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Subject:Re: Political Correctness and the Writer From:Pat Gantt <pagantt -at- POSTOFFICE -dot- WORLDNET -dot- ATT -dot- NET> Date:Fri, 26 Sep 1997 10:44:36 -0500
People with physical and mental challenges are people with
challenges. We all have challenges. Avoid labels, nay
just plain don't use them.
Sorry to be blunt but labels of any kind suck.
My mom was in a wheelchair before she died.
She was not a wheelchair. She was not disabled.
Believe me if anyone was "able" she was.
Cheers to thee this fine day momma!
I love you.
Geoffrey Brown wrote:
>
> Regarding labels such as handicapped, disabled, crippled, etc.,
> a writer should avoid them not because they may give offense
> but because they are not specific enough in most uses.
>
> If you can't walk or move your arms, then you are paralyzed.
> If you have CP, you may have to deal with a different set of
> obstacles altogether. Describing someone as "mentally
> retarded" does not say whether that person has Down's
> Syndrome and can work and live alone, or whether he or she is
> so profoundly affected that speech is impossible.
>
> Only in the most general references should a writer use a
> broad, categorical word such as "disabled" -- I would argue this
> is never appropriate when writing about an individual.
>
> Using more general, softer terms in a conversation is different,
> of course, and often necessary. I have a co-worker whose son
> is smaller than the kids his age and slower at school -- in
> today's language he is "developmentally delayed" -- but Diane
> calls him "special," and that's fine with me.
>
> But in writing, you should always use the most specific,
> descriptive words possible. And preciseness in language usually
> gets right around the political correctness debate.
>
> -- Geoff Brown
> geoffrey -at- softmed -dot- com
>
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--
Best Regards, Pat
=================================================
Pat Gantt
*~Electronic Media Design & Support~*
The University of Tennessee
M.S., Human Resource Development
Persn'l email: pagantt -at- worldnet -dot- att -dot- net
=================================================
*~There is no substitute for individual effort.~*
~~Jo Ann Chaney
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