We live in a time where slang has permeated every aspect of our language. From English dictionaries all the way down to street vernacular, words have been steadily changing to fit our definitions. Some words, however, are not changing quickly enough to have multiple accepted meanings. And some words never will.

People who talk casually with friends about how some test just raped them, or how gay an assignment is, need to take a step back and analyze the effect that their word choice has on their personal image as well as the way that image depicts the society we live in.

Words that are rooted in hate or carry derogatory connotations should not be accepted as part of the common vernacular. The things that you say matter and have an effect on the people around you, so take pride in using the right words.

I am fully aware that most people who use the word gay — or a certain other term given to the gay community which begins with the letter f, a word which I never allow myself to use — when referring to something negative or undesirable, they are not in any way attempting to offend anyone with that sexual orientation.

But take the time to think critically about the word and how you are using it. By using these words in a negative context, you are directly linking sexual orientation with inferiority. To put it simply, I will quote Macklemore and say that when we use those words to express negativity, we are saying that “gay is synonymous with the lesser.”

Regardless of what people who use those words in such contexts may think, those labels used in a negative context are directly and inseparably related to a time when people were persecuted just for living their lives the way they were born to do. By the way, that time is not the distant past. I wouldn’t even say it is the past at all.

If we are talking about how something or someone is attracted to the same sex, then by all means tell me how gay it is.

But if you want to tell me or anyone else about how you much you dislike something, then tell me it’s stupid, tell me you hate it or tell me it’s unfair or unjust, but do not ever tell me how about how gay it is.

The same goes for using the word rape to describe either success or defeat. When playing video games online — which I do far too much — and being told “you just got raped” or hearing “we just raped those guys,” it shows how relaxed our society is regarding matters of sexual assault.

When used in that fashion, the speaker is trivializing a crime that can leave victims both physically and emotionally scarred. This is not an issue of oversensitivity or being politically correct. It is an issue of compassion and empathy.

The use of terms such as the few I have described signify dichotomy between the words that we speak and the beliefs that we have. Think before you speak. Make sure the words you are about to let out into the world line up with your morals because once they pass your lips, you can never take them back.

As a final point: consider the fact that Latin, a dead language, is still studied and its words are still remembered. Secondly, I think about a certain derogatory word which people of my race used to describe the black population for more than one hundred years.

The words we use will last far longer than our lives. I only ask that we make sure those words will not embarrass our generation. So please watch your mouth. The future can hear you.