Taking into account that I never meant to literally call him mentally retarded and I thought that was pretty clear:
You *do* have a point, and I *did* see it coming, and I *do* think the fault for being offended in this case and cases like it lies a lot with the person being offended.
If it's wrong to use one label (retarded) then I don't see why it shouldn't be wrong to use another label (gay), as both usages would 'continue the mindset that x label is bad'. Except that while some people are and always will be (I nearly said retarded lol) enough to think gay/retarded/autistic people are nasty and sick, a lot of the people using the terms have nothing against those individuals. I don't find the use of any of the terms to be a problem unless it is clear that the person is using the term because they are either uneducated and feel the term applies, or because they are causing offense and happy about it.
Gay is still known and used, many terms are. But retarded (and other terms) have been in circulation since my childhood and before, so I think the usage has been evolved for a goodly while. That it's still used in a technical fashion is irrelevant to someone like me because I am aware, generally, of that people aren't using it in an even vaguely technical sense so it is *not* an insult towards mentally disabled people.
I have never heard of 'autstic' being used as an insult before, but hey if it was used as a term for 'stupid' by someone who was clearly aware of that the person *wasn't* autistic then TBH I wouldn't hold it against them, regardless of how I personally get diagnosed.
I'm sure some stuff is offensive. When I was younger it was common to call someone a spazz or a mongo and make demeaning gestures. And I'm sure the people who did it wouldn't think twice about doing it to someone who *was* disabled. *that* is different. Maybe you don't think so, but I do, and I don't have a problem with using such terminology, just like I don't have a problem with cussing regadless of who doesn't like it ;)
But I wouldn't laugh at a retard, calling them a retard, and I wouldn't cuss my granny ;)
I'm babbling and really not sure I got what I mean across because it's a mindset more than anything else.
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2006-03-30 07:39 am (UTC)You *do* have a point, and I *did* see it coming, and I *do* think the fault for being offended in this case and cases like it lies a lot with the person being offended.
If it's wrong to use one label (retarded) then I don't see why it shouldn't be wrong to use another label (gay), as both usages would 'continue the mindset that x label is bad'. Except that while some people are and always will be (I nearly said retarded lol) enough to think gay/retarded/autistic people are nasty and sick, a lot of the people using the terms have nothing against those individuals. I don't find the use of any of the terms to be a problem unless it is clear that the person is using the term because they are either uneducated and feel the term applies, or because they are causing offense and happy about it.
Gay is still known and used, many terms are. But retarded (and other terms) have been in circulation since my childhood and before, so I think the usage has been evolved for a goodly while. That it's still used in a technical fashion is irrelevant to someone like me because I am aware, generally, of that people aren't using it in an even vaguely technical sense so it is *not* an insult towards mentally disabled people.
I have never heard of 'autstic' being used as an insult before, but hey if it was used as a term for 'stupid' by someone who was clearly aware of that the person *wasn't* autistic then TBH I wouldn't hold it against them, regardless of how I personally get diagnosed.
I'm sure some stuff is offensive. When I was younger it was common to call someone a spazz or a mongo and make demeaning gestures. And I'm sure the people who did it wouldn't think twice about doing it to someone who *was* disabled. *that* is different. Maybe you don't think so, but I do, and I don't have a problem with using such terminology, just like I don't have a problem with cussing regadless of who doesn't like it ;)
But I wouldn't laugh at a retard, calling them a retard, and I wouldn't cuss my granny ;)
I'm babbling and really not sure I got what I mean across because it's a mindset more than anything else.