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Political Correctness is retarded, and part of the problem. The problem is not offensive words, it's weak people who can't handle the world and can't cope with anything
This is sort of a good example to see how this works in real life.
A generally bad term that people know about but do not use is considered "sublimated."
The activist take the word and "desublimate" it brining it back out in the open. Then it is assigned some sort official derogatory status and then it is somehow attached to the "oppressors."
I can't for the life of me think what "midget" could be repurposed for though, but they're crafty, so...
Take for example "white supremacy." That was not at all a daily term. "The blacks," as Marcuse wrote in An Essay on Liberation, desublimated the word from rather obscurity and attached it to white men and capitalism whereas previously it literally meant Nazis, KKK, David Duke types...
Rarely used like the words "I love you" but when they were used they were meant to carry some weight. Now all that weight is spread over every single white person's head like a Sword of Damocles. It carries less meaning but it still means essentially the same thing.
Anyways, it will be interesting to see if actually removing the word is their intentions. I say this as a free speech advocate who isn't for banning people's speech in any way. It's wrong and manipulative to take away people's ability to express themselves even when they're out of line with society.
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Today, the rupture with the linguistic universe of the Establishment is more radical: in the most militant areas of protest, it amounts to a methodical reversal of meaning. It is a familiar phenomenon that sub-cultural groups develop their own language, taking the harmless words of everyday communication out of their context and using them for designating objects or activities tabooed by the Establishment. This is the Hippie subculture: “trip,” “grass,” “pot,” “acid,” and so on. But a far more subversive universe of discourse announces itself in the language of black militants. Here is a systematic linguistic rebellion, which smashes the ideological context in which the words are employed and defined, and places them into the opposite context – negation of the established one.[16] Thus, the blacks “take over” some of the most sublime and sublimated concepts of Western civilization, desublimate them, and redefine them. For example, the -soul” (in its essence lily-white ever since Plato), the traditional seat of everything that is truly human in man, tender, deep, immortal – the word which has become embarrassing, corny, false in the established universe of discourse, has been desublimated and in this transsubstantiation, migrated to the Negro culture: they are soul brothers; the soul is black, violent, orgiastic; it is no longer in Beethoven, Schubert, but in the blues, in jazz, in rock ‘n’ roll, in -soul food.”
I'm sorry but how am I supposed to regard the phrase "little people," a phrase that broadly includes children, as any less condescending? And by the way, unlike "midget," the terms "spics," "wetbacks," "k!kes," and "nigg#@s" were created specifically as pejoratives. I'm surprised you didn't know that.
When the LPA calls for people to stop using the word "midget" to describe inanimate objects and not just small people, that's your clue it's not just about "courtesy," it's about exerting control over others through language policing.
Now, why any school would want to have "Midget" as their mascot is beyond me. It doesn't exactly connote intimidation or a particular fighting spirit or athletic prowess or local industry or local natural features or any of the normal attributes of a sporting mascot.
Midget was created as pejorative also. By PT Barnum when he displayed little people in his circus using the root word midges - tiny little fly. Or is that a compliment?
As per the bold, here we find the source of the conundrum. You're bothered by the imposition to refer to people by their chosen identity. And because YOU don't agree with THEIR decision, you can't bring yourself to respect it. Fortunately LPA understands the limitations of certain people and have given you options. Don't like "little people"? You can use dwarf.
Now tell me all the reasons why you MUST use midget over dwarf.
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What is the correct terminology?
The correct terminology, when it comes to dwarfism, varies form country to country, between different cultures and even from person to person. The one thing that is agreed upon is that the word “midget” is considered HIGHLY OFFENSIVE to people with dwarfism. In the United States of America, such terms as Little People, LP, person of short stature or person with dwarfism are all acceptable. The term “dwarf” is accepted by most people with dwarfism. In other countries, People of Restricted Growth and Short Statured seem to be acceptable. The one thing that everyone can agree on is that most people would rather be referred to by their name than by a label. Wouldn't you?
This thread is brought to you by sad, lonely mental orphans who feel they don't have enough trouble to worry about in their lives, and are desperately trying to create more and then drag others into it.
Midget was created as pejorative also. By PT Barnum when he displayed little people in his circus using the root word midges - tiny little fly. Or is that a compliment?
As per the bold, here we find the source of the conundrum. You're bothered by the imposition to refer to people by their chosen identity. And because YOU don't agree with THEIR decision, you can't bring yourself to respect it. Fortunately LPA understands the limitations of certain people and have given you options. Don't like "little people"? You can use dwarf.
Now tell me all the reasons why you MUST use midget over dwarf.
Because I don't recognize the group originally known as Midgets of America's authority to police the English language and tell us we're no longer allowed to use the word -- not just to describe people but ANYTHING -- simply because they don't like it any more.
Maybe it's along the lines of not using the word "Indian" as a word to describe "Native Americans"? Except driving across the Rez in AZ all I see on the Signs is "Indian Reservation", "Indian Store", "Indian Jewelry", Indian Fry bread" etc. etc.
Maybe it's along the lines of not using the word "Indian" as a word to describe "Native Americans"? Except driving across the Rez in AZ all I see on the Signs is "Indian Reservation", "Indian Store", "Indian Jewelry", Indian Fry bread" etc. etc.
At least there's some sense in changing the use of the word "Indian" to refer to people who don't originate from India especially as more immigrants from the actual India and their children populate the U.S.
Maybe it's along the lines of not using the word "Indian" as a word to describe "Native Americans"? Except driving across the Rez in AZ all I see on the Signs is "Indian Reservation", "Indian Store", "Indian Jewelry", Indian Fry bread" etc. etc.
Imagine if there were a group of people who really kind of enjoyed reading and watching Nineteen Eighty-Four over and over and over and over and thought that seems like a f̶a̶n̶a̶t̶i̶c̶a̶l̶ fantastic idea.
Because I don't recognize the group originally known as Midgets of America's authority to police the English language and tell us we're no longer allowed to use the word -- not just to describe people but ANYTHING -- simply because they don't like it any more.
Above translates to: <STOMPS FEET> Cuz, I don't wanna.
And PS. They never liked it. They just didn't have any power and protection of the law to be free from retribution to demand any different.
But feel free to use pejoratives out in public. It helps the rest of us sort the riffraff from the decent folk.
Above translates to: <STOMPS FEET> Cuz, I don't wanna.
That is correct, and it's the only reason or explanation you or anyone else deserves, if that.
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