Quote:
Originally Posted by sa226
It's anecdotal of course, but I witnessed the parents of a child with downs syndrome get extremely upset in a parent/school administration meeting, when another parent used the word in the manner that everyone here wants to use it.
I was pretty neutral on its usage before that, after witnessing how upset they were, I don't think I've said it since.
Weird crusade to try and bring back a word that can upset people to that extent.
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I’m fine with words falling out of fashion for whatever reason, but I hate the idea that we don’t use words on account of second-hand offence when the intent isn’t there.
Like, there’s a distinct difference between calling someone a fag because you’re a homophobe vs using it because you’re british or part of the LGBTQ community and believe in the importance of reducing the power of words like that by using them casually.
I think the idea that a word “isn’t allowed” is tough because of that, and people just look at it as unfair some people can use the word and others can’t.
What we should be teaching each other and calling out is the intent. There’s plenty of homophobic and transphobic stuff allowed on CP, for example, mostly because they avoid slurs. That seems so ####ing backwards to me.
Intent matters more than word choice, imo.