I saw something on Kotaku today that really turned my stomach for a number of reasons, and after reading the comments there I'd like to see the reaction here at GayGamer.

Kotaku pointed to an interview with Gears of War designer CliffyB at CVG. The interview consisted mostly of questions about Gears of War 2 and the new Unreal Engine. There was, however, one bit at the end that was off-subject - and it was this vestigial bit of text that made Kotaku's headline:

If The Cliffster Had A Nickel Everytime He Was Called A "Fag"...

So there's that. The actual pull quote reads:

If I had a nickel for every time I was called a fag on the internet, I could retire. It's just the way the fans are sometimes; you do a good job and they'll hold you up in a chair and carry you through the streets. You screw up once and they'll be the first to tart and feather you, and that's the risk I take when I stick my neck out there.

More to read as well.

I don't mean to offend...
but I think you're being a little over-sensitive.
We live in a country that allows for freedom of speech as protected under the first amendment. This allows anyone individual to say anything he or she pleases at any given time. Yes, even things you might not like.
The word "Fag" was used, so what? We should stop using this word because it offends some people? Those people who are so easily offended by spoken words, I invite you to move to a communist nation. There, rest assured, everyones language will be strictly monitored and those speaking anything your regime finds offensive will be punished accordingly.
However, so long as you live in a place that recoginizes an individuals right to self expression, i'd simply reccommend taking language with a grain of salt.
Having said this I do want point out that i'm not offended by your article. On the contrary, I fully support your basic human right to express yourself in any way you see fit. All I would ask is that you do the same for me and everyone else you come in contact with.

The freedom of speech argument is always interesting, especially when it's used by people to justify hate-speech.

It always smacks of a ridiculous double standard, like, oh you can't possibly impede on my freedom, my right, my poor little fragile right to run around and preach hatred and blatantly screw over everyone else.

Basically, protect my right to screw over other people's rights. does that really need protecting, is it really that vulnerable? Why is that placed on a hierarchy above the person who doesn't want to be subjected to your viewpoint?

That kind of reminds me of the time a friend and I called this one guy a fairy in middle school. Well, I mostly followed along because I seriously didn't like the guy's attitude and didn't really know what fairy meant.

From what I gather, the irony is on both the guy I disparaged and I.

I think at some point we all did that when we were younger. I remember being called a certain name by a kid when I was in school, years later I ran into him at a bar near the university in our town and I thought maybe I was just drunk but I could have swore he was hitting on me, a few months later I was talking with another friend of mine that I went to school with and he told me that this other guy is gay too, we had a good laugh about it. It's different today in some regards but I hear the hateful words used more commonly but it seems the hatefulness behind them aren't as powerful as they were when we were kids. I guess in some ways desensitization isn't all that bad of a thing.

I think at some point we all did that when we were younger. I remember being called a certain name by a kid when I was in school, years later I ran into him at a bar near the university in our town and I thought maybe I was just drunk but I could have swore he was hitting on me, a few months later I was talking with another friend of mine that I went to school with and he told me that this other guy is gay too, we had a good laugh about it. It's different today in some regards but I hear the hateful words used more commonly but it seems the hatefulness behind them aren't as powerful as they were when we were kids. I guess in some ways desensitization isn't all that bad of a thing.

Doesn't all name-calling come down to the power we give these words both in use and perception? It's school yard teasing, and it can be harmful or playful. Some Blacks use the N-word everyday in a playful manner in conversations with each other. If a whiter person uses it, it's considered harmful even if it's meant in a playful manner--the perceived power of the word changes. As to words used to denigrate gays most of it comes down to whether an individual outgrows the school-yard phase of his or her life. For some of them it unfortunately follows them to the grave. It becomes a dangerous word when it's used by an individual who sees a gay lifestyle as a personal threat (usually a repressed gay). The economic threat is when an individual is judged by a "word" rather than an objective evaluation of his or her qualities and abilities. ("I don't want a fag working for me.") As a society we should be able to change the power of words through education. But the true test is in the reaction to the words. "Sticks and stones..."