Fun fact: word usage changes over time. For example, “idiot” used to be a technical medical term for extreme mental disability. We live in the Age of Information, and if somebody doesn’t want to learn about historical context that’s actually willful ignorance on their part.
As the word “retarded” transitioned to “the r word” in the 2010s, this was pointed out over and over, that this process has happened over and over. We seem to have an innate yearning to find ways to call people stupid.
We have a desire to say it nicely but the new polite words always become slurs again eventually. You’ll probably be shamed for saying disabled in another generation by a holier than thou thirteen year old.
Fun fact: word usage changes over time. For example, “idiot” used to be a technical medical term for extreme mental disability. We live in the Age of Information, and if somebody doesn’t want to learn about historical context that’s actually willful ignorance on their part.
As the word “retarded” transitioned to “the r word” in the 2010s, this was pointed out over and over, that this process has happened over and over. We seem to have an innate yearning to find ways to call people stupid.
We have a desire to say it nicely but the new polite words always become slurs again eventually. You’ll probably be shamed for saying disabled in another generation by a holier than thou thirteen year old.
It’s already happened. Some people want you to say “differently abled”.