#ablelist language

3. Did they throw a lot of tantrums as children?

Yes, he did, especially when he was around 2-4 years old. Even at such a young age, Bill was extremely frustrated with a lot of things. He couldn’t express himself through words until he began speaking at age 5. Whenever he tried to express his desires, his parents mostly ignored him because he couldn’t tell them verbally. Screaming and crying became his only way of expressing himself, forcing his parents to pay attention.

5. What was their favorite toy?

Bill didn’t have a lot of toys as a child, but the one he remembers liking the most was his rocking horse. Rocking calms him down, but his mother (and father, but Bill’s father was extremely neglectful so he rarely heard any words of acknowledgment from him) would call him a “freak” whenever he did it without the toy. So, he’d rock on the horse for hours, not understanding why his parents were so disdainful of him.

11. Who was their first childhood crush?

He didn’t have one, at least not a real one. Bill was raised essentially by himself, interacting with very few people other than his parents. The closest thing he had to a childhood crush was David from the Bible.

30. In general, did they have a good childhood?

well he deserves to be hated for being a racist asshole so

Humans are a social species -- we communicate, and those communications most often take the form of language, be it verbal or written or typed, to one anothers faces or over the phone or over an IM program, it doesn't matter. We have body-language that tends to be different and apply differently and is usually less consciously controlled, but that's it's own conversation.

But language -- it's the lion's share of how we communicate, and the nature of communication is a social act -- and as with any social act, there are more layers to it than your 'intended' meaning. As a means of getting my point across I'm going to speak about self-perceived 'layers' of these meanings; this is not a classification that I know of as existing outside of this conversation, so if something similar exists and I've screwed it up, feel free to say so. For now though, it'll function as a conversational launching point.

There's a strictly communicative layer; making person(s) a (b, c) understand what you're trying to say.

There's the social layer, which does have to do with word choice and bonding. People who have similar ideals will usually have that slip somehow, subtly into their language, even if the conversation is not about social issues at all.

There's the political layer, which is similar to the above but imo more strict. This is a layer where people can bond or become alienated very easily; someone who uses the term 'r*tarded', for instance, is going to have an affect on the other person; positive, negative, or ambivalent, these all remains affects.

For a small-scale and arguably 'silly' example of the different potential weights in speech (and forgive me that some of these examples will likely sound clunky; I'm hardly quoting from real-life situations, just trying to give insight into how word choice and conversational direction have affects beyond the 'intended' layer) --

"I'm walking the dog today."

"Walking the st*pid fucking dog today."

"Walked the dog and he shat all over everything, what a r*tard."

"Walked the dog, he walked into a tree. Blind as a bat." "B*tch, you walk the dog yet today?"

Microaggressions are so incredibly pervasive, and because of that pervasiveness, are a strange and particular kind of dangerous and alienating. If, as someone with a mental disorder, you heard the above "r*tard" statement, there's a lot of potential reactions which naturally depend on the individual themselves. But I know that I, being neurodivergent, feel much less emotionally secure and safe around people who continue to use harmful terminology like that.

The worst (and most frequent) reaction to these kind of discussions that I've seen is complaints about 'being overly politically correct', 'it's just words, I don't mean it like that, chill out', or 'but everyone says it'.

Ableism/Language

Last updated 12 April 2014. For my most recent perspective on linguistic ableism and the reason that this page exists, see this post: Violence in Language: Circling Back to Linguistic Ableism.  Note from 16 June 2013: This page has received tens of thousands of pageviews since it launched, and has been simultaneously the subject of a number of angry and accusatory comments and letters as well. I never wrote an introduction to this page before, so I'm going to take the time to briefly do so now. The most frequent accusations that I receive in response to this page can fall into three general accusations that I am a) attempting to police everyone's language, b) obsessed with being politically correct, and or c) extremely hypersensitive to imagined insults and slights. I contend that none of these accusations are true. Language is inherently political. Both as individuals and as larger social and cultural groups, it is self-evident that the language we use to express all sorts of ideas, opinions, and emotions, as well as to describe ourselves and others, is simultaneously reflective of existing attitudes and influential to developing attitudes. The terms that are listed below are part of an expanding English-language glossary of ableist words and terms. I have chosen to include words or phrases that I know of or that are brought to my attention that meet two criteria: 1) Their literal or historical definition derives from a description of disability, either in general or pertaining to a specific category of disability, and 2) They have been historically and or currently used to marginalize, other, and oppress disabled people. The rationale for including some of these words may be readily apparent to many visitors as meriting inclusion on this list, such as for "retarded" and "invalid." For others, however, there may be the lingering suspicion that I have opted to be overinclusive and thus, extremely hypersensitive and obsessed with being politically correct. The reason that I have listed words that may not readily come to mind when asked to consider "insults and slurs targeting disability" is precisely because so much of this ableist language is utterly pervasive both in everyday colloquy and formal idiom with hardly any notice or acknowledgement, even by fellow disabled people not using the language as part of any reclamation project. On that note, the list is not intended to condemn or scold disabled people who use any of the words included in the spirit of reclamation or as self-descriptors. Its primary purpose is to serve as a reference for anyone interested in learning about linguistic microaggressions and everyday, casual ableism. And to the observation that some of the terms offered as alternatives carry analogous meanings, I have stated that the reason some words are included while others are not is because some words have oppressive histories and others do not. For example, the word "dumb" has a disability-specific history (referring to people who cannot speak, and often used to refer to Deaf people), whereas the word "obtuse" does not (deriving from a meaning of "beating against something to make it blunt or dull"). Granted, there will always be folks, disabled or not, who will disagree with the existence, purpose, and or scope of this glossary for a variety of reasons. This brief essay is not intended as a thorough examination of and response to every possible criticism, which would merit an entire series of essays to adequately discuss. My hope is that the glossary will continue to serve as a resource for those interested in its purpose and contents, and that criticisms of this page might now be more nuanced and more informed, given this background and explanation. + As a side note, it should be obvious to most readers that political correctness has little, if anything, to do with basic human decency and respect for others, and my primary concern is, in fact, basic human decency and respect for others. Also note that I emphatically insist on referring to myself and my community as autistic, which is assuredly not the politically correct terminology. ++ As another side note, it is my intention to eventually expand the entries on this page to either further explain each term's history and or to link to other pages, such as the Ableist Word Profiles from Forward: Feminists with Disabilities (FWD), that have already done so.

