I Don't Like Being Called A Faggot

I have been given the opportunity to speak about respect and bullying from authoritative people. Naturally, I think about the times I've been called derogatory names by staff in a non joking manner. So I practiced in front of my fellow speakers for a dry run and it was impactful but a few people were uncomfortable with me talking about LGBT topics. 

They feel I talk to often about equality. I would validate their concern if this wasn't the first time they've heard me speak and if my speech wasn't limited to 3 minutes. He felt I should have expanded my topic to cover more then the marginalized. 

His remarks rattled my cage a little bit. I mulled them over for a few days and seriously thought about my 3 minutes and what I should talk about. Should I cover a broader spectrum of people? Do I spend to much time asking for equality? Should I rewrite my speech? 

I carefully considered the source of criticism and what I knew about him. He feels that gays in prison have an appropriate place as punks, which is a prison term for sex slave. All gays should be strict bottoms and wear as much girlie attire as possible, feigning for his attention while he does manly things. Make his bed, cook his food. His idea of who I should be is completely gross. 

So I thought about what I really wanted to say. Not to him, but to my audience. What I really wanted to say is "I don't like it when you call me a faggot because it hurts". Why is that so difficult? 

So I did rewrite my speech, but instead of beating around the bush I turned it up. I went to the bigoted man and told him I took his advice, I rewrote my speech. He replied with a sly smirk and said in return "So its what it should be then?" In which I replied "Absolutely"

Here is the opening of my speech:

My name is Jeff and I would like to talk to you about a highly controversial subject, in fact its probably the most controversial topic on the compound. Its about the LGBT community, in which I am apart of, proudly. Since this is such a broad topic and my time is limited I will focus entirely on language. 

I don't like to be called a faggot and when you do it, it can put me in danger...

Don't be afraid to stand up for what is right. Don't be stifled by someone else's fear, it is their own and you should not harbor it nor feed into it. Be brave! I will be brave when I deliver this speech about hateful talking by authorities and I will have a whole group of bigoted, gay bashing men watching. But I'm still going to stand their and deliver my best.

With Love
Jeff Utnage