What in the hell are you talking about? A society that does reasonable things to difficulties that some people have through no fault of their own is a healthy one. It’s all a question of balance and one could argue that colleges have got that balance very wrong, but they’ve always been places with more intense politics than the rest of society. People leave university and get more life experience and hopefully mature a bit, thankfully. This is how it’s always been.
If you want to know where I, a mental cunt with ADHD strikes the balance, regarding this list, some of the words make sense as their current meaning is pejorative and derogatory e.g. “cripple”, however some are simply a statement of fact and thus ridiculous e.g. “addict”.
Personally I think I have thicker skin than most and whilst it would be great if everyone was at that stage we have to extend some level of compassion, not just out of altruism but also because how using certain language affects how we ourselves are portrayed and received when trying to achieve a goal with our words.
I think you inadvertently highlighted the issue here:
>some of the words make sense as their current meaning is pejorative and derogatory e.g. “cripple”, however some are simply a statement of fact and thus ridiculous e.g. “addict”
I disagree with your contention. I also see "cripple" as a statement of fact. Others may see "addict" as pejorative. "Addict" is certainly pejorative when Tucker Carlson uses it. Not pejorative when the leader of the local AA chapter does.
"Idiot" was, supposedly, a medical term at some point. Then, it was probably a heavy slur the way "retarded" is now. Currently, "idiot" is pretty tame. Certainly would generally be considered more acceptable than "retarded."
In other words: language is a slippery beast, something that has no fixed interpretation. Much of meaning is super contextual. Just as one is advised against assuming someone's pronouns, why are we assuming people's intent with lists like this?
Usually terms like that become problematic when they are used to erase someone's individuality. They are an addict or a cripple, as opposed to someone having addiction or being crippled. Of course, it's very useful to be able to speak about people in aggregate, so someone being intellectually retarded transforms into retarded people in aggregate and then becomes a retard as a slur.
We should be able to look at how we are using language and identify that it is problematic without requiring a list of words.
>We should be able to look at how we are using language and identify that it is problematic without requiring a list of words.
Yup! I think that humans are so heterogeneous that basically everything requires a context to derive the full meaning of a thing. The same language, wielded in two different occasions, can have vastly different meanings.
As a linguistics professor once mentioned:
"Time flies like an arrow, but fruit flies like an apple, although if the play is bad enough, even fruit flies like an arrow."
People can be multiple things though. I am a programmer, I am a nerd, I am a drinker, I am a partner, I am a music fan. None of these negate each other.
Interesting phrase, 'no fault of their own'. I have a mole. It is a fault in my skin. Is it my own fault? Is my flesh my own?
If I had a limp resulting from a car crash, would this be a fault of my own? If I were driving? If I struck another car from behind? If I drove off a bridge? If my name were Thelma?
If you want to know where I, a mental cunt with ADHD strikes the balance, regarding this list, some of the words make sense as their current meaning is pejorative and derogatory e.g. “cripple”, however some are simply a statement of fact and thus ridiculous e.g. “addict”.
Personally I think I have thicker skin than most and whilst it would be great if everyone was at that stage we have to extend some level of compassion, not just out of altruism but also because how using certain language affects how we ourselves are portrayed and received when trying to achieve a goal with our words.