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"Ugh, this is so retarded!" The other players looked at him and said "What do you mean? I'm retarded and I'm awesome!"
I was very surprised and shocked to hear this conversation, yet it was true, the one player had been classified and labelled as "mentally retarded", yet for some reason all the other players had a good laugh about it because they were all labelled by some as "Retarded', yet in my eyes they were amazing people. They were all committed to their jobs, their families and to soccer. As their coach I would never want to play soccer against any of them. I'll never forget the phrase "I'm retarded and I'm awesome".
Today my friend introduced me to this website titled No Homophobes.com.
It is about the use of words that are hurtful to those who are gay or homosexual. It scans Twitter and tracks the number of tweets with specific words and tracks them. It is amazing how we use words.
It is amazing that without thinking we could be hurting people with our words, or we could be spreading awareness. The message you are spreading depends on how you phrase it.
I've long felt that while discretion is never a bad idea, unless the intent it obvious the onus is on the person doing the receiving to determine an appropriate reaction to any and all words.
ReplyDeleteDealing it absolutes, regardless of context, doesn't solve anything. It's ridiculous, in my eyes, to ALWAYS find the usage of a particular word offensive, especially when language so very often co-opts one word and assigns a totally new meaning or intention to it.
If one genuinely doesn't intend to offend, then there simply isn't anything objectively offensive about it.
So, again, be considerate. Be aware of the people you're talking with. But ultimately use language naturally, don't make a conscious effort for political correctness, and let the people listening to you read your intention.