Words that are offensive such as 'Colored', 'Handicapped etc

Omackeral

I've always known not to use the term 'colored girl/guy' when referring to a black person but recently I found out on a thread here that 'handicapped' is not acceptable. Is this definitely true? I guess 'disabled' is probably more acceptable, or maybe 'differently abled', although that's a bit of a mouthful. Are there any words that you found out aren't acceptable and how did you discover it?

MEGA BRO WOLF 5000

Apparently we can't call them spastics anymore. They're called "politicians" now.

Renegade Mechanic

Omackeral wrote: »

I've always known not to use the term 'colored girl/guy' when referring to a black person but recently I found out on a thread here that 'handicapped' is not acceptable. Is this definitely true? I guess 'disabled' is probably more acceptable, or maybe 'differently abled', although that's a bit of a mouthful. Are there any words that you found out aren't acceptable and how did you discover it?

I learned here just how offensive "cretin" really is, but that just made me use it more...

Gatling

People will find offence to various words ,
Especially when it comes to disabilities or skin color ,

El_Duderino 09

Omackeral wrote:

I've always known not to use the term 'colored girl/guy' when referring to a black person but recently I found out on a thread here that 'handicapped' is not acceptable. Is this definitely true? I guess 'disabled' is probably more acceptable, or maybe 'differently abled', although that's a bit of a mouthful. Are there any words that you found out aren't acceptable and how did you discover it?

Sambo is shorthand for sandwich in Ireland but it's what the colonists called the natives in Africa. I've had to think before saying I'll grab a sambo on lunch break.

Balooba as in 'i went out and got baloobas' is a reference to an African tribe who attacked Irish peacekeepers for no good reason - they went baloobas.

They're both grand to use in Ireland though.

Collie D

Mentally handicapped?

livedadream

The fact you had to be told that calling a person handicapped in 2016 is ridiculous.

http://m.mentalfloss.com/article.php?id=69361

Do you also call someone who has Down syndrome retarded?

Someone with an amputation a cripple?

Most people don't have to discover using the terms you've used above is unacceptable it's common human decency

bodice ripper

I find this whole "person of color" lark very weird. It sounds awkward, and implies that the world is divided into "white" and "other". I'd have thought that was offensive to everyone involved.

Richard Hillman

Apparently you are encouraged to say "people of colour" but not "coloured". It's a strange one.

Del2005

He and She are now offensive, better off keeping your gob shut so as not to offend the people who overreact on Twitter which then makes a news headline!

Or else just ignore them.

Omackeral

livedadream wrote: »

The fact you had to be told that calling a person handicapped in 2016 is ridiculous.

http://m.mentalfloss.com/article.php?id=69361

Do you also call someone who has Down syndrome retarded?

Someone with an amputation a cripple?

Most people don't have to discover using the terms you've used above is unacceptable it's common human decency

The only one here with a problem is you. That attitude is vile and arrogant and actually ironically ignorant. Is it not better that I learned from it and have adjusted? Know it all don't you? I never claimed to know everything and never will.

And whoever thanked this post is just as ignorant. I'd never call anyone with Down's a retard and I'd never call a disabled person crippled. Don't see how you got that from that OP to be honest. Growing up, we'd always call the parking spots with the wheel chair 'handicapped spaces'. Found out recently it's not the preferred term so won't use it anymore. Every day is a school day and all that, except for the know-it-alls.

MEGA BRO WOLF 5000

Gatling wrote: »

People will find offence to various words ,
Especially when it comes to disabilities or skin color ,

I hate the word "offended" when used in these terms. The word should be racist or sexist or homophobic... When I hear the word "offended" I think about a Helen Lovejoy type character finding offence where there is none to be had, suck it up, some people can be way too precious about the smallest things.

El_Duderino 09

Collie D wrote:

Mentally handicapped?

Mental disability or mentally disabled.

It's not just PC gone mad. For instance these terms often get enshrined in official medical use with inaccurate or genuinely offensive meanings. So they rebrand them with a more accurate title. Thats why I don't see much difference between mental disability and mental handicap.

The language will probably evolve again. It's no hassle to just learn the new word. Sure none of us knew half the internet terminology 15 years ago but we all managed to learn it since.

MEGA BRO WOLF 5000

People who annoy you.

N_GGERS

El_Duderino 09

Hugh Mungus wrote:

N_GGERS

I know it but are you sure I should say it?

Barry Badrinath

Del2005 wrote: »

He and She are now offensive, better off keeping your gob shut so as not to offend the people who overreact on Twitter which then makes a news headline!

Or else just ignore them.

I know a black, transgender, homosexual, one legged guy that is mentally disabled and a vegan.

I just call him Barry.

There are too many self (societal) imposed minefields out there. Theres always some narrow minded, offended for the sake of it, fcuktard that will have an issue with what you say.

Doesnt matter what it is anymore, some righteous cnut will pull you up on something trivial and make an issue from their percieved "misuse" of a word you uttered.

