ScientistsOk, lemme say that if you’re offended by this, then it’s time we all had a little talk.  First things first; credit where it’s due.  This comic’s from xkcd, a great source of hysterical stick-figure comics.
So back to the topic at hand:  the use of “gayâ€? as a derogatory term.  In American & online vernacular, “gayâ€? has taken on a new meaning.  There are a huge number of words in our language that have dual meanings, but this one’s caused a lot of uproar for some interesting reasons.

Before I start into why this one’s so controversial, let me start w/ a less touchy example:  dick.  Dick can refer to a penis, or a person who’s acting like a jerk.  Since penises can’t defend themselves, they don’t (normally) speak out against people using “dickâ€? in a derogatory fashion.

Gay people, on the other hand, take offense to people using “gayâ€? to mean sucky.  I can see their point, but at this point, the usage is so common that it’s taken on it’s own meaning, rarely meaning that something is literally a homosexual.  The really interesting bit of this phenomenon is the fact that it’s happening in the well-connected age that we live in.  For starters, the internet allows people to easily & quickly rise up to fight back in defense of their lifestyle.  Further complicating the issue is the fact that we’re still a very touchy-feely country:  people are still worried about offending each other (which isn’t a wholly bad thing).

Personally, I think it’s too late to reverse this alternate meaning, and just accept that “gayâ€? now has another meaning.

The Urban Dictionary lists this new, alternative meaning:  Dictionary.com, however, does not.