re: #160 Nyet

Careful, your using the s-word shows you’re an ableist and basically no better than a racist.

/

Sometimes people are so overly sensitive about language that they parody themselves. I can understand why they do it, but they presume that every disabled person is going to damaged psychologically by certain words. Sure, “dumb” used to mean “mute,” but now most people understand it to mean “stupid.” Does that mean I can’t say, “What a dumb idea that was!” around a mute person? Or even at all?

“Ableism” suggests that someone with better skills or talent or knowledge cannot criticize or correct someone with weaker skills, etc. I can see why ad hominem attacks would be banned from comments, but making a blanket injunction against fairly common words goes way too far, in my view.