Taken in vain

Question inspired by a brows through fanficrants: Do fen use terms that trivialize extremely serious matters?

Yes.

Question under the question: Do fen casually use weighty words without bothering their fluffy little heads for one second to think about where those words come from and what it does to their own patterns of thought, to use them casually?

Yes.

Prime examples: gay [as a pejorative] ("That's so gay!"), rape ("Fox is raping my favorite show!"), crack ("This fic is total crack/on crack.")

This is not, of course, specific to fen. It isn't even limited to a young demographic, though teen and young adult slang is where it shows up most often.


What I find most disturbing about this is the number of people who, when pressed or questioned about their use of such terms, will instantly say that their interlocutor is "taking it way too seriously, get a grip!"

Because I would certainly hope that queer-bashing, rape and drug addiction are taken seriously at all times. They should be taken seriously, as anyone who has ever had the misfortune to experience them knows beyond a shadow of a doubt. Insisting on using the terms in a light and unreal/istic way is singularly stupid.

Maybe it's a guilty conscience that drives this double trivialization. Or maybe the people protesting the taking-seriously really are that brainless, shallow, naive, callous and lacking in empathy.

I kind of hope it's a guilty conscience.

In either case, the question I keep wanting to ask next is: Why do you want, so badly, to keep using those particular words? What do you find appealing about them and the concepts they refer to or embed?

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