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I think that everybody has the right to an informed opinion about what names for groups of people are really rude, and what names are not really rude. I think that even when there are nuances of which words are better than others, there are some that are definitely at the bottom of the "appropriate" list.
I think that there is an idea that when bad words are used, it is always malicious. Not only is this idea not true, it hinders the cause of communication and learning and growing together, because people are afraid to speak up lest they be labeled an awful person for making a simple mistake out of ignorance.
I think that the responsibility of explaining what words are rude, and why, can't-- and shouldn't-- lie solely on the shoulders of the people to whom those words are applied. The idea that only a person who has a certain trait can care about the rights and respect accorded to that group of people with that trait-- that idea is divisive. The most important lesson in the whole world that anyone can learn is "You are not alone." Hearing someone who is not like you speak up for you is a chapter in that lesson.
I think that speaking up for people who are not like you, and pointing out that the things they want and need are reasonable and fair, is a good thing.
Sometimes when you do this, you find out how they *are* like you, after all...
I think that there is an idea that when bad words are used, it is always malicious. Not only is this idea not true, it hinders the cause of communication and learning and growing together, because people are afraid to speak up lest they be labeled an awful person for making a simple mistake out of ignorance.
I think that the responsibility of explaining what words are rude, and why, can't-- and shouldn't-- lie solely on the shoulders of the people to whom those words are applied. The idea that only a person who has a certain trait can care about the rights and respect accorded to that group of people with that trait-- that idea is divisive. The most important lesson in the whole world that anyone can learn is "You are not alone." Hearing someone who is not like you speak up for you is a chapter in that lesson.
I think that speaking up for people who are not like you, and pointing out that the things they want and need are reasonable and fair, is a good thing.
Sometimes when you do this, you find out how they *are* like you, after all...
