Quote:
Originally Posted by Comet
There is a fine line between being offensive and politically correct. George Carlin did a terrific bit about the soft language people like to use in this politically correct world.
The whole clip is fantastic but 2:40 on addresses the soft language 1069 and other people like to use to feel better about themselves and be politically correct instead of being direct.
|
When you call someone a "dwarf" or a "midget" (or a cripple, or a retard), you are basically calling them a non-human, or a subhuman.
You are saying that they are not a person, they are a disability or a medical condition, that their handicap defines who they are.
Yes, I
will refer to people with disabilities as people FIRST, and yes, that does make me "feel better about myself" than I would if I went around calling people retards, etc. It also makes
them feel better about me, and possibly about themselves.
The salient point is that I would feel a lot
worse about myself if I used degrading and dehumanizing language to refer to them, in the name of being "direct".
It is not that much harder to say, "I met a man with dwarfism today" than it is to say "I met a dwarf."
It's still perfectly direct, and it's only an extra three syllables. I think I can manage it. I prefer to regard and refer to people as humans, regardless of their medical conditions.
12-16-2012, 12:59 AM
Re: Hank Johnson forswears the word ‘midget’
Linear Mode
