Quote:
Originally Posted by DiracSpike
Deaf is derogatory now? What about blind?
No one wants to be reduced to just a label of a condition, and there's certainly more to any one person than a particular affliction they may unfortunately have...but we need words to describe what goes on in the world. Deafness is a condition that exists, we need a term for that, don't we? I'm genuinely confused, are you saying another, more new age euphemistic term like "hard of hearing" should be used? Or are you saying we should just never talk about people that can't hear at all, which sounds a lot like erasing deaf people and also very counterproductive and not helpful to treating people with deafness.
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No, I think referring to the person as "the deaf guy", or "the blind lady" is what's not good. "Gary who is deaf", "Sydney who is a wheelchair user" .. that type of language is more acceptable. I am completely immersed in this world and I still don't know what is the correct phrases/ terms to use at all times. It will take some time but I think we'll all get it eventually.