Why are gay people called fags?

Answer 1

There are many words used to describe things and people. Many are more acceptable in polite society than others.

People perceive others in different ways and anyone that does not conform to our own rules, more and ethics is generally a cause for concern. It is how we deal with that concern that marks us as mature or bigoted and ignorant.

Homosexuality has been accepted and rejected throughout history and over many cultures and words are sought to describe what our feeling for any minority is.

Simply by listening to people talk can tell you a great deal about how they think about someone or something just by the words they use.

In living memory the word gay was nothing to do with homosexuals but described a happy and contented person. This was seized upon by the homosexual community as a word that would project a positive image of themselves.

By the same token a fag was effectively an unpaid servant with no power and very few rights, abused by their superiors and they had little redress. This was selected to project a weak and ineffectual image.