#visible

Controversial

I am so nervous to post this chapter! I AM NOT ACTIVELY LOOKING TO OFFEND PEOPLE, BUT I KNOW ITS A CONTRIVERSIAL SUBJECT, SO I'M SORRY IF I DO!

Cripple.

I will let that word sink in for a little while.

A word with a connotation that offends many people, all around the world.

Here is the dictionary definition-

VERB

1.cause (someone) to become unable to walk or move properly:

"a young student was crippled for life" ·

[more]

synonyms: having a disability · wheelchair-using · paralysed ·

What is it about this word that offends people with a disability? Definition wise, it is a way to explain a physical disability, and that is all.

It is considered a bad word by many because of the way people say it. It is a negative, if someone calls you a cripple it is usually in an insulting tone, intent on offending.

There are many people who believe that the word 'cripple' should be considered a slur, and banned from use. But I don't support that.

I know it will be hard for some people to understand my position- why wouldn't I want to ban a word that negatively impacts the disabled community? Its for one simple reason-

As someone who has a physical disability, I have no problem with people saying crippled. So long as it isn't in an insulting way.

If its an insult, then of course I will be offended. But not by the word, by the intent. The word doesn't matter! If people weren't afraid of offending people, and used the word 'cripple' in casual conversation then it would do no harm... Just as someone could say 'People with disabilities' in a degrading and awful way that its obvious they mean it as an insult.

The words don't matter, the intent does.

If we took cripple out of use, then people would just find a new way to insult people. Its just the way some pricks are.

But if we brought it back into conversations, made it ok for people to say, normalised it, embraced it, then people couldn't make it such a dirty word. It wouldn't be taboo. It would be ours to use, ours to empower.

So that's my view.

I got my courage to write this from a tumblr post by the tumblr user marauders4evr, she made a really good argument for support for the word cripple. If you use the site, I would definitely recommend you follow them!

I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic! Please keep it clean and PLEASE try to respect each others view points, everyone is entitled to their own opinions.

Rachael

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