Using ableist language as insults is always bad, even if the words seem innocuous. Some may reference the “euphemism treadmill” to try to justify their behavior, but it’s crucial to understand that the treadmill is merely a linguistic observation. It does not exist to normalize ableist behavior.
what is the euphemism treadmill for those who dont want to google
Neurodivergent isn’t an insult…
“Cisgender” isn’t an insult either, but that doesn’t stop Elon Musk and his flunkies from treating it as such.
mega fax
Not YET!
With that theory, any word could become an insult.
Bingo. I assumed more people understood this, so I apologize for not communicating clearly. Any word can become an insult—with the right people in control. What’s particularly hurtful is seeing words that marginalized or oppressed groups use to describe their own experiences being co-opted and turned into insults, reinforcing their otherness.
It happened with “retard,” as with “idiot,” and so many others. Recently, I’ve seen it happen with more niche phrases (look up “is X acoustic” if you’re unfamiliar). Just the other day, I made a comment that I could see two perspectives on a matter. Instead of simply calling me wrong, someone said, “You must be neurodivergent, you’re so gullible.” In that context, “neurodivergent” was clearly being used as a stand-in for the r-slur.
To be clear, I am not against any language. I’m against the weaponizing of language.
👍🏻
What’s interesting about the word retard specifically is it’s still used as a technical term that has nothing to do with developmental disabilities - for example, fire retardant - to slow/stop something.
right, i mean thats just kind of a side effect of language existing
a similar concept appears in the terms “dumbwaiter,” “dumbfounded,” “dumbstruck” wherein “dumb” literally just meant mechanical/nonspeaking, and had none of the other implications of disability-related muteness it has now.
obviously “dumb” carries a lot less weight these days than the r slur, but the existence of etymologically related terms doesn’t give an “out” to people using them for offense and denigration in either case
Never said it did. I remember the first time I saw retard being used in a technical sense and being thrown by it’s usage in todays world. Ultimately though you can’t police language, people are gonna say whatever dumb shit they want, doesn’t mean you have to listen. And no, anyone using “dumb” or “idiot” today is not referring to disabled people, those words stopped being used to describe disabled people multiple decades ago and are far removed from being associated with disabled people. Retard is a lot more recent, but even as a kid growing up in the 90s where calling people gay, queer and faggots were acceptable, even retard used as a slur back then was frowned upon.
no worries! i wasn’t saying you said that, just returning to the thesis of my post :)
again, as i said two comments above. this is a descriptive post, not perscriptive. my main concern is to make people aware of the pattern, not to tell them what to do about it.
That’s the attitude one would expect from such a high class individual.
Correct
correct, it’s not (or shouldn’t be), but it’s being used as one, especially recently!
precontext: i said i could see both sides of some non-important debate. something about whether a community mod should be heavy or light with bans, and i was like, “well it depends on what the motivations and needs are.”
their response to that?
in this post i hope to call attention to the same destructive processes happening to “neurodiverse” as to all the other terms. particularly i want to call out the ableist motivations behind it.
It’s an insult because of intent, not because of the word itself, though.
oh absolutely :) would never disagree with you here 💯💯💯
You can use gay, homosexual, homo habilis as insults
That doesnt make these words bad
precisely? never said otherwise :) to quote another person right in this thread whom i agree with:
Without the context it doesn’t come off as insulting.
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I’m autistic, adhd, and I had a brain injury. Triple neurodivergent. 🙄
Go ahead and block me, I don’t really care, I think without context you taking offense to calling someone who is gullible “neurodivergent” seems over sensitive. Autistic people in particular unfortunately can be gullible and people abuse that.
okay sorry. i had no patience at the time to try to walk you through how the above is an obvious insult. unblocking because i value ND individuals having a voice, thanks for being chill and bearing with me in my stupidity
Really unkind in which threads? Yeah, I’m an asshole about politics, because I’ve had it up to here with backstabbing liberals who vote blue no matter who and scold the left while losing elections like it’s their job (because it is, they exist as a ratchet to prevent any kind of left wing reform). I’ve spent the last two and a half decades watching this country fall to fascism while there’s zero real opposition to it. As a queer neurodivergent I don’t have any more patience left for liberals.
ugh i apologize. i can’t find any specific incidents that i remember so i must be incorrect. yesterday i was quite frustrated at people implicitly calling me a liar or overly sensitive to something that was quite obvious to me and i remembered your username and the vibe of your “asshole about politics” behavior (which is totally understandable btw) so i made a snap decision to single you out rather than checking the actual quality of what i remember.
you have my formal apology. this place is hella stressful and i do my best to be kind but this was an instance where i failed that, and it impacted you semi-directly.
give me a few minutes i’ll remove all my baseless and unkind commentary surrounding you.
It’s all good you don’t need to worry about it. I’m just some random on the internet.
When I was younger I used to get in arguments (usually political nature, I guess politics and power are unfortunately one of my special interests) online with random people. I’d get all upset about it, and it’s fair because it is upsetting. I was terribly, horrifically, violently bullied from kindergarten to college for being visibly queer and neurodivergent and have major trauma and ptsd from it (and other things too). As I’ve gotten older I realized that I was just constantly recreating the abusive conditions I grew up under, feeling bullied online just like I did in real life. The stress is in some ways addictive, it’s what your body knows and wants because it’s familiar and comforting even if it’s not ‘normal’ or healthy. I’ve been banned from every major social media platform for being militantly anti fascist. I’m an asshole and I’m proud of it. I’m a product of the violence I received when I was younger, which is why now as an adult I’m more militant than ever as this country falls deeper and deeper into fascism, aided by the tech industry that silences any voices truly critical of the direction we’re heading in. They amplify hate because it brings them revenue. They manipulate the masses because it brings them power.
Most of the people you argue with online probably aren’t even real and are bots used to manipulate public sentiment in favor of the elites (even division is favorable to them, far more so than unity). The people who are real are likely tweens and teenagers and have a naive view of the world, not being beaten to shit by it yet like adults are. And then there are the real people who are adults… but it says a lot about them (and me, shit) that they choose to spend their time arguing with strangers on the internet. Healthy people are too busy enjoying life to be wasting their time arguing with idiots on the internet.
block all you want, but they did not say to ignore the context and be happy
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Yeah and I could call you a wet blanket for not realizing words can be used however the fuck you want.
fully agree, as i have said here and here.
unfortunately, blocked for being mean about it.
Lmao