(my other posts got lost in the shuffle
)
who, in this century, uses gay to mean happy? ..unless you're an author writing in Elizabethan times. When seen in context it is obvious just what the word means, unless one chooses to be ignorant.
Language is a living thing, there is no doubt; just as new meanings form, old ones fall away.
Gay, in the 19th century, meant happy - N** had an archaic meaning as well and was adopted by the Klan
Gay, in the 20th century, meant happy or homosexual - N** was used by the Klan and the general populace (derogatorially, period)
gay, in the 21st century, means homosexual or stupid. - N** is used derogatorially and by people of color to refer to their friends
who, in the last century, used n***** as anything but a derogatory term?
The difference is the group of people using the word n***** - I still cannot use it. You don't believe me, go up to a black person you barely know or don't know at all and call them a n**. Using gay to mean stupid is not as much a condemnation, to me, probably because it's kids that use it - otoh, it's a bit more disturbing for that same reason.
Consider that fag, gay, and queer, mean roughly the same thing on each side of their meanings. Similar to n*****, qeeer and fag have been adopted by the gay populace in an attempt to destigmatize the word; gay, in the same fashion, has not been adopted. Similar to me not using the word n*****, I won't use fag or queer.. nor will I say anything other than stupid or dumb, when I mean stupid or dumb. An insult is an insult.
Intentionally twisting variations to rely on an old, outlived meaning of a word is, in my opinion, being contentious at least.. belligerent at worst. And if you ignore how the word was born/formed, you'll not understand why it is offensive.
(well said, Rusalka)
edit: btw, Sim, you're trying to be logical (or contentious, but I choose to believe logical) about this - These things are rarely logical.