more positive and like-minded group than UKHC ever was. And it's quite funny how UKHC 2's header says "Love Hardcore, Hate Homophobia", whereas UKHC II's header says the eloquently-phrased "pussybitch free zone".
One member of UKHC II has expressed support of the group by saying "freedom of speech hardcore". I already have a problem with straight people trying to justify their using the word "faggot" like its nothing, but I have a real fucking problem with them trying to justify it by using the "freedom of speech" argument.
Freedom of speech, to be an effective principle, is not about saying whatever the fuck you like regardless of its consequences. Democracy isn't that simple. When your freedom imposes on and hinders someone else's freedom, that is no longer democratic or a demonstration of collective freedom, and to deny that language is used as ammunition to reinforce prejudicial social statuses between groups is fucking stupid.
When you call someone a "fag"/"faggot", you're using a word against them that has been used to reinforce the "inferior" status of LGBTQ folk for an incredibly long time. And don't even pretend that you're saying faggot "not as in gay person". Words have meanings, that's why they exist. You wouldn't use a racial slur and then pretend it had nothing to do with race, unless you were really fucking stupid.
I don't like division. If it was up to me then people would get along and work alongside each other, and understand each other's struggles. Alas, not everyone wants to do that, and not everyone will ever want to. Indeed, it seems that most people don't want to. But small communities are just as beautiful and worthwhile. The UKHC split is sad in one sense, but it also shows that the punks and the bros have gone their separate ways, which will filter out all the repugnant bullshit and return the focus to creativity and progressiveness.
