Never help anyone ever.

[Byrthnoth]

http://iq-test.learninginfo.org/iq01.htm - 1904, the IQ test is created
"Reader, suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself." [Mark Twain, c.1882]
c.1300, "person so mentally deficient as to be incapable of ordinary reasoning,"

Looks like Idiot was a derogatory term before psychologists got hold of it.

I think you're thinking of "moron," which was apparently invented as a new word for dumb by the IQ scale people in the 1910s.

[Ophannus]

And faggot was derogatory towards old people, poor people and women before it was derogatory towards homosexuals. Thanks for proving my point.

[Cleverness]

What caused them to be dicks if you didn't do anything? Just b/c?

Unless someone was sending them tells and lied about it, i'm just gonna go with "because they are JP". Only thing I can think of.

[Byrthnoth]

I don't think I addressed your point, except to tell you that you were wrong about the word "idiot" and then post two quotes from the page I linked that you apparently didn't read.

As for all the "you're a bad person for calling him a faggot:"
Faggot has been derogatory for a long time, and now it's the homosexuals' turn to be offended by it. The word has no point other than to be derogatory, but I agree that it enjoys wider use than slandering homosexuals. I'd go so far as to guess that the vast majority of "fag"-related words in the US are not directed at gay people. Now it mostly just means "bad," but with the subtext "as bad as a homosexual." This is, as some have pointed out, at least mildly homophobic.

All your historical references are irrelevant, by the way. Word meanings change, as you've pointed out, and you're bound by the meanings at the time you're speaking. If the word faggot has always been derogatory, it has always meant, "as bad as ______" when applied to someone who isn't necessarily part of the "_____" group.

[Odin'sLaw]

he was calling him a Faggot (a lumpy piece of pork and fat ball) Duh, people these days are so touche lol

[Izzy]

Chiming in on the whole "faggot" thing.

Some people are way too sensitive. My gay friends call me a faggot, and I call them faggots all the time. They don't give a shit. Honestly, if you can't handle 6 characters of text, you shouldn't be reading anything online.

[Ophannus]

Ah a fellow NYer!

[isladar]

XI. Racial Slurs and Extremely Derogatory Terms

Racial slurs and extremely derogatory terms are no longer allowed on the BG forums in the standard posting sections. Usage of these terms does not add anything to the conversation. Exemption zones are the spam forum only, however excessive use of them will result in the loss of privileges for the spam forum. We are adults and intelligent people, there is no reason we must attack our fellow man and the opposite gender with worthless comments. This is now at a stop, you will receive warnings, infractions, or bans to your account. The administrative staff will be on hand to answer any questions you may have. In or out of context the usage of racial slurs/extremely derogatory terms is no longer allowed.

Turns out it doesn't matter if you're offended or not by the usage of that word.