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[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by dtb
As I was reading this, I was reminded of an episode in my childhood. I grew up in the midwest and our next-door neighbors were from Texas and Arkansas (dad from AK, mom from TX -- they had relocated to midwest nirvana -- next door to us). Anyway, when we were kids, we would play this game called "Smear the Queer" (we were really PC back in those days), which involved a bunch of us running around trying to tackle the kid with the ball (the one with the ball was "the queer"). The person with the ball would run around trying to escape everyone, and could toss the ball to someone else whenever if he didn't want to be "smeared". (At least, I think those were the rules -- it's a bit hazy.)

Of course, none of us knew what "queer" even meant, other than it was in the name of this really high-tech game we played.

Well one day, one of the kids from the TX/AR family told us that his dad suggested, nay, insisted! we call the game something else, because it really wasn't very nice to call the game "Smear the Queer". I think that may have been my first introduction to what "queer" meant.

I think their relative enlightenment must have been because they were Methodists, not Baptists.

Ummm, dear, Daddy didn't mind the slur being used. He just couldn't stand for his little boy to be the "queer" every 6th turn. And as to your old neighborhood? Detroit proper voted by 60% to ban gay marriage.