When I was a kid, somewhere around 7-8, I went to a daycare that had a "special needs" kid. I knew something was wrong with him, but the day care people never explained it and just told us to be nice or ignore him. I never really interacted with him, I was more concerned playing with My Little Ponies and watching other kids play Mortal Kombat.
Anyway, one day when I left, my mom was really mad at me and told me I was in big trouble. Apparently, I called the kid "retarded" (note: not retard, but retarded) to his face and made fun of him or something. This was a big no no, especially since my mom was a special ed teacher. The first thing I asked was "what's retarded?" and she explained it to me. When I tried to proclaim my innocence, no one believed me. I was then grounded. I realized later it had probably been another girl in the daycare that everyone said looked similar to me.
Oh age 7, when you might accidentally use a word without even understanding what it means. Yet another point why people need to not be offended by words. When I was 7, I was explaning the features of the Omega Red x-men action figure to my little cousin, except I got the word tentacles confused with the word testicles. I got in a heap of trouble.
I'm still waiting for the Omega Red variant with giant extending testicles though.
Words only have the power we give them. If the people behind "Stop the R Word" simply said, "we honestly don't care if you use the R word; we're not even going to call it the R word. There is no R word, we have no son," then the impact of said word would be nullified. It'd just be another definition for some word.
The problem is that most of us have negative associations with some of these terms that are too powerful to let go. If someone called me or a family member a "spic," I would likely ensure that they'd need a full mouth's worth of false teeth and maybe a nose resetting.
People are getting the PC beat into their heads so early now that in some kids, you'll actually see fear association to people of other races, because they do not want to make a mistake and do something offensive.
If the first thing that comes to your head when you encounter someone is "OK, I'm not supposed to do X,Y,and Z" it is damn near impossible to act naturally.
That is crazy sad. You know, it's weird because I remember being completely blind in regards to race and gender when I was little. When I was in kindergarten, I played with boys and girls of all races without thinking they were any different, and my best friends, the neighbor kids next door, were black. Skin color was like the difference between different color eyes, and I remember being confused and upset when I learned as a kid about racism. As I grew up, it became harder and harder to not to notice race. It's not a matter of feeling negatively toward people of other races, but I am conscious of the societal weight behind the concept of race, all the historical and cultural implications of it. I feel we won't be truly free from this tension until we can interact like I did with people when I was small - not just treating people equally, but not caring to differentiate between them.
I remember someone telling me that the word "cunt" was originally a Celtic term for a scabbard for a sword and was used to refer to warrior women. I don't have refs. for that, though.
I remember someone telling me that the word "cunt" was originally a Celtic term for a scabbard for a sword and was used to refer to warrior women. I don't have refs. for that, though.
In a lot of Spanish-speaking countries, "la vaina" can mean "sheath," "scabbard," or "that shit/that stuff." In some places, though, it's a very crude term referring to the vagina. Not necessarily as stigmatized as "cunt," but I wouldn't use it in front of a woman, that's for sure.
Retard is a perfectly valid verb. Retarded is a perfectly valid adjective. Anyone who wants me to cut a functional work that has plenty of value other than as a slur out of my vocabulary can suck it. I don't see people getting upset over flame retardant blankets.
Comments
No, wait. I cunt get no retardation.
When I was a kid, somewhere around 7-8, I went to a daycare that had a "special needs" kid. I knew something was wrong with him, but the day care people never explained it and just told us to be nice or ignore him. I never really interacted with him, I was more concerned playing with My Little Ponies and watching other kids play Mortal Kombat.
Anyway, one day when I left, my mom was really mad at me and told me I was in big trouble. Apparently, I called the kid "retarded" (note: not retard, but retarded) to his face and made fun of him or something. This was a big no no, especially since my mom was a special ed teacher. The first thing I asked was "what's retarded?" and she explained it to me. When I tried to proclaim my innocence, no one believed me. I was then grounded. I realized later it had probably been another girl in the daycare that everyone said looked similar to me.
I will never forget that injustice. >__<
I'm still waiting for the Omega Red variant with giant extending testicles though.
As a camp counselor, that was always the one thing I tried to do was avoid all injustice. If only teachers and parents would do the same.
The problem is that most of us have negative associations with some of these terms that are too powerful to let go. If someone called me or a family member a "spic," I would likely ensure that they'd need a full mouth's worth of false teeth and maybe a nose resetting.