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Pretty sure we've already done this, and the outcome was that we're still using both those words, which I'm personally fine with tbh. You have to draw a line somewhere.
That said, if you're not comfortable with using them "clown/clownish" is a good substitute as no one was ever born a clown.
no one was ever born a clown
counterpoint: jordan peterson was born a clown
Yes we did and this is not about drawing a line, this is about comrades that may want to just voluntarily curb the usage of those terms and also for coming up with more creative insults and such.
Oh yeah, you'll get no argument from me there. Like I said I'm fond of clown
I love your new pfp btw lol
Listen here you little shit, I am a decorated veteran of the posting wars, I have thousands of confirmed dunks. I will ban you from 1000 miles away and not lose sleep over it.
"Stupid" is not ableist in etymology. "Stupid" was never a medical terminology like ableist terms, the r-slur as example was a medical terminology. "Stupid" comes from latin, "stupidus", which means to be struck senseless with astonishment. "Stupid" is the base word of "stupefied", which means a temporary state of mental numbness from shock.
To say that "stupid" is ableist is overcorrective. "Stupid" does not describe a disability. Anyone can be "stupid". "Stupid" describes a person who is in a state of confusion from being surprised.
I think "stupid" and "dumb" fall into a category where they're ableist in etymology but in use they are just a common way to say bad or without sense. A lot of derogatory words have that effect, but they create a problem by associating a group of people with being bad (I'm thinking of the homophobic use of the term "gay" in particular). In this case, I think that's rarely the case, I think they've basically shed their associations.
I do sometimes try to avoid them. I'll try to remember what I say instead:
I think "stupid" and "dumb" fall into a category where they're ableist in etymology but in use they are just a common way to say bad or without sense.
Exactly. It does kind of bother me the way those words are treated here, because nobody actually thinks you're being ableist when you say "x behavior is stupid" but if one of the mods who reads it happens to be a proponent of x behavior you can bet your ass your comment's getting removed for ableism
I teach 2cd grade so take this w some salt, but Silly Billy has been pretty damning and effective.
I know a teacher that does exactly that and it has a staggering effect on students that are trying very hard to be cool and mature and edgy.
I like it because it shows to them I'm not actually mad or upset but they just need to settle down a little bit.
Yeah. That's a very important rule I tell any new teacher: never, ever look mad. The consequences can linger for years if you do.
OMG yeah. I still feel awful for when a student cried after I told him he needed to stop slapping someone's butt too forcefully. Really learning a lot about how to moderate my affect which has been really helpful in the rest of my life.
I've pretty much eliminated those terms from my vocabulary, but it should be acknowledged that it isn't easy.
Yep that's why I made the post on behalf of myself and some friends trying to do just that.
Regardless of those two terms being harmful, it’s good to use more incisive terms that point toward the problems with their thinking or attitudes.
Incurious, small-minded, duped, bereft of imagination, ill-informed, whatever. If it’s framed as a specific thing that someone is being rather than something they are intrinsically, maybe there’s a chance that someone listening identifies that in themselves and sees a chance to get better.
Or maybe this is just an excuse to have more fun with words, iunno
Whatever you do don't fall into the trap of inventing your own ones in the fly like "fuckscribble", makes you seem like a certified dandycorn.
there's "lib" of course, or dipshit or rube.
i try to remind myself that generally someone's ideology derives from their material interests, not some cognitive impairment, so calling someone stupid for thinking lib thoughts isn't very meaningful or useful. we're all subject to motivated reasoning, and motivated libs can be quite clever in their own way when devising post hoc rationalizations for supporting genocide or whatever else. our political opponents are not stupid, even when they allow their ideological convictions to lead them to incorrect conclusions. we can't really afford complacency and the patience to wait for capitalists to simply make enough mistakes that we win by default, because that won't happen. those terms aren't just ableist, they're self-defeating.
This I think is the best comment on this topic anyone has ever written, this drives at the heart of the issue that we are addressing. A fascist isn't fascist because they are "stupid", nor is someone "stupid" because they are a fascist or more prone to be such, and using those terms removes the agency of people to do good or bad regardless of any physiological characteristic.
Hadn’t really thought about it, but words other than “stupid” or “dumb” make you sound more self-aware
Archaic, insipid, dull, tired, weak, backwards, incoherent are all much better
If you're trying to express that someone has bad ideas, mean-spirited, incoherent, backwards, small-minded, spineless and disingenuous all convey different aspects of "stupid"
"Deeply unnserious" is my favorite one right now.
I try to use "ridiculous" whenever I can. Or maybe just lay out what is irrational or illogical and let people conclude their own judgement on the thing
Also since I am really fruity I have started post-ironically calling straight people and their ideas 'gay as hell' which has thrown a lot of people for a loop in a way that has let me deescalate or reescalate on my own terrain.
As someone that grew up around a bunch of queer outcasts in skater and punk crowds that always sort of did this both ironically and unironically to call something cool this tracks.
Oh, I mean I do it in a negative sense. Mainly, I homophobically counter-harass straight men who are creeping on my lady friends.
The real answer that only like 2 people figured out in this 150+ comment thread is to call them a Redditor. Seriously. If you call someone a Redditor, everybody understands everything. Being called a Redditor is so bad even calling someone a Redditor is an insult on Reddit.
I've been trying to slip "fucko" into conversation but no luck so far. I feel like "jabroni" should make a comeback too.
https://nosweatshakespeare.com/resources/shakespeare-insults/
Gotta go old-school.
https://iris.haverford.edu/scrinium/files/2016/09/InsultsHandout.pdf
There are thousands of years of insults to draw on.
STERCULINUM PUBLICUM!
Just straight up calling someone a public toilet.
Yiddish has insults. Like you can insult people in any language, and then you can insult people in Yiddish.
https://yiddishradioproject.org/exhibits/stutchkoff/curses.php3
Of course you've got your looney toons
https://forum.cosmoquest.org/forum/general-interest/small-media-at-large/106401-
You just can't go wrong reaching back a few decades, centuries, or millenia.
Edit: "More of your conversation would infect my brain." Shakespeare talking abut brainworms in 1297 or whatever.
silly, fool, ignorant, closed-minded.
it's still ableist but I really like fuckwit
Personally I really love ‘muppet’ as an insult. Only good thing to come out of It England