Alright folks I don't want this to be a struggle session so let's operate from "'stupid' and 'dumb' are ableist terms, now what?" I would like people to offer up alternative insults/negative remarks.
While I said I don't want it to be a struggle session, cool headed good faith discussion is also appreciated. This just came up with some comrades of mine and I couldn't find the last post about it so if anyone has the link that would be great too.
All the suggestions here either can be interpreted as ableist or have roots in ableism. I think it shows how quickly the English language turns to prejudices. The only solution is being as specific as possible, but that is less 'insulting' and more 'criticising'
if you go back far enough "bad" comes from a derogatory term for an effeminate man. removed is obviously worse than something we didn't add to the slur filter but arguing about where the line is gets exhausting almost immediately. i'm not trying to be an ultra i just want to stop moving the dang line every 10 years.
"Because the line can't be objectively hammered down, everything should be considered to be only as good and bad as any other thing" takes are easily more exhausting, by far, to me.
if you go back far enough "bad" comes from a derogatory term for an effeminate man. removed is obviously worse than something we didn't add to the slur filter but arguing about where the line is gets exhausting almost immediately. i'm not trying to be an ultra i just want to stop moving the dang line every 10 years.
All of this. That's where I got it.
Yes, there's subjectivity and ambiguity and the line does shift over time. That doesn't mean that the social construct of a line should (or even could) be eliminated. It also means that terms and words have derogatory weight compared to others, even if their use and intention and context also shift over time.
Even when it comes to medical and psychological jargon, such words can go from medical terminology to hateful slurs as time goes on. That just happens. There's no solid floor in language that lasts forever.
i'm not trying to be an ultra i just want to stop moving the dang line every 10 years.
The line hasn't stopped moving and isn't likely to stop moving no matter how badly you want it to. That isn't how language has worked or is likely to work.