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?

    • charlie
      ·
      2 months ago

      I’m 99% we’re making the same points at each other. I’m pretty sure I agree with you, and because I like you I want to explain more better if I can.

      i think you want the "how do i call someone stupid without being ableist" branch rather than this one.

      Just to clarify, this is not my position. I am actually upset at people being told “you can’t call people stupid” and just hearing “stupid is bad word now, what word can I say instead?” Those are the same people that stopped saying the R slur and swapped to stupid. Those are closely related to the same people still calling things gay and refusing to change.

      There is no appropriate word to use if you want to disparage someone. Whether that’s intellect, gender, attractiveness, or anything else like that. Those are just social norms. You aren’t stupid, you just don’t fit the capitalist model you are expected to fit.

      It all sort of originates from the desire to point out what is different and other it. On the left we want to other the people that don’t fit in with us and make them feel bad so they change. “Gusano, Chud, etc” On the right they want to other the people that don’t fit in and shame them into changing. The differences aren’t that stark in a lot of ways.