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[–][deleted] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Here are my thoughts on the concept of reclaiming slurs:

  1. You cannot control how a language develops or make individuals feel a certain way about slurs.

  2. To have some classes of people able to say certain words while others cannot causes more distinction and discomfort between those classes. It goes directly against the goal of seeing others as similar to you.

  3. Slurs that we would consider successfully "reclaimed" are used by everyone in a way that it is no longer a slur. Ex. Queer theory, queer studies, even though it once was an insult. So the usage of the word doesn't depend on the identity of the speaker.

  4. Language is a form of self expression that people should use freely as they wish, not as some kind of collected minority block. Some people are more casual with their friends or have a crass sense of humor. The language they use is negotiated on an individual level, not with the entire population of people who speak the language.