Ableist: Educate me?
Jun. 9th, 2011 08:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thistlechaserAt risk of not being PC, this ableist thing rubs me the wrong way. I'm in no way saying it's okay to push "differently abled" people down stairs, but when normal words can't be used in ways defined by their official definitions, it really gets under my skin.
In a post on a LJ comm, someone complained about something being "lame":
It's kind of lame. And boring.
Cue the shitstorm of "Using 'lame' in this context is ableist." comments.
From the Merriam Webster online dictionary on lame:
Definition of LAME
1
a : having a body part and especially a limb so disabled as to impair freedom of movement b : marked by stiffness and soreness [a lame shoulder]
2
: lacking needful or desirable substance : weak, ineffectual [a lame excuse]
3
slang : not being in the know : square
4
a : inferior [a lame school]
Slang, yes, but it is there. I have major issues with people not being supposed to use 'crazy' or 'insane', too. As in "95 degrees in the middle of December? That's so insane!".
It doesn't help that this whole ableist thing seemed to crop up overnight.
Am I being too sensitive about this? Or are crazy/lame/insane words now the same as saying 'nigger' or 'faggot'?
As a side note, I suddenly understand my mother. She just doesn't understand that homophobia isn't okay. Maybe this ableist stuff is generational, too! Younger folks are probably rolling their eyes at me. :P
In a post on a LJ comm, someone complained about something being "lame":
It's kind of lame. And boring.
Cue the shitstorm of "Using 'lame' in this context is ableist." comments.
From the Merriam Webster online dictionary on lame:
Definition of LAME
1
a : having a body part and especially a limb so disabled as to impair freedom of movement b : marked by stiffness and soreness [a lame shoulder]
2
: lacking needful or desirable substance : weak, ineffectual [a lame excuse]
3
slang : not being in the know : square
4
a : inferior [a lame school]
Slang, yes, but it is there. I have major issues with people not being supposed to use 'crazy' or 'insane', too. As in "95 degrees in the middle of December? That's so insane!".
It doesn't help that this whole ableist thing seemed to crop up overnight.
Am I being too sensitive about this? Or are crazy/lame/insane words now the same as saying 'nigger' or 'faggot'?
As a side note, I suddenly understand my mother. She just doesn't understand that homophobia isn't okay. Maybe this ableist stuff is generational, too! Younger folks are probably rolling their eyes at me. :P