Oxygen thieves.

December2012

In my understanding, it's that you don't call somebody a "disabled person" but instead you may call them a person with a disability. You don't refer to the disability or the difference first, as that defines the person, instead of being an aspect of the person.

Charles Babbage

December2012 wrote: »

In my understanding, it's that you don't call somebody a "disabled person" but instead you may call them a person with a disability. You don't refer to the disability or the difference first, as that defines the person, instead of being an aspect of the person.

So can you call them a person with a handicap and coloured skin?

PowerToWait

Charles Babbage wrote: »

So can you call them a person with a handicap and coloured skin?

The issue is with the implication of 'handicap'. It doesn't promote equality. It's not that hard to understand.

team_actimel

I'm offended by the fact you spelled it 'colored' (American spelling) instead of 'coloured'.

mikeoneilly

'Red Indian' is another one considered offensive now

The term used now is 'Native American '

suicide_circus

Person of colour is just inaccurate. It implies that white people are literally devoid of colour ie: transparent.

As for handicapped vs disabled, I don't understand why one is cruel or offensive and the other isn't.

December2012

Charles Babbage wrote: »

December2012 wrote: »

In my understanding, it's that you don't call somebody a "disabled person" but instead you may call them a person with a disability. You don't refer to the disability or the difference first, as that defines the person, instead of being an aspect of the person.

So can you call them a person with a handicap and coloured skin?

You call them a person first, and if you must use a descriptor then use that after

Widdershins

I said ''half caste'' for the first and only time recently, because I was repeated a story a friend told me and she'd used that term. (The full sentence was ''a beautiful half caste lady'').
As soon as I'd said it I thought it didn't sound right. I don't know if it's considered offensive as I'm not sure what it really means. I've mixed race relatives and would just say ''mixed race'' if there was a reason to mention it.

eviltwin

suicide_circus wrote: »

Person of colour is just inaccurate. It implies that white people are literally devoid of colour ie: transparent.

As for handicapped vs disabled, I don't understand why one is cruel or offensive and the other isn't.

Because people want to be seen as more than their disability. It's just aspect of who they are and it gets frustrating when that's what defines you.

Omackeral

December2012 wrote: »

You call them a person first, and if you must use a descriptor then use that after

Nah that's not accurate. Black man, white man, Chinese man*.

Sounds like three guys going into a bar joke doesn't it.

El_Duderino 09

suicide_circus wrote:

Person of colour is just inaccurate. It implies that what people are literally devoid of colour ie: transparent.

That one is likely to change again in he future. As you point out it's Caucasian centric - white is normal, coloured is the alternative. It's person of colour for now.

suicide_circus wrote:

As for handicapped vs disabled, I don't understand why one is cruel or offensive and the other isn't.

Neither do I see much difference. But if you were working in the field then everything has a specific defined meaning. The meanings can shift a bit but every now and then the meaning changes do much that it needs a new term.

While I don't see much difference between handicapped and disabled, I see the logic for changing the term used

Venom

Gatling wrote: »

People will find offense to various words because playing the outraged victim is a thing now

Fixed that for ya

entropi

bodice ripper wrote: »

I find this whole "person of color" lark very weird. It sounds awkward, and implies that the world is divided into "white" and "other". I'd have thought that was offensive to everyone involved.

What irks me is the use of racist/ism to describe hatred towards people with a different colour skin...when we're the same race, and that term is defunct. Sure we're all people of colour as it is, so "person of colour" is a somewhat more correct term to use.

PowerToWait

suicide_circus wrote: »

As for handicapped vs disabled, I don't understand why one is cruel or offensive and the other isn't.

As above, 'handicap' means 'disadvantage' and has become synonymous with a more limiting, less progressive mindset.

Language is important yo.

suicide_circus

PowerToWait wrote: »

As above, 'handicap' means 'disadvantage' and has become synonymous with a more limiting, less progressive mindset.

Language is important yo.

Yes but both disabled and handicapped refer to the persons impediment....why is one ok and the other not?

Charles Babbage

PowerToWait wrote: »

The issue is with the implication of 'handicap'. It doesn't promote equality. It's not that hard to understand.

It is really. Disabled implies an inability to something. A handicap implies an ability to do something, but with an impediment of some sort.

How can anyone familiar with the English language imply that the first is more positive than the second?

Ted111

PowerToWait wrote: »

As above, 'handicap' means 'disadvantage' and has become synonymous with a more limiting, less progressive mindset.

Language is important yo.

My golfing capacity for improvement is 19.

El_Duderino 09

suicide_circus wrote:

Yes but both disabled and handicapped refer to the persons impediment....why is one ok and the other not?

Charles Babbage wrote:

How can anyone familiar with the English language imply that the first is more positive than the second?

Because of the historical use of the words as medical terms.

To most people those terms are almost the same but to medical professionals and people with disabilities, those words are not the same as they have real differences. Simple.

