Over the years, I have noticed that some people have created unique nicknames for their friends. In some cases, these nicknames, when used by someone who is not friends with that person, may cause problems.
Names that are traditionally derogatory in most situations have become a surprising social phenomena in terms of friendship.
It is an interesting dynamic that a derogatory word can be used as a term of friendship. I do not see the merit in such a thing, but it appears to happen more regularly than I would care to acknowledge.
I will never understand how girls can jokingly call each other “bitch” during friendly banter.
But, then again, there are probably many other societal patterns that I will never understand.
Now, I suppose if you are all friends and everybody is aware that the word is being used in jest, it loses its daggers.
I still do not see the appeal. Maybe it is just my old-fashioned tendencies coming through, but what is wrong with calling your friends any other potentially non-offensive term?
I personally use several varying terms when talking with my friends. Granted, some of them are a little outdated and sometimes received with some curious looks, but it is nice to know that they would never offend someone in the wrong context.
My argument for that is this: At least I am trying something different rather than the same old word all the time. I think it is just something our society does without even pondering why we do it or even thinking about what exactly is wrong with it in the first place.
This may be a bold assertion, but I think I would credit it to our society’s desensitization to so many things over the years. For so many people, I think that once the shock value of something disappears, it becomes a relative trend.
That means that somewhere along the line, offensive words were introduced as a greeting. It has since picked up from there.
What it comes down to, I suppose, is groups of people hijacked these words and adapted them to fit their group not as a derogatory word but as a cordial greeting between friends. When I look at it that way, I suppose it carries less offense, but still seems somewhat trivial to me.
Just the same, I would not be sad if I ever saw that word usage go the way of other verbal trends and disappear.
Until then, the best advice I can give to people out there who are users of this verbal trend is just be careful where and to whom you say it because that could lead you to a painful mistake in the wrong situation.
Meanwhile, I will stick with my traditional phrases for friends and occasionally get a blank stare.
