Greetings STARFLEET,
In light of recent events, we’re continuing our series on IDIC. STARFLEET is committed to being a welcoming, discrimination-free organization. If your ship is unsure how to accommodate specific needs, please reach up the chain of command.
Ableism is anything that favors non-disabled people. Everyday speech in English is full of slurs related to disabled people, their bodies, and their capabilities. Often, people do not even realize these terms are inherently offensive.
For example, many folks will call people blind, deaf, or dumb, while others will ask if someone is retarded when they do not perform a task. All of these words are slurs, but few people think anything of using them.
The words used in ableist speech used to be prominent in medical journals and the eugenics movements. For example, retard and idiot used to be labels the courts in the U.S. could apply and then order someone sterilized as done in the Supreme Court case Buck vs. Bell.
Everyday ableism in speech leads to (typically) subconscious pre-judgment of people with disabilities. Many people do not even realize this is developing, and they then project it onto any people with disabilities they meet.
Ultimately, ableism in speech leads to the othering of people with disabilities, even if the person has never knowingly met someone with one. Being conscious of this bias can help people remain open-minded both on and offline.
Keep being kind, STARFLEET.
As someone who was called “retard” for most of their lives for not perceiving or interacting with the world the same way as most others due to being on the autism spectrum; I can personally vouche for how damaging it can be, even to someone with an above average intelligence.
Since I am one of those folks believing that words have meaning, and words, by themselves are not offensive, I want to clarify something. The examples shown here show a malicious intent by the person using those terms. Blind, deaf, and retarded are legitimate terms. Due to wrongful overuse, mentally retarded has been replaced by mentally challenged.
The hard label of words being derogatory and offensive tends to give legitimacy to a person meaning no ill intent to be flamed simply for failing to know the audience and what words resonate and which ones certainly do not. Having said that, folks who intended to be derogatory and offensive deserve the appropriate consequences.
We all come from varied backgrounds, and with that comes with some commonalities and a wide range of perspectives that may or may not align depending on the topics being broached. It is very important that we have a fundamental respect for each other and the commonalities we share. It is also important to recognize that despite our different and varied views that we are all deserving and entitled to respect. If we actually listen to each other more than just using the other person’s talking time as the opportunity to prepare rebuttals, it is amazing to find that we might actually have more in common than we have in opposition. It’s an interesting thing for me to say, because I have tendencies to disagree with everyone on everything.
Most important of all is to be kind. In being kind and being respectful, we know what “hot button” words not to use as they are counter-productive to the various engagements we’ll have.