Tom Segura and Bert Kreischer’s Impassioned Defense of Slurs
"That's a valid critique," Segura said of the argument that homophobic slurs might hurt people. "Deal with it. That's gay."
In an episode of their podcast 2 Bears, 1 Cave released yesterday, Bert Kreischer and Tom Segura celebrate the resurgence of the slurs “gay” and “retarded.” The segment won’t shock anyone who reads this newsletter, but I find it illuminating for a few reasons. Most notable is Segura’s naked declaration that he doesn’t care if it hurts people when he uses “gay” as a pejorative—it’s fun, and he’s going to keep doing it. Later, the duo concedes that it would be cruel to use the words cruelly, but that’s simply not what they do, and anyone who might object to their usage simply needs to accept that a majority of people disagree with them.
A transcript of the conversation follows below, with some commentary throughout and after.
Kreischer: It's crazy how "gay" almost disappeared and then it came back strong. I hear so many people calling shit "gay" that I'm like, I remember when I stopped saying it for a while.
Segura: So the only critique that was valid that I heard—that you have to listen to when you go, "that's gay" and you mean, "that's lame"—was that people were saying, what if a young kid that's gay, actually homosexual, hears you saying that something that is shitty is gay and they kind of associate that with themselves? And I go, oh, that's a valid critique. And then I was like, yeah, deal with it. That's gay. It's fucking—it's fun. It's a fun—
This is pretty much the whole ball game here: “It’s a valid critique, but I don’t care.” Got it, thanks! Let’s keep going anyway:
Kreischer: You got in trouble for saying "retarded."
Segura: I got in trouble for saying "retarded."
Kreischer: Isn't that crazy? That's so wild that—go ahead.
Segura: Not only that. Hold on. Also—
Kreischer: Do you remember they wanted you to do the Retard Challenge?
Segura: Dude, please. It's unbelievable. I went to the Special Olympics, dude. Not to the event. To the headquarters.
Kreischer: [Cracking up] Wait, what did you compete in?
Segura: I probably actually wouldn't win. First of all, let me just say this. The most comforting thing, the thing that I enjoy the most is when I'm around somebody who is gay and they use "That's gay" the same way that we do. Then I go, "ah." Because they're like, "No, no. Yeah, of course. That shit's so gay." I think that's the best. The retarded people—
