Quote:
Originally Posted by DazzlinDino
I just want to encourage people; In the past terms like deaf and mute, crippled, or handicapped were hurtful and derogatory terms used to describe a person with a disability. No one wants to be labeled a hanicapped. A handicap actually refers to a physical barrier; For example a curb on a sidewalk presents a physical handicap. Also rather than using the term "disabled person" I encourage you to use the person's first name. People who work in the field and advocates, as well as people who have a specific disability have worked really hard to change the hurtful and derogatory lables over the years. Society has come a long ways to help people learn to to associate with the person first and the disability second. As a person who has a disability myself and as an advocate, I have personally traveled all over Western Canada and parts of USA to promote awareness. If you can juat make the effort to avoid using labels; It really goes a long way and it gives an uneducated person the opportunity to use the right vocabulary. Especially when they meet someone who is deaf or uses a wheelchair, or may have other challenges.
I saw posts in here from people who meant well but were using labels to describe the people they are talking about.. We are not labels, we are real people. If the people who mean well are part of the growing process of diversity and inclusion, it really makes for a stronger argument.
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Maybe I'm being too literal here, but let's say I'm wanting to have a planning meeting with some contractors about making my building more useable/accessible... Saying things like "John", "Bob" or "Albert" aren't really going to get me there. Words like "blind" or "deaf" aren't insults in and of themselves. They can be used as insults, but they can also be used with validity for the purposes of context.
To me, the problem shouldn't be the word "blind", it should be the way "blind" is used by people with ulterior (or especially derogatory) motives. Why don't we just get rid of donkeyholes instead of words? We can ban the word "blind" but all that does is make it more difficult to have purposeful conversations, because donkeyholes will always find a new way to insult someone - meanwhile the people who care about not hurting others are the ones who have to constantly worry about which words they can or cannot say.
TLDR: Stop eliminating words, start eliminating the donkeyholes who use them as insults.