I hear that this has been tried before but it didn't really land because finding viable substitutes for particular terms can be difficult. I'm fascinated by language though and I wanted to take a shot at this myself.

Just a disclaimer that I'm not trying to drag anyone over using any of these terms and I'm not going to pretend that I'm some paragon of anti-ableism myself - I have work to do on this front, you probably do too and if we all work together we can make some positive change and establish better habits and a more supportive culture in our communities.

Here's a list of words that are more socially acceptable in their ableism and some suggestions for alternatives:

Crazy, Stupid, Dumb, Moronic, Idiotic

[In the sense that something is incorrect or bad]

Silly, foolish, absurd, ridiculous, laughable, nonsense/nonsensical, illogical, incomprehensible, inscrutable, irrational, contradictory, hypocritical, self-defeating, naive, ill-conceived, inane, asinine, counterproductive, unbelievable,

Crazy, Mad

[In the sense of letting loose or being enthusiastic]

Going wild, getting stuck into something, in a frenzy, on a rampage, being engrossed, head over heels, obsessed.

Psychotic, Psychopath, Psycho

[In the sense that something is cruel]

Vicious, bloodthirsty, monstrous, horrific, sadistic, heartless, brutal, ruthless, horrendous, reprehensible, despicable, depraved.

Crippled

Hamstrung, moribund, incapacitated, impaired, ineffective/ineffectual, hog-tied (lol).

What are some other ableist words that are pretty commonplace even amongst the left that you've heard?

Are there terms that I have overlooked or any ones that you use yourself that you'd like to replace?

  • D61 [any]
    ·
    2 months ago

    Isn't the implication of "low intelligence" the ableist part? The words don't matter so much as the pathologizing of "intelligence."

    Me not thinking through the consequences of an action doesn't meant that I have low intelligence.

    Me refusing to argue with you in good faith and being willfully ignorant doesn't mean that I have low intelligence.

    Me not having the same interest in a subject, not reading the same books, understanding the arguments and critiques at the same level as you doesn't mean that I have low intelligence.

    Knowing less about something that somebody else, or not having the same ability to remember the details about a subject doesn't mean that I have low intelligence.

    • charlie
      ·
      2 months ago

      Isn't the implication of "low intelligence" the ableist part? The words don't matter so much as the pathologizing of "intelligence."

      This. Exactly this. People are missing the forest for the trees.