Syracuse Ska Forum

In case this for some reason isn't common sence: Homophobia is not tolerated at ska shows or on this message board. I don't want to see/read anybody throwing around the word gay or fag or anything like that. Ska in Syracuse is not going to be associated with homophobia.

I havn't discussed this in terms of making a specific policy with Danny but I'm sure he agrees.

I'm not sure what this is referenced to, but in all fairness, a lot of people use those words and don't relate it with homosexuality at all, myself included.

However, I understand the touchiness of the subject and will make it a point not to use such language on here or at shows.

Yea nothing in reference to a problem so far but I noticed the issue elsewhere and I thought it time to make things clear.

Fair enough.

Yeah, its a point worth making.

Ska has never been homophobic and its sure as hell not gonna start here.

Leftover Crack has a great song, "Gay Rude Boys Unite" that's based on the hyprocrisy of some to be anti-racist, but then to be anti-gay. It's the same issue. We don't have to love everyone in this world, but we still need to respect them as people.

They also have a song called atheist anthem which doesnt seem ro respect people as people.

Yeah.

That's quite the cop out.




I actually paid $7 just to leave about 10 min later... after I heard Heather (from the Benefits) pull that same shit to one of her bandmates over the MICROPHONE.

I was f*ck disgusted. And since then I've had ZERO interest in seeing that band again.

I don't think I could actually be friends with someone who said stuff of that nature. And since I don't surround myself with people like that, it just totally SHOCKS me when I'm around people that do.

You know what? Think what you will of me. You can assume things about me that are completely not true because of language I do/do not use. I don't feel the need to defend myself or my beliefs to someone I don't know over the internet. But those who know me know I do not have an ounce of prejudice in my body.

I do, however, realize that not everyone is as open about those words as I am, so I'll be cognizant to that when I need to be.

But to be quite frank, I am sick and tired of people who think they are better than others because of language they do or don't use.

I'm an insanely laid back person, it is almost impossible to offend me, but I do get irritated at other people, who will apparently boycott a perfectly good band because their singer does not carry the same beliefs about which language is or is not appropriate.

This is not a question: IF YOU USE GAY/FAG or any word like that you DO NOT respect gay people. End of story.
You are telling the world/your friends/whoever you think it doesn't matter hears it that those people DO NOT MATTER. That their thoughts/feelings are worthless. That they do not deserve your respect. That you feel the need to put them down because you are TOO LAZY to stop. There is no excuse.
There is no "Stop acting like you are better than me because you don't put down people". Because that is bullshit.
Everytime you use a inappropriate word you are promoting homophobia, you are lying to yourself if you think that isn't true.

I'm not yelling at you Karen and neither is Steve. It's not about one person bitching at another. It's about changing an attitude. It's about consistantly fighting against homophobia. No excuses, no hard feelings, just change.

Do you people live in the real world? Do you think you are going to change an attitude by banning the use of the word gay on a ska board? Seriously.

Yes Mike that is exactally what we've been discussing. Thank you so much for providing that insite by your carefull reading and thought.

The irony is that Heather is anything but homophobic. Her sorority helped sponsor the annual campus drag show last year and when her and I talked about the new gay fraternity on campus, she highly defended them. But I don't deny she said something like that and shouldn't have.

Let's start with the basics. Is anyone here saying that someone who is homosexual isn't allowed the same basic respect as everyone else? If any of you here think or talk like that, you've wandered into the wrong place. Period.

Assuming you agree so far, the next question is, if you discovered that some careless thing you commonly said was extremely hurtful to someone you respect as a person, wouldn't it be reasonable to stop talking like that? It's not as if everyone here hasn't dealt with this issue, on some level. I've heard people use racial "jokes" and almost get beat up for it. Doesn't that say something? To say that someone using "gay=lame" isn't gonna bother someone who is gay is simply not dealing with reality. Do they need to beat you up for you to figure it out too?

Gang, this is simple civility. Just because you can put other people down and get away with it more often than not doesn't make it right ...

I swear Danny...

it's replies like these where I can actually see Jeff with a little pitchfork on my shoulder sayin' "You know you wanna do it Steve..."

People proudly proclaiming themselves as atheists doesn't in and of itself put down religious people. Ska traditionally has included atheists, born-again Christians, Jews, Rastafarians and just about every other religious persuasion. We've never seriously struggled with that issue because we respect the differences.

I'm not an atheist, but I respect those who are. I also separate out their disgust of organized religion from their view of other people. Its like how people around the world hate the government of America, but love Americans. I really see it as the same issue.

There are a lot of openly gay (and probably a lot more not-so-openly-gay) people involved in ska music, all over the world. If that bothers you, you're in the wrong place, honestly.

You don't have to accept their behavior, just them as people worthy of basic respect. Is that really so much to ask???

Behavior is much easier to change than attitudes. It's much easier to get kids to stop using homophobic language than get them to stop being homophobic. But changing the attitudes starts with changing the behavior now, doesn't it?

Most of us here aren't totally happy with the way the world is currently. Even more so how our country is going currently. To change bad attitudes, we start with the easier goal of changing bad behavior first, which includes bad language habits.

We're not bashing people on this board or at the shows or in the scene generally. We'll bash bad behavior, but not the people. Make sense?