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IamwhatIam:

I'll tell you what makes me see red....it is the cutsey , wootsy words like handiCAPABLE,  and disABLED.  What a crock that is. 

The one I thought was the stupiest term was "differently-abled". 

Where do I apply for the job of Person that Dreams up Problems that aren't Problems?

Another way to look at why some of us "don't care" what people call us" is because we don't think we're worthy or heard enough to really change people's minds about WHY they call us things that relate to only one part of us (wheelchair guy)...Unless I sell wheelchairs-that's a weird title to me. 

There's the idea of internalized oppression that means that after lifetimes of experiencing discrimination/oppression, we internalize it and don't treat ourselves in even the ways we would others.

When you see someone on the street that's a different race, religion, or ethnicity....does it truly not matter at all what you "call" them? I'm NOT battling for following precise PC rules or even saying there's ONE specific set of words that are appropriate. I'm just saying it's a little depressing that we respect other people more than we even respect ourselves. 

KaraSwims:

Another way to look at why some of us "don't care" what people call us" is because we don't think we're worthy or heard enough to really change people's minds about WHY they call us things that relate to only one part of us (wheelchair guy)...Unless I sell wheelchairs-that's a weird title to me. 

There's the idea of internalized oppression that means that after lifetimes of experiencing discrimination/oppression, we internalize it and don't treat ourselves in even the ways we would others.

When you see someone on the street that's a different race, religion, or ethnicity....does it truly not matter at all what you "call" them? I'm NOT battling for following precise PC rules or even saying there's ONE specific set of words that are appropriate. I'm just saying it's a little depressing that we respect other people more than we even respect ourselves. 

 

Kara,

 

I understand and respect what you are saying, but comparing it to race, religion or ethnicity is a stretch.

 

My not getting worked up about how the sentence is assembled when I'm discribed is not proof that I'm "internalizing it becuase of years of discrimination/oppression."  It's just proof that I'm easy to get along with and that I believe there are bigger battles to be fought besides how a sentence is structured.

 

Of course, you're not think...  "wow, he's got issues". You'd be right, but those issues have nothing to do with my disability.    

I think there's a difference in being offended by these things and discussing them, though. It doesn't offend me if someone calls me crip or gimp or bitch or anything else. But I still think understanding why we call people these things and what they mean is as important as anything else. Forcing people to fit into a mold is never going to work, nor should it. That's why labels, even politically correct labels, change and fade away. But the action of discussion does us all a great service in the way it makes the issue present and it informs us of the thing itself. 

TriDog:

 

I understand and respect what you are saying, but comparing it to race, religion or ethnicity is a stretch.

    

 

 

How so? Does that type of diversity deserve more respect? 

Liesl:

It doesn't offend me if someone calls me crip or gimp or bitch or anything else.  

So, I can call you bitch? 

KaraSwims:

How so? Does that type of diversity deserve more respect? 

  Ok, here's where I loose ground. I know what I want to say but can't find the right words.  I don't lump disability in with race, religion or ethnicity.   Then again,I don't judge people, as a friend or employee, by any of these titles.   Disability stands alone as it is something we all can and may deal with. 

 

Maybe it's the way I was raised.  I've never felt oppressed because I was a gimp.  As a matter of fact, I think there have been times when it actually gave me an advantage over others. 

In my previous posts I said I think person first language is important and should be used.  As a special education teacher, I believe that putting ther person first teaches students to respect themselves and others.  It helps students with disabilities remember that they are a person first and their disability does not define them.  Yes students should learn to embrase their disability and accept it but it is also important for students to learn that it is not the most important thing about them.  I have heard teachers reffer to students as "The LD kids" or "The inclusion kids" and this sends the wrong message to students.  This points out that they are different and that they are not individuals and maybe that they do not beling in the class.  Students need to be respected as indevidual first who happen to have a disability.  Children are more alike than different and they need to bge reminded of that.  Children with disabilities have more incommom with their non-disabled peers than they do things that separate them.  That is why we need to emphisize that they are people first.

 

I can understand why people who are disable themselves might not care so much about person first language but we still need to teach others to be respectful of everyone.

TriDog:

Liesl:

It doesn't offend me if someone calls me crip or gimp or bitch or anything else.  

So, I can call you bitch? 

 

 

 

You wouldn't be the only one! Ahem.