(Untitled)

[annamatic]

My kid, God bless him, is driving me fucking crazy today. He is just being such a TODDLER. I can't keep up with his antics. Digging in the cat box. Digging in the trashcan in the kitchen. Pulling on the sliding closet doors. Opening the cabinets that we don't have child-locked. Messing with electrical cords. Digging in the cat box again.

Comments

[girlsknowbest]

I didn't even know that "gypsy" was a questionable term until I came to lj and I was in a community and someone said something similar (I can't remember now) and some girl was like UM, OFFENSIVE. OFFENSIVE. I was like "wut?" I didn't know.

Sometimes I miss the PC memos. haha.

TODDLERHOOD=YAY!!

[annamatic]

It was someone talking about how they got gypped out of something. And then PC Policeperson came in and was all "O HAI DONT SAY THAT IZ NOT ALLOWED." That's taking the walking-on-eggshells PCness WAY too far.

[girlsknowbest]

THAT'S RIGHT! That was it "gypped". I wasn't even the one who said it and I tossed it around in my head for a week over how it was "zomg racist"

[girlsknowbest]

I struggle with how "retard" is not PC. It's not PC to apply it to like, IDK, someone with autism, sure...that's not PC or intelligent...but for things that are subpar in intelligence...I think it could be harmless.

What do you think?

[annamatic]

Yeah, I catch myself saying stuff like "that's retarded!" It's in no way meant to dismiss or disparage someone who is genuinely mentally disabled. I'm kind of on the fence about it. I feel guilty saying it sometimes.

One thing I won't use in that connotation is "gay". Like, I'll never say "omg that's so gay."

[girlsknowbest]

yeah, I feel like
"that's so gay" is pretty no brainer and it pisses me off if I hear someone use it.

Retard is definitely fence worthy. This came up yesterday in a flist post and I said that if retard was an actual medical diagnosis anymore...then yeah, maybe it would be more clear cut...but I thought the definition was actually substandard intelligence or lacking intelligence. IDK. It's just easier not to say it if it offends people, as far as I'm concerned...but I question if it's not over the top PC stuff.

Let's do fart joke, k?

[csext]

retard is a verb in proper usage, using it as a noun is definitely problematic (i.e. "that guy is a retard"). people who are are developmentally challenged to a certain degree are developmentally retarded, and that's a real thing. But because it's been so misused to call people who aren't diagnosed (as developmentally challenged, or retarded) or stupid, that people have a hard time using it in the way it's still "officially acceptable."

so I personally think calling something or someone retarded who isn't actually retarded is the same as calling something "gay" when really one means "stupid"

my hubby tries to get around the "gay" thing by being clear that when he calls something gay, he really means flaming-ly queer, so it is indeed GAY! and FABULOUS!

[girlsknowbest]

so when people are diagnosed IRL (not online), the doctor actually stamps them "RETARDED". Hmm, I didn't know it was an official medical term anymore. Interesting.

I don't agree that "that's retarded" is as heavy as "that's gay", Gay is not lacking in intelligence or ability, but retard definitely is, imo...but I think you are entitled to associate them that way if you want to. I'm pretty easy going that way. ;)

[quaryn_dk]

I usually circumvent the problem by using "fucktard" instead. ;)

[annamatic]

Really. It's the not the hill I pick to die on. The word "Gypsy" itself is a derogatory, is it not? referring to the Egyptians? And how many people of genuine Romany ancestry do you and I know?

[h3llc4t]

I don't even know that it's that offensive to most activists. I'm pretty proud that I have some gypsy heritage and I've thankfully been spared the PC flailing for using the term.

a week later...

[girlsknowbest]

this just showed up on my f-list, so since we were talking about this...I thought I'd share. I kind of get it more now, I guess.

http://www.r-word.org/