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Geoff Hart wrote:
> I've also had lots of difficulty accepting politically correct
> language. For example, why do we say disabled (not able to do
> something, a less-offensive form of "invalid") instead of handicapped
> (having a disadvantage compared to non-handicapped people)? The latter
> is both more accurate and less offensive.
I agree with you, Geoff. As a genuine member of a "disabled" group--I've
been deaf for over 30 years--and as a literate fellow who wants to choose
the right words for the right situations, I must admit I am distressed by
the hoops people try to make the English language jump through in order to
to avoid real or imagined slights to others. There are always thin-skinned
people in any group, and they are generally in the minority, so I question
why we should bend over backwards to keep from irritating them. Common sense
usually suffers in the process.
For example, I lost my hearing from a childhood disease. It follows that my
deafness is a deviation from a normal human biological functon (that sounds
awkward, but I'm trying to tread carefully and factually here). So I think
common sense says that my deafness is a handicap, according to the
dictionary meaning of the word. There's no reflection on my worth as a
person to have this adjective used to describe me, it simply states a FACT.
But many PC deaf folks insist on being known as Deaf (with a capital "D"),
and claim the status of being a distinctive people different from "hearies."
I, for one, cannot swallow that. I will never make mention of a deaf person
in my writing as a "Deaf" person, for to do so, IMO, degrades the meaning of
the Englsih language for the sake of pacifying some people who apparently
have a problem with their self-image. I'd rather preserve the proper use of
English, and continue using "deaf" to mean a person with a hearing
impairment or handicap, than worry that a few people will take offense.
There are always people who will take offense at the strangest things; one
cannot go through life worrying about it too much.
(Stepping down and going merrily back into lurkerhood...)
***************
Rick Lanser
Publishing Specialist, Graco Children's Products, Inc.
rickl -at- slip -dot- net
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