the euphemism treadmill is a description of linguistic patterns, not a get out of rule free card (files.catbox.moe)

submitted 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) by spujb@lemmy.cafe to c/196@lemmy.blahaj.zone

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Using ableist language as insults is always bad, even if the words seem innocuous. Some may reference the "euphemism treadmill" to try to justify their behavior, but it's crucial to understand that the treadmill is merely a linguistic observation. It does not exist to normalize ableist behavior.

what is the euphemism treadmill for those who dont want to google

more reading if bored

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[-] absGeekNZ@lemmy.nz 5 points 16 hours ago

Just about any term that refers to someone else can be used as an insult!

So as the old saying goes "offense is taken, not given". If you want to be insulted, you will be.

I find, people who insult others are saying more about their own character, than that of the target.

[-] SaltyIceteaMaker@lemmy.ml 7 points 23 hours ago

du hast doch lack gesoffen "idiot", "neurodivergent" & "lame" als abelism zu bezeichnen.

was so angry/disappointed in that post that i couldn't get the message across with English.

[-] unyons@feddit.org 1 points 21 hours ago

That's angry. (0o0)

[-] SaltyIceteaMaker@lemmy.ml 1 points 21 hours ago

eh angry doesn't fit how i felt. upset maybe? anyway i could only bring across my emotion via german

[-] BearGun@ttrpg.network 6 points 23 hours ago

Idiot is ableist?

[-] spujb@lemmy.cafe 3 points 20 hours ago

it isn’t necessarily, unless it’s used with ableist intent. good explanation someone made

[-] krimsonbun@lemmy.blahaj.zone 8 points 1 day ago

how is special needs ableist?

[-] Draconic_NEO@lemmy.dbzer0.com 21 points 1 day ago

Anything is ableist if that's the intention is to be ableist. "Cognitive impairment" or "Brain damage" are clinical terms, but if one decides they can also be ableist insults.

[-] spujb@lemmy.cafe 2 points 21 hours ago

it’s not, unless there is intent. i see draconic left a great reaponse to you so i will give that my seal of approval instead of rewriting.

[-] Squorlple@lemmy.world 30 points 1 day ago

I’ve been thinking about how we call people “right-handed” and “left-handed” instead of “handedness-typical” and “handedness-divergent”

[-] CubbyTustard@reddthat.com 13 points 1 day ago

sinister used to just mean left handed!

[-] Obi@sopuli.xyz 5 points 1 day ago

Didn't know that one, it's a nice one.

[-] anothercatgirl@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 18 hours ago

Well there's right handed and left handed threading which assumes a person with two hands and joints that turn in the opposite directions.

[-] spujb@lemmy.cafe 13 points 1 day ago

actually GOATED INSIGHT my friend keep it up

[-] Sivecano@lemmy.dbzer0.com 23 points 1 day ago

Idk man, a good chunk of these are just sorta not that associated with their origins anymore. A lot of insults are historically demeaning towards certain groups (especially poor people).

[-] spujb@lemmy.cafe 10 points 1 day ago

as always, act everything considering the window of present you are in. “idiot” means a lot less offense today than it did back in the day.

[-] anothercatgirl@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 18 hours ago

I agree. "idiot-proof" is a common term in the design industry and it's somewhat synonymous with accessibility, fault tolerance, and resilience.

[-] Sivecano@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 23 hours ago

Reasonable.

[-] inv3r5ion@lemmy.dbzer0.com 58 points 1 day ago

Neurodivergent isn’t an insult…

[-] captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 4 points 21 hours ago

Not YET!

[-] inv3r5ion@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 21 hours ago

With that theory, any word could become an insult.

[-] spujb@lemmy.cafe 3 points 12 hours ago

Bingo. I assumed more people understood this, so I apologize for not communicating clearly. Any word can become an insult—with the right people in control. What’s particularly hurtful is seeing words that marginalized or oppressed groups use to describe their own experiences being co-opted and turned into insults, reinforcing their otherness.

It happened with “retard,” as with “idiot,” and so many others. Recently, I’ve seen it happen with more niche phrases (look up “is X acoustic” if you’re unfamiliar). Just the other day, I made a comment that I could see two perspectives on a matter. Instead of simply calling me wrong, someone said, “You must be neurodivergent, you’re so gullible.” In that context, “neurodivergent” was clearly being used as a stand-in for the r-slur.

