Crazy, stupid words

10:44 am on 18 February 2014

Words are powerful. If you don’t agree with me, just go and listen to Nicki Minaj’s verse in ‘Monster’. If you don’t get a shiver down your spine when she raps “You could be the king but watch the queen conquer” then I’m pretty sure you’re not human.

Actually, I’m pretty sure you’re not human if you don’t get a shiver down your spine when you realise that Mel B’s rap in ‘Wannabe’ is actually about oral sex:

“Em in the place who likes it in your face. We got G and MC who like on an Easy V...”

Easy V.

Seriously.

Words are so powerful because words mean things. Language comes with a history. The words we use are heard by the people around us, and the words we use shape how we all see the world. This is why I’m so careful with the words that I say.

I don’t say the word “gay” as a pejorative term because I don’t think it’s a coincidence that word is often used to mean something negative in a homophobic world. I don’t use the word “n*gger” because I’m white, and it’s a slur that’s not mine to reclaim. My insides scrunch up when I hear people say their makeup makes them look like a “tranny”, or they post pictures of their winnings from “Tranny Bingo”. I don’t think there’s a neutral way to use that word when on the last International Transgender Day of Remembrance communities around the world gathered to remember the reported murders of 238 trans* people in the last year.

Photo: Unknown

Some people might think I’m being overly cautious. They might think that this is some kind of political correctness gone mad. I don’t really care, and I would question anybody who thinks it’s possible to be too careful when talking about people and groups who are often stigmatised by society. Besides, the only people who ever seem to complain about “PC gone mad” are straight, white men – and if straight, white men are angry at me it’s usually a sign that I’m onto a good thing.

Even though I try to be super careful with the words that I use, lately I’ve started to think about some words that I use way too often. If you tell a joke that isn’t funny, like that overused one about nacho cheese, I’ll say that it’s lame. Whenever I walk past the protester on Devonshire Street I mutter that she’s an idiot. I’ll dismiss your ill-thought argument as dumb or stupid. And I’ll say that everything, everything is crazy.

These words all have something in common, and isn’t just that I’ve gotten incredibly lazy. All of these words are rooted in a prejudice towards people with disabilities, or people with mental illness. Social justice communities refer to this type of discrimination as “abelism”, and it’s defined well here by disabled feminist blog FWD:

I figure that if I try to say what I actually mean, instead of describing every makeup discount, traffic jam and spectacular outfit as “crazy” the least that’s going to happen is that I’m going to develop a banging vocabulary.

Ableism is discrimination against people with disabilities, including the expression of hate for people with disabilities, denial of accessibility, rejection of disabled applicants for housing and jobs, institutionalised discrimination in the form of benefits systems designed to keep people with disabilities in poverty, etc.

FWD has also written a series of Abelist Word Profiles, detailing the history of words like “lame”, “crazy” and “idiot”. After reading some of these profiles, it has become way less appealing to keep using these kinds of words. I don’t want my words to stigmatise or belittle people who are already stigmatised and belittled. I’m not saying that anybody has to change the way they speak, and I’m definitely not suggesting that people stop using these words in a reclamatory fashion.

When I was in the throes of a flare-up of my anxiety disorder last year it definitely felt helpful and humourous to say that I was in the midst of a bit of a crazy patch, especially when I’d been up all night worrying about non-existent burglars. I figure that if I try to say what I actually mean, instead of describing every makeup discount, traffic jam and spectacular outfit as “crazy” the least that’s going to happen is that I’m going to develop a banging vocabulary. And while I’m at it, I might make the world a gentler place.

I’ve compiled a list of some words that I’m going to start using instead of the word “crazy” – most of these words are from here and here. Here’s to many wild arguments with illogical opponents at incredible parties. Game on!

Words that can replace crazy: