[Barrabundy]

.

 

[Squidley]

Language is a subtle thing; "an autistic", "an autistic man" and "a man with autism" are different in their emphasis on the subject's humanity. It'd be strange and a bit unreasonable to get jumped on for using the second one in day-to-day speech, but an extra syllable's a small price to not grind someone with a problem down a little bit more so overall I think we're better off having it brought up, even if it's often in a pretty clumsy way, like that guy on the radio.

Stewart Lee's got a funny bit on the subject (some swearing and hyperbole):

 

[anselmo]

I'm confused

On ABC radio I recently heard a spokesman (yes it was a man) for some disability group constantly correcting himself every time he said "disabled" when referring to someone. He'd correct himself by saying "people with a disability". I thought it was a bit of a joke because, to me, I knew what he meant regardless of how he said it and it seemed a bit silly to use 4 words to describe someone where 1 word would cover it perfectly.....I think it's semantics sometimes!

Confused?
Don't label yourself Con ;-)

I thought the correct phrase is now "differently abled"?

 

[Salty Dog]

Sounds like I am going to have to insist on being called a luxury model from now on! ;-)

 

[grinner]

con, i could say a lot on this but personally i think the PC agenda especially as regards the use of "offensive words" is misguided.
it seeks to reduce human interaction to the equivalent of "pass the salt please" instead of the "rough and tumble" upon which all meaningful, honest human interactions are based .

i was very interested when the very multicultural and politically correct people of los angeles awarded this film "best screenplay" at the academy awards.

i think, whilst clint is perhaps a little over the top, there is something very human and reassuring about a friendship/relationship based on more than just use of the correct words as dictated by the ruling elite

 

[grinner]

i was very interested when the very multicultural and politically correct people of los angeles awarded this film "best screenplay" at the academy awards

Los Angeles citizens don't vote for the Oscars. They are voted upon by members of a club that regard themselves as the ruling elite of film.

quite right, and this ruling elite of american film would be mainly urban trendies, gays, jews, and , i would imagine democrat supporters. the very people who one would expect to hate clints red neck antics. YET, they gave him the award. this speaks volumes for the paradoxical nature of human being and the inability of "labels' like ******* or racist to define people. as always, those who seek to pontificate from on high usually are clueless about human behaviour.
as always, actions speak louder than words.

try this, stop your car on the highway and raise the bonnet. see who stops first to help.

the urban trendy PC sprouting do gooder
or the suburban , knockabout , hard swearing, ******* yobbo.

i think the result will be most revealing

 

[Dodge]

Who makes up all these rules about how we identify people? There are some terms which it appears only people in those groups know about and only then because they've been to some hug-fest when a smart person has stood before them and told them so.

Is it ok to call people "gay" these days for example or is there some other word or phrase that we should be using?

Con in regard to labelling my mother was declared legally blind although having some peripheral vision and was given a plastic tag to wear with big 20mm black letters upon it VIP [vision impaired person] and a white stick, and often came from shopping pissed off because she was bumped a few times even when wearing the tag.

I pointed out to her that to Mr Average, VIP meant very important person and nothing to do with being partially blind and in a crowd the stick could not be seen, and perhaps a tag reading Blind would have been more apt and gained her more assistance in a crowd scene.

Re "gay" my wife and I both know 2 couples who bat for the other side [2xblokes, 2xgirls] and too both I use older colloquial terms, as to me gay is happy regardless of sexual orientation.

In using real life terms feel it is important your facial expression shows you are not being offensive with your comment, but of course when going down this road there are occasions when an apology is required to right any misunderstanding.

 

[Junglefisher]

Language is a subtle thing; "an autistic", "an autistic man" and "a man with autism" are different in their emphasis on the subject's humanity. It'd be strange and a bit unreasonable to get jumped on for using the second one in day-to-day speech, but an extra syllable's a small price to not grind someone with a problem down a little bit more so overall I think we're better off having it brought up, even if it's often in a pretty clumsy way, like that guy on the radio.

Pretty much this.

In the first you say the man is just a disability. In the second you define him by his disability first and foremost, and in the third, as a man who happens to have a disability.

I think you mean "a person who is male and has autsism" rather than "a man with autism" as you are defining him as a male rather than as a human first.

 

[WayneD]

I don't get it either Con. It confuses the hell out of me. I have a hard enough time remembering names let alone how to describe someone. I give people nicknames to help me, hell maybe I have a disability by not being able to remember names? That's why I like this forum. Everyone already has a nickname (username). My best friend in high school was called James but his nickname was **** (not given by me). Nothing wrong with it back then but try calling someone that now. Even though when I walked down the street in Townsville recently a bunch of Aboriginals were calling themselves every colourful name that relates to their colour and culture and then one comes up and asks "Hey ******, you got a smoke bloke." I certainly didn't take offence, nor did I give him a smoke, but if I called him black I'm sure I would have got my head punched in. So where's the political correctness in that?

A new law recently passed that shiek's? (or something or other) don't have to helmets when riding bicycles as it offends their religion. Since when do we pass laws on religious beliefs? Opens up a whole world of possibilities doesn't it?

Political correctness is heading the same way as workplace health and safety, over moderated and an excuse not to use common sense.

 

[koich]

Since when do we pass laws on religious beliefs?

Constantly.

It's just they are based on a religion you identify/are familiar with.

 

[koich]

Much of PC is nought but censorship IMHO.

We dont have freedom of speech here these days, and I'm sure they are working on reducing freedom of thought!

Dig

We've never had freedom of speech in Australia.

 

[shadowrunner]

Is it ok to call people "gay" these days for example or is there some other word or phrase that we should be using?

I overheard this one day. A friend was having a chat with another friend who is a lesbian. He wanted to know what the polite and proper way to address her was. Amongst a variety of words that were thrown up, it seems that **** is out, gay refers mostly to men, ***** is perhaps too familiar. At the end of the conversation she asked why couldn't he simply call her Linda?

I thought that was a fair call.

Back to the question - Lesbians and gays can both be referred to as same-sex attracted. Unless of course you specifically need to identify one group, ie, "My 4x4 is broken/I lost that damn clitoris again/need to find a decent vegetarian curry, I'd better get the lesbians up the road to give me a hand".

Just remember LGBT Lesbian,Gay,Bi,Transgender.
As a person that has alot of friends in that world i tend to stir alot of them up and use the Non PC way of describing them yet they don't care, it is the insecure ones that tend to take offense at what you call them.(My favorite way of stirring them is just calling them the rainbow brigade , yet most of my friends like that too)
Every single one of them knows i do not have a problem with their sexual choice as long as they do not hit on me

 

[millonario]

The idea of avoiding labels is to get people to think of whomever they are referring to as a person or human being first and foremost. No person is defined by any one aspect of their life or role that they occupy in their life. A gay person is not just 'a gay'. A person with autism isn't JUST autistic.They are also a son or daughter, may also be a father or mother, a taxpayer, a doctor, a student, a soldier, a teacher, a nuclear physicist or whatever.

By describing some one as simply gay or autistic or whatever, you diminish the perception of who they are to just one aspect of their lives. The same goes for anybody, it doesn't matter who they are or what their lot in life is. And I'm sure we all have examples of people who are exceptions to the rule and don't mind or even prefer a term of endearment like "poof" or "spaz".

 

[Barrabundy]

.

 

[millonario]

holding...
holding....
holding.....

oh look! boobs!

what was I talking about?

 

[Junglefisher]

You know Dan, you are not a bad person who is a male adult.
I hope one day the people who are below the age of majority who have inherited my genes can also be good adult male people one day (if they choose to of course).

 

[WayneD]

The idea of avoiding labels is to get people to think of whomever they are referring to as a person or human being first and foremost.

A fine example of common sense thrown out the door. Of course anyone you talk to or about is a human being, WTF?

My name is Wayne but maybe you shouldn't call me that as it is a label enforced on my by my parents...

 

[grinner]

based on more than just use of the correct words as dictated by the ruling elite

quite right, and this ruling elite of american film would be mainly urban trendies, gays, jews, and , i would imagine democrat supporters. the very people who one would expect to hate clints red neck antics. YET, they gave him the award.

So there are several ruling elites with differing objectives?

sorry , you quite rightly picked me up, what i should have written is "self appointed, ruling , intellectual elites' because they dont really have any mandate except one they seem to have plucked from thin air.

it would be all just a big wank , as lazybugger says, but these "self appointed ruling intellectual elites" can have some nasty consequences.

as an example eric, a surgeon at the gold coast hospital told a micheal jackson joke during an operation. the exact joke was something along the lines of "at michael jacksons funeral they released a white dove in his honour, or was it just a crow with a rare skin condition" now not very funny and crude i grant you,. anyway a nurse reported him and he was hauled in before the "ruling intellectual elite" now how do the "ruling intellectual elite" decide if this is beyond the bounds of a PC acceptable joke. the nurse was offended and he was given a formal reprimand and left shortly afterwards. i put it to you that this sort of thing (which happens all the time ) is an exercise in power by the ruling trendies and is all an attempt by middle management to exercise power that they have "plucked out of thin air"

so now, if a jetski runs over your kayak on the gold coast and breaks your leg, be happy in the knowledge that you may lose your leg due to gangrene but you wont be hearing any non PC jokes whilst you sit in casualty and rot.

 

[millonario]

You know Dan, you are not a bad person who is a male adult.
I hope one day the people who are below the age of majority who have inherited my genes can also be good adult male people one day (if they choose to of course).

It would take us months to have a conversation about the weather if we had to talk like that all the time.

 

[millonario]

Squidleys vid says it all really.