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twovests OP wrote

I had another 900 word post here, but...

i think the words above are all the same thing as the r-slur. "don't use the r-slur" really isn't really a principled position people take, unless they also exclude "idiot", "dumbass", etc from their verbiage. most people don't! i think the usage (or lack thereof) of the r-slur more used as a shibboleth.

it IS an ableist slur, but my point above is only that we use - and accept - ableist slurs all the time.

(i'm not advocating to use the r-slur)

i was in special ed for speech therapy in the 2nd grade. leaving class for special ed colored how people saw me, and that colored how i interacted with others. so, that stuck.

i don't have a learning disability, but i think the r-slur was levied against me more than usual for a K-12 student in the 00s. even through adulthood, i think people see me as "special". but i don't have a learning or cognitive disability. so, my relationship to the word is tricky and complicated.

"why are people using the r-slur more nowadays?" well, the "r-slur" is just one of many slurs meant to articulate "this person and their thinking is so wrong that it's worth dismissing with contempt and not considering further."

for example: the US has government mandated health advice from RFK Jr who has brainworms and snorts cocaine off toilet seats. he is someone whose statements you might immediately dismiss with contempt. he's a moron, etc. under RFK Jr's helm, the US government is pointing people to Grok for health advice. double moronic. one might even use another word.

ultimately, i think the "r-slur" is used because of "the vibes".

and "the vibes" are just "things i don't have the verbiage to articulate". but i think i do have the verbiage:

usage of the r-slur is proscribed against by leftists and liberals and everyone of social-justice bent. but it is also proscribed against by corporate rules of professionalism. by using the slur, you might position yourself politically. but you do succinctly position yourself in opposition to establishment, the elite, the corporations, etc. in the world of vibes, using the r-slur gives rebellious legitimacy to its users

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Dogmantra wrote (edited )

I made a specific decision several years back to cut out "stupid", "idiot", "moron", etc from my vocabulary and honestly even if we set aside any ethical considerations I think it's forced me to either:

  • be nicer because the only thing I had to say was one of those words
  • articulate what was actually wrong with the thing that the person did or said

Both of these options generally lead to a better world, imo. I would recommend this to anyone, even if they don't agree that it's not great morally to call people stupid.

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cute_spider_turtle_emoji wrote

Same and full agree.

It helps keep me humble, and forces me to remember that I'm narrowly smart. I struggle to understand finance and medical insurance, so I can believe that other people struggle to understand computers

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flabberghaster wrote

I cut it out periodically and then backslide. They're very useful terms, is the thing. I know the thing is you're supposed to criticize what specifically you're criticizing instead of just saying it's "stupid" or "crazy" but it's just more descriptive in a lot of cases to say "they're acting crazy" than "their actions are nonsensical" because those are a bit different in what they actually mean. I don't really want to debate this though.

But that being said, I do try to limit my use of those words most of the time, and then i get lazy.

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twovests OP wrote

I do think this is better and good yeah. I think it's also compatible with dismissing people like RFK Jr with contempt for being so regularly incorrect and harmful

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