Judge Rules in 'That's So Gay' Case
A judge ruled Tuesday that a high school student who sued after being disciplined and then mercilessly teased for using the phrase "That's so gay" is not entitled to monetary damages.
Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Elaine Rushing said she sympathized with 18-year-old Rebekah Rice for the ridicule she experienced at Maria Carrillo High School. But, the judge said, Rice's lawyers failed to prove that school administrators had violated any state laws or singled the girl out for punishment.
The merits of the case appear pretty straightforward. The law the idiot attorney chose to use for defense of the suit didn't apply in this specific incident, according to the judge.
Sadly, the student's use of the phrase "That's so gay!" is as offensive as what happened to her from fellow students bullying her because of her personal conservative beliefs. It's also sad because, as she said, she didn't use the phrase as derogatory towards a specific group.
The case filed by Rice and her parents in 2003 brought widespread attention to a three-word phrase that some teenagers use to mean "stupid" or "uncool," but has come under attack as an insensitive insult to gay people.
I worked with kids for many years. The phrase has been used frequently over the last decade or so by middle & high school students, and they really don't mean it as being bigoted towards the LGBT community. It has become slang for "stupid" and "uncool." It's how the language evolves. Everyday usage, fads and momentary meanings change the dictionary everyday.
[The Oxford English Dictionary cannot add, delete or revises entries fast enough because changes are happening so quickly with the easy acquisition of knowledge, news and gossip due to the media and the internet.]
Besides, the younger generations have been shown to be more accepting and inclusive of the LGBT community than any other in their everyday actions and thoughts.
I don't think that the importance of the article about the lawsuit is in the use of the phrase as much as the indictment of the attorney for incompetence. The media makes it into a sensational bigotry issue. I don't particularly like the use of phrases like this. I realize that some people do find it personally offensive, and that is their right. I also think that what was done to the young lady fits into the same kind of offensiveness.
What it really smells like to me is adults getting into kid stuff that would have blown over very quickly. Kids don't realize what they're doing while they're doing it. Let alone remember what they said or did ten seconds ago!
i feel sorry for everybody in this matter...
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