Glossary of Ableist Phrases

This is a list of ableist words and terms for reference purposes. Some of the entries are slurs, some are descriptions of disabled people, some are slang that derive from ableist origins, and some are common metaphors that rely on disability and ableism. This is a living document, constantly growing, expanding, and changing. If I've missed something, please let me know! One important note: Many people who identify with particular disabilities or disability in general may use descriptors from this list in an act of reclaiming the language. You may well too! BUT if you do not identify with a particular disability/disabled identity, it's probably appropriative to use some of those terms. (Some examples are mad and crip.) After the list of ableist words and terms, I have included lists of alternatives to ableist slurs, descriptions, and metaphors, if you're interested in unlearning the patterns of linguistic ableism in your own language. Blind to ____ / turn a blind eye to ____ / blinded by ignorance/bigotry/etc. Refers to Blind people or people with visual impairments. Bound to a wheelchair (wheelchair bound) Refers to people with physical or mobility disabilities. Confined to a wheelchair Refers to people with physical or mobility disabilities. Crazy  Refers to people with mental or psychiatric disabilities. Cretin  Refers to people with intellectual disabilities. Cripple/Crippled (by ____) Refers to people with physical or mobility disabilities. Daft  Refers to people with mental or psychiatric disabilities. Deaf-Mute Refers to Deaf people or people with hearing impairments. Deaf to ____ / turn a deaf ear to ____ / etc. Refers to Deaf people or people with hearing impairments. Derp (also herp-derp and variations) Refers to people with intellectual disabilities. Diffability Can refer to any person with a disability. Differently abled Can refer to any person with a disability. Dumb Refers to Deaf people or people with hearing impairments, people with speech impairments, or people with linguistic or communication disorders or disabilities. Handicap(ped) Refers to people with physical or mobility disabilities. Handicapable Usually refers to people with physical or mobility disabilities, but can also mean any person with a disability. Harelip Refers to people with cleft-lip palette or similar facial deformities. Idiot(ic) Refers to people with intellectual disabilities. Imbecile Refers to people with intellectual disabilities. Insane or Insanity Refers to people with mental or psychiatric disabilities. Invalid Refers to people with physical or mobility disabilities or chronic health conditions. Lame Refers to people with physical or mobility disabilities. Loony/Loony Bin Refers to people with mental or psychiatric disabilities. Lunatic Refers to people with mental or psychiatric disabilities. Madhouse/Mad/Madman Refers to an institution housing people with mental or psychiatric disabilities. Maniac Refers to people with mental or psychiatric disabilities. Mental/Mental Case Refers to people with mental or psychiatric disabilities. Mongoloid Refers to people with intellectual disabilities and specifically Down Syndrome. Derives from a double-whammy of racism AND ableism, from the belief that people with Down Syndrome look like people from Mongolia. Moron(ic) Refers to people with intellectual disabilities. Nuts Refers to people with mental or psychiatric disabilities. Psycho Refers to people with mental or psychiatric disabilities. Psychopath(ic) Refers to people with mental or psychiatric disabilities. Psycho(tic) Refers to people with mental or psychiatric disabilities. Retard(ed)/[anything]-tard Refers to people with intellectual disabilities. [you belong on the] Short-bus/ that's short-bus material/etc. Refers to people with intellectual, learning, or other mental disabilities. Simpleton Refers to people with intellectual disabilities. Spaz(zed) Refers to people with cerebral palsy or similar neurological disabilities. Specially Abled Can refer to any person with a disability. Special Needs Usually refers to people with learning, intellectual, or developmental disabilities, but can mean any person with a disability. Stupid Refers to people with intellectual disabilities (i.e. "in a stupor"). Suffers from ____ Can refer to any person with a disability. Wacko/Whacko Refers to people with mental or psychiatric disabilities.