Comedy and the Fag Word
The other night at a comedy show, two of my peers used anti-gay epithets from the stage. And it wasn’t in the context of some brilliant bit of satire. It was just, "What a faggot" and "that guy’s being a fag." I sat through three utterances and then I got up and walked out. Before too long, I had to come right back, though, because I was set to host another comedy show at the same venue afterward. It was awkward. One of the comics who used the epithets offered an apology, but I didn’t let him off easy, because he said things like "You didn’t have to walk out" and "I’m sorry you were offended."