Barry Badrinath

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

Because of the historical use of the words as medical terms.

To most people those terms are almost the same but to medical professionals and people with disabilities, those words are not the same as they have real differences. Simple.

Jaysis...

Better not be saying "simple".

Tut tut

eviltwin

Charles Babbage wrote: »

It is really. Disabled implies an inability to something. A handicap implies an ability to do something, but with an impediment of some sort.

How can anyone familiar with the English language imply that the first is more positive than the second?

Handicap implies the whole person, to me its akin to writing someone off which is what used to be the case. Now we know that a disability doesn't have to hold someone back, it restricts certain aspects of their life but isn't the end of a persons ability. Disability covers a lot, from minor to severe but the focus is on the impediment itself rather than the entire person iykwim.

Flint Fredstone

Never knew the word tranny to be offensive until I read it somewhere on this site.

Nate--IRL--

Charles Babbage wrote: »

How can anyone familiar with the English language imply that the first is more positive than the second?

Because the purpose of the exercise is to enforce changes to the language people use. It doesn't actually matter that the true definition is backwards, as long as they have the ability to decide what is now acceptable and what is not.

Basically it's proto Double-Speak.

Nate

hytrogen

My mate enjoys using the term "scrotebags" for "peasants and anyone from lower socio-economic classes".. He lives in Perineum Manor

gramar

Ted111 wrote: »

My golfing capacity for improvement is 19.

Are you a disabled golfer or a handicapped golfer?

Chuchote

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

Balooba as in 'i went out and got baloobas' is a reference to an African tribe who attacked Irish peacekeepers for no good reason - they went baloobas.

"For no good reason…" well, yes, but it was a mistake. The Baluba soldiers who attacked the Irish UN peacekeepers came from a country where there had been savagery for generations by Europeans - the Belgians (Roger Casement reported on this), and where white mercenaries had been perpetrating horrors. They mistook the Irish for some of these mercenaries. More or less a friendly fire incident. Tragic, but a horrible mistake.

As for the other words that are hurtful and cruel, maybe just don't use them, rather than saying people shouldn't be hurt by them. In the end, we're just people. It's unusual that you have to describe another person in terms of his skin colour or illness. I mean, when you talk about your workmate, do you say "You know, the blue-eyed fellow with the asthma"?

Hollister11

My mates say I'm racist if i describe a black person as black.

I mean for **** sake. What do you want me to call them. They are black. Nothing offensive, just factual.

Barry Badrinath

Hollister11 wrote: »

My mates say I'm racist if i describe a black person as black.

I mean for **** sake. What do you want me to call them. They are black. Nothing offensive, just factual.

They could be really, really, really, really, really, really, really dark blue.

Have you thought about that?

soups05

At one point I was talking to an african friend and was trying to describe another guy who was looking for him. My description went along the lines of "tall, black,head shaved to about here.." when he interrupted me and called me a racist for saying black.

I said "he was black, what should i call him?"...."african" was the reply. But he's not, he was born here, is as irish as i am and i was not being insulting just describing. I decided that no matter what terms you use someone is going to be offended, so feck it.

Same guy complained one of the teachers was racist cos she did not like him, i repiled with "she's not racist, your just an asshole"

he felt better about it then, till he realised i called him an asshole lol.

hytrogen

Hollister11 wrote:

My mates say I'm racist if i describe a black person as black.
I mean for **** sake. What do you want me to call them. They are black. Nothing offensive, just factual.

Frosty McGiggleShaft wrote:

They could be really, really, really, really, really, really, really dark blue.

Or Browned off Corkman perhaps? :P

Charles Babbage

Disable - to make unable or unfit; weaken or destroy the capability of; incapacitate:

Handicap - any disadvantage that makes success more difficult:

You are distorting the English language.

MRnotlob606

handicapable

suicide_circus

MRnotlob606 wrote: »

handicapable

Timmeeeeeh!

Irish Guitarist

The word 'naff' always seemed an inoffensive alternative to a swear word. I used to hear it on British childrens television or see it in comics. Something that was 'naff' was rubbish, or telling someone to 'naff of'f was the same as telling them to flip off.

Then I saw a documentary about the English language a few years ago. Apparently it comes from a type of gay slang which dates from back when homosexuality was a criminal offense so they had their own language. Gay people talking to each other would see a man they found attractive and would say "he's naff". It's a way of saying someone is heterosexual and stands for Not Available For Fucking.

KingBrian2

Thinker which is an old word for Traveler or Gypsy. Raghead for Arab, Kaffur is an Islamic insult. All used to offend people.

MayoAreMagic

PowerToWait wrote: »

The issue is with the implication of 'handicap'. It doesn't promote equality. It's not that hard to understand.

Not sure if it doesnt promote equality. Equality is a highly charged word in fairness and it isnt exactly right in this example. It isnt like two people of difference races etc.
Surely it is just a way of describing various disabilities that people have with one phrase? The context is all important, and there is no nasty intent with the word handicapped.