I grew up with an older brother who would call things gay in a derogatory way back when we were teenagers and i also picked up the habit even though I had never met a gay person and have never had (and still dont have) any hate for them or anyone regardless of sexual preference or gender identity
I still call things gay tho to this day, usually when something kinda annoying happens (e.g. that was kinda gay when the teacher made us do extra homework)
I'm sure there are people who might feel hurt about that so i filter myself when meeting new people and i generally use it less these days but it happens sometimes
Anyone else relate to this?
Not sure if we have an agreed definition on slur, so I agree it can be used in an insulting context like a lot of words can be. But I doubt that you are qualified to say almost always, the internet and even just twitter is a big place. If you feel that way, that probably reflects more on the kinds of conversations you see or participate in (not an attack, just I personally don't like reading heated threads and don't use twitter)