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#878726 09/29/14 09:56 AM
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 28
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I wrote about ableist language today and why we should stop using it. My challenge for you is to pay attention to how often in a day you use ableist language and to figure out ways that you can replace those words with better ones.

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Jellyfish
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Hi Andria. Your post has surely been too long ignored! I hope you won't mind if I point out that avoiding what you call "ableist language" is almost impossible, without conversation grinding to a halt. Even the term "disabled individuals" is dodgy. Every person I know is disabled in one way or another. I am *old* and therefore *walk slowly* and am somewhat *clumsy*. Now, should I object to those three words I've marked with asterisks? Surely not. That would be both *silly* and *hyper-sensitive*. Being *old*, I am subject to some *debilitation*, *with medical problems*; my sciatica has made me something of a *cripple*. That's a lot of asterisks, isn't it?! What do you reckon?

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Chipmunk
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Chipmunk
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How about instead of handicapped we use handi-capable? I think handicapped focuses on one or two elements that attempt to define someone and strip them of their capabilities.


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Jellyfish
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But, Daisy, someone with only one leg has already been stripped of several capabilities - the ability to walk without artificial aids, for one. And - as in the famous sketch by Peter Cook and Dudley Moore - the ability to audition successfully for the part of Tarzan, for another. Don't you think too much PC would distort the English language out of all recognition?

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Chipmunk
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Chipmunk
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I don't like PC at all. I'm just suggesting that we don't describe and limit ourselves with our own language. smile


Former Chocolate Editor. Also known as Daisybun.

Moderated by  Andria B - Human Rights 

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