Being hyper-abled and disabled are not mutually exclusive. That's why there are terms for people who exist at both ends of the ability/disability spectrum *at the same time*. "Twice exceptional", "idiot savant", "splinter skills", "spiky skill profile"... These are a few of the terms invented specifically to describe such a pattern. Autistic people, in particular, are likely to fit this pattern.
#ActuallyAutistic
#TwiceExceptional
#TwiceGifted
#Savantism
#IdiotSavant
#SplinterSkills
#Ableism
I was just told by someone that using "idiot savant" as an insult isn't ableist because they're insulting privileged, hyper-abled folks, not disabled people. But what exactly does calling someone that term imply? That they have a narrow skillset and are socially inept or otherwise disabled in other areas? It's using a disability as an insult, pure and simple.
Every time you use a disability as an insult, you are reinforcing the notion that disability is worse than whatever it is you are insulting. You are helping to establish or maintain that hierarchical notion that disabled people are inferior. Yes, even calling a privileged, hyper-abled person an idiot or an idiot savant contributes to this, and is therefore ableist.
I know that telling people that "idiot" and "stupid", used as insults, are ableist makes them uncomfortable. That's why the posts I make about it go unboosted and unliked, in contrast to my other posts about ableism. It's so socially acceptable and commonplace, that no one bats an eye. But your discomfort at hearing what I have to say, doesn't make it any less true. The fact that it's so commonplace and ordinary to call someone an idiot or stupid or an idiot savant as an insult is all the more reason that this message needs to be heard.
People who don’t really want to care and feel anyone who makes them care burdens them, want healed or not healed. They want all or nothing. Yes or no. They have no room for nuance or sometimes. Do they have to care or not, that’s their process. Because they really don’t want to have to care. So, at the first chance to deny care, they will.
@raphaelmorgan @hosford42
Whenever I use the word "stupid", I'm talking about somebody who has the capacity to understand why doing a bad thing is bad and counterproductive, but chooses to do it ANYWAY even though they ought to know better.
I really have no idea what other word to use for that.
@hosford42 @zakalwe @BernieDoesIt
And even assholes are important body parts that need to be treated with care. I feel bad for insulting assholes when I'm talking about bad people.
There ARE no words for the horrors being done in the world, honestly.
@hosford42
It's pointless & cruel to insult someone as stupid if you think them intrinsically incapable of complex thought.
But stupid is also applied to a person's behaviour/beliefs in an attempt to effect change, either in them or in others who might be influenced to copy it. It cautions us to think further & thus implies that we could & should.
Which words exhort those who could exercise reason (but don't) that it's desirable to think further, without tacitly stigmatising those who can't?
@FrightenedRat @hosford42 depends on their reason for doing it (do they want the poor outcome?). People have published lots of lists of alternatives online, but you can start with willfully ignorant. If that doesn't work for your exact use case research some others.
Insults don't tend to stop someone doing something they shouldn't, except if they respect the opinion of the person insulting them, and then it just hurts them.
@Aerliss @hosford42
Wilful ignorance suggests bad faith, so ... lazy thinking?
But with "lazy thinking" the problem isn't the laziness - as if being chill were a problem - it's the failure to analyse & weigh consequences correctly, which may cause harm. So "negligent thinking" fits better.
I agree insults don't persuade their target - though maybe words like "stupid" are effective on 3rd parties who (lazily/negligently) form opinions via tribal norms/deference & don't care WHY smthg is wrong.
I'm not arguing for the continued use of "stupid" - just thinking through how to differentiate careful Vs sloppy thinking in a world where if you stop to explain the detail of why a line of thought is in error, people's eyes glaze over.
On the other hand, some ideas seem so nonsensical it's hard to know where to begin in unpacking them & then I too want to be lazy and say, e.g. chasing unlimited growth on a finite planet is stupid.
Is it ableist to call Capitalism stupid?
@FrightenedRat @hosford42 again, if my suggestion doesn't cover your use case there are plenty of other suggestions from people who have put far more thought into it.
I try to avoid reducing arguments against something to single word insults except when I'm in the echo chamber of my close friends and we're all just in "ikr??" mode. Insults aren't arguments against things. They are not persuasive. They're only useful when surrounded by people who agree with you, or to hurt people.
@Aerliss @hosford42
Thx. I read up but didn't find a substitute word for "stupid", then got confused about slurs Vs critiques.
I do see the ableism in attributing an intellectual disability in order to belittle someone.
But calling an argument/system stupid isn't a slur but a specific complaint about a lack of logic, judgement, reason & consideration that needs fixing.
I'd like a shorthand to express that an argument/system which lacks sense etc is inadequate without devaluing those with ID.
@FrightenedRat @hosford42 have a look at the synonyms for "stupid" at dictionary.com
Unfortunately many of them are also ableist, but there are some others.
A slur can still be harmful if used to describe something other than a human because the use does not happen in a vacuum. While words are still used to denigrate a group of people we avoid using them at all. If you call an ill-advised idea "stupid" someone who has been called "stupid" many times may feel a harmful comparison.
@FrightenedRat @hosford42
Words carry baggage. They are not just sounds & a single meaning, but a web of memories & feelings. A lot of people hate the word "moist", & can't even hear it used to describe a cake without thinking about slimy, nasty things, & shuddering. Words conjure feelings, even when used in different contexts.
Ask yourself why "stupid" (or any word) feels like a good word for what you're trying to describe. What baggage is it carrying? Could that baggage hurt someone?
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