To the best of my knowledge I didn't have any homosexual classmates. Sure, there were a few guys we suspected were homosexual, but I don't think anyone really cared. There was a big disconnect between our use of language and our general attitudes, presumably just because our general immaturity.
I was very active in the Boy Scouts during this time and at camp we had one staff member and one adult volunteer that "everyone" knew was gay. The staffer was a bit on the weird side and was ostracized a bit just because of his odd behavior. The adult was liked by all. I remember being simply confused when once he pulled a couple of us aside and asked if we new what we were saying when we called each other gay. Of course we didn't.
Kids today are much smarter and wiser than we were 25 years ago. Some 8th graders made a cool PSA as a class project.
This PSA is awesome in my book for two things: the dual message of "don't say gay" and "don't be stupid", and for the little brother simply bitch-slapping his older brother to get that point across.
Edit: I did have some homosexual classmates...I meant that I didn't know it at the time. Also, in the interest of fairness, I should note that I still occasionally use the word "gay" in place of stupid. Old habits die hard. I still swear in German and Dutch sometimes too. Usually I catch myself as soon as I call something gay and add, "but not the good kind of gay." It doesn't make it right or condone my behavior, but it's what I usually say. For the record though, the "good" kind of gay would be the type describing my homosexual friends.
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