Differently abled.

[conuly]

You know what? I hate this phrase. It's stupid. Professor X is differently abled. Daredevil is differently abled. Cyclops? Differently abled.

You? Well, if being in a wheelchair or blind or deaf has suddenly given you some sort of superpower that the vast majority of the world doesn't have - sure. I guess Stephen Hawking is, in a way, differently abled because he's so brilliant :) But otherwise, you're not.

You already knew that, of course. I'm preachin' to the choir here. But if I ever find the person who came up with that phrase, I'll punch him/her straight to the comics, let them teach the *real* meaning of "differently abled".

Oh, and handicap? Nothing to do with cap-in-hand, or with begging. It comes entirely from games. You may or may not think the word is offensive, but please, base your opinions on facts, not urban myths.

Comments

[xiggaroo.livejournal.com]

Sort of related - Autistic/Autistic person or person with Autism?

(This is actually turing out to be a big part of my project... I really REALLY don't want to offend anyone in the audience when I present, and I'm really curious. So...)

[conuly]

For most people, it's autistic person. I'd suggest taking a minute to explain why you chose that terminology: autism isn't something that can be separated from an individual, autism isn't a bad thing necessarily, person first language mutiliates the structure of the English language and makes the disability more noticeable, person first language is insulting by implying that people don't realize we're all human anyway. Whatever.

[griphus.livejournal.com]

you've read Anthropologist on Mars, right?

[conuly]

*dramatic eyeroll*

I am so behind on my autiebiographies. I've read a grand total of: zero.