A while back there was a thread about eliminating intelligence-based insults from our vocab. Words like "Dumb", "stupid", etc.

https://hexbear.net/post/15636

My gut instinct to this was to get angry, and berate the OP u/QuillQuote for his ideas. I insulted him, I called him dumb, and when he pm'd me, I dismissed all his arguments and called him dumb again. Then he told me to go fuck myself and I told him I would masturbate later

Since then I actually thought a little about the issue and I began to see their point. An intelligence-based insult is fundamentally wrong, because it concerns something that cannot be controlled.

Insults about race, gender, and sexuality are all de facto verboten here because they target traits that can't be controlled--and I agree.

Intelligence can't be controlled either. And intelligence is actually one of the most disadvantaging traits to be handicapped by. Ditto for appearance.

Likewise, AGE cannot be controlled either, you only age in one direction and that's it. If I was 55, there's nothing I can do to be more like a 30 year old. MOREOVER, some people actually have inborn disabilities that make them age faster, with some 10 year old children having the biological age of a 40 year old adult.

So I'm making the proposition that we should attempt to eliminate these words from our arsenal of insults. Words like "dumb", "stupid", "boomer", "ugly", "short", are all words that target people on traits that they cannot control, and worse, they insult other bystanders in the process who may have committed no offense.

In fact, I called someone a boomer jokingly just a few minutes ago. That was the trigger that made me think about this. I apologize if my words hurt anyone.

  • HarryLime [any]
    ·
    4 years ago

    I am not throwing anyone under the bus. Idpol is the ideology of the bourgeoisie, because it serves to distract from class, the primary axis of oppression, and hurts attempts at actual action. I already outlined to you the ways in which I feel a socialist society should assist disabled people, and what I advocate for under capitalism.

    Replace “stupid” with nword, removed, f-slur, etc etc etc.

    Okay, the paragraph no longer makes sense, because the history and context surrounding those words is completely different.

    I think we should stop this conversation because I will not be able to keep emotional separation from the conversation much longer while you continue to repeat the exact same arguments transphobic people use against me on a near daily basis.

    Well, I'm sorry if I hurt you as that wasn't my intention. Thank you for wishing me well, I hope you feel better, and have a good day.