Changing Our Vocabulary

It's quite sad when you think about it. Our vocabulary is filled which such negative words that we simply pass off as everyday language. And for many of us, it rarely - or never - crosses our minds. It's so easy to aimlessly walk through our lives, excusing what we say as what we were taught. Which in a sense is valid, but it's also our job as members of society to question things.

I'm talking about more than just saying "gay" or "retarded." Those are common ones, ones that are easy to pick out. I cringe when a person uses those words out of context. But yet it's so easy to not think twice about the abundance of other words.

What am I talking about? Dumb. Insane. Lame. Those are just a few of the many. The thing is, they often have to do with inability, therefore supporting abilism. And I find that people often find excuses, saying that people are just looking for new ways to be offended, which is most definitely not the case. The language creates a barrier for those who deal with a disability. How is an individual supposed to feel accepted when everyday language puts them down?

I'm not saying that using this language makes a person bad, or anything of the sort. My point is that there is great importance in recognizing that using disabling language is a problem. Nothing is going to happen overnight, and trying to change may prove to be a more difficult task than expected. But by questioning our language and trying our best to change it, we break free of being walking, talking zombies of society.

Just because saying certain words is a norm, doesn't mean it should be. I think it's so important to question everything, to unlearn the things that may be the norm, but may also be wrong.