To be clear, I am not against any language. I’m against the weaponizing of language.

[-] inv3r5ion@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 11 hours ago

👍🏻

What’s interesting about the word retard specifically is it’s still used as a technical term that has nothing to do with developmental disabilities - for example, fire retardant - to slow/stop something.

[-] spujb@lemmy.cafe 0 points 11 hours ago

right, i mean thats just kind of a side effect of language existing

a similar concept appears in the terms “dumbwaiter,” “dumbfounded,” “dumbstruck” wherein “dumb” literally just meant mechanical/nonspeaking, and had none of the other implications of disability-related muteness it has now.

obviously “dumb” carries a lot less weight these days than the r slur, but the existence of etymologically related terms doesn’t give an “out” to people using them for offense and denigration in either case

[-] captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 3 points 19 hours ago

That's the attitude one would expect from such a high class individual.

[-] CommanderCloon@lemmy.ml 3 points 20 hours ago

Correct

[-] knightly@pawb.social 34 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

"Cisgender" isn't an insult either, but that doesn't stop Elon Musk and his flunkies from treating it as such.

[-] spujb@lemmy.cafe 9 points 1 day ago

mega fax

[-] spujb@lemmy.cafe 13 points 1 day ago* (last edited 11 hours ago)

correct, it’s not (or shouldn’t be), but it’s being used as one, especially recently!

precontext: i said i could see both sides of some non-important debate. something about whether a community mod should be heavy or light with bans, and i was like, “well it depends on what the motivations and needs are.”

their response to that?

in this post i hope to call attention to the same destructive processes happening to “neurodiverse” as to all the other terms. particularly i want to call out the ableist motivations behind it.

[-] RandomVideos@programming.dev 10 points 1 day ago

You can use gay, homosexual, homo habilis as insults

That doesnt make these words bad

[-] spujb@lemmy.cafe 12 points 1 day ago

precisely? never said otherwise :) to quote another person right in this thread whom i agree with:

It’s an insult because of intent, not because of the word itself, though.

[-] rumschlumpel@feddit.org 40 points 1 day ago

It's an insult because of intent, not because of the word itself, though.

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[-] Manifish_Destiny@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

Yeah and I could call you a wet blanket for not realizing words can be used however the fuck you want.

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[-] sunbather@beehaw.org 14 points 1 day ago

seeing as ableist terms are always rooted in previously uncontroversial medical terms i propose the term "the swag ones"

[-] spujb@lemmy.cafe 8 points 1 day ago

just got diagnosed with cool guy syndrom so now i take.. adderall

[-] juliebean@lemm.ee 21 points 1 day ago

today i learned that 'cretin' has ableist origins. just hearing the word, and being completely unaware of its origins, i assumed it had racist origins and was somehow related to the isle of crete.

apparently 'cretinism' is an old-timey word for congenital iodine deficiency syndrome.

[-] spujb@lemmy.cafe 7 points 1 day ago

okay wow TIL too! i was just pulling from memory and a few online examples but i never dove into the specific histories of that particular word!

[-] Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works 41 points 1 day ago

If one of the words needs an asterisk instead of a letter, I don't think all of them are equal...

[-] VerdantSporeSeasoning@lemmy.ca 15 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I have an older family member who is severely mentally disabled and always has been. His medical records diagnosed him as r*tarded. The adults diagnosing him at the time didn't understand enough about mental conditions and their differences when he was a child. So kids like him were diagnosed with that. It did have more 'legitimate' uses than it does in our current context. Doesn't make it good or right, doesn't mean they shouldn't have tried to be more specific either. That legacy leads to now where we have the nuance and resources to do better. I am glad it's more and more relagated to the past as it's consistently been used to dehumanize people.

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[-] julianh@lemm.ee 26 points 1 day ago

Interesting. Feels like there's a bit of a paradox, where we need a term to address a group of people who are being "othered," but while that's the case, there will be people who use that term as an insult.

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[-] nanoswarm9k@lemmus.org 2 points 1 day ago

... would you like to walk away from Omelas..?