I don't know, to me that just makes it seem like we can't do anything, or at least not as much as sighted people, that we only stay at home and lie around and don't, no, can't do anything.
shiningeagle_18 points2y ago
I like disabled better than handicapped or differently-abled.
BexTheMixer [OP]-8 points2y ago
Hmm. Never heard differently abled, but that does make sense. I think handicapped/differently abled are actually better than disabled, because a handicap is like if two people are fighting each other and one is at a disadvantage for whatever reason, that doesn't mean that person can't fight, it just means it might be slightly harder for them to fight as the person without the disadvantage. And differently abled, well, as blind people we are, because although we may not see, we still do in different ways, whether that be through echo location or through technology or something else. I don't see that as a bad thing.
shiningeagle_9 points2y ago
Handicapped has been used for centuries and one of its uses was to describe poor, disabled beggars who had their “cap in hand” on the streets. It rubs me the wrong way and I never say that my blindness is a handicap.
Never heard of that context before, but yeah I can see how that brings a whole other more sad meaning to the word.
ConstantIncident9 points2y ago
Stereotypes do get me down, but I've strived to try and prove those stereotypes wrong. Even if I can't get a job traditionally, I do my own work at home and volunteer at places that will take me. I think the best way to combat that negative stereotype is to prove those who are ignorantly labeling us as lazy, that they're wrong in the only ways we know how. :)
I'm fine with being called disabled, but I'm not happy about those who try to tiptoe around the word. Especially when they call us people with "Special abilities", that really gets on my nerves.
BexTheMixer [OP]5 points2y ago
Well, for instance my parents refer to me as disabled. Just a few minutes ago my dad was on a Zoom call with someone asking about taxes or something and he said, "And how would it work for my other daughter? She's disabled, she's blind." That's what got me thinking and prompted me to ask the question. He knows how capable I am. I know people who say that might be smart enough to judge us based on the stereotypes of people like that, but I think it's the word itself, disabled, as in not able, that gets me.
ConstantIncident3 points2y ago
It does get to you whenever you referred to as that, and maybe sit down with your dad and explain how you're feeling about the use of the word disabled? We all take these things differently, and not everyones experience will be the same.
I used to feel the same way, and I felt that I was useless to society as a whole because of me being disabled, but then when I started talking about the things that got me down, I felt better. It put a lot of things in perspective, and I weighed up the things I can and can't do. I might be disabled, but with the right adaptations, I'm able to work a job as much as any "normal" person.
But yeah, definitely talk with your dad about it, you might find it will help you out in the long run when you get to talk things out :)
BexTheMixer [OP]2 points2y ago
That's true. I'll try to bring it up but he's not the type to "talk", you know. Still, he's my dad and he should listen to his daughter.
ConstantIncident1 points2y ago
I'm sure he'll be willing to listen to you, and that it will be fine! :D
intellectualnerd858 points2y ago
Doesn’t bother me. I have body that functions differently in a ableism society striving to overcome
je977 points2y ago
I don't mind it honestly, it's the word I've grown up with so it's just become 'the word that means that thing' now. If someone calls me differently abled I do get an urge to show them some of the things that disabled people are able to do with sharp objects though, that one really winds me up.
EmeraldSunrise40001 points2y ago
I heard handicapable once and just wanted to scream
je972 points2y ago
Did you throw the user of that word through any windows?
EmeraldSunrise40001 points2y ago
Sadly not, it was online so I just violently raged at my computer for a while
MaplePaws3 points2y ago
I do have other disabilities outside of the ones that impact my vision, and I do prefer the term disabled over any of the other ones. Primarily terms that are used in place of the word disability or disabled are created by ableds who are uncomfortable with the challenges we face everyday, often they are used in a condescending way and I believe that there was a social experiment done where respondents were asked to write down what ever words came to mind when they saw the various terms. Disability/disabled had the least stigmatizing language associated with it. I am having a really bad light sensitivity day and unlike reddit I can't figure out how to get darker backgrounds for the internet assuming that is possible in the first place, so I am unable to search for it today but it was a fascinating read.
That said just because one is disabled does not mean they are useless, often with the right accommodations or tools a disabled person can function on a similar level to our non-disabled counterparts.
viciousSnowFlake1 points2y ago
If you use chrome put this in your URL bar and you can force dark mode on everything. It's not perfect, but it works decently well
chrome://flags/#enable-force-dark
Only1lunatica2 points2y ago
I'm fine with both disabled and handicapped, we only really have handicap in my language but when using English disabled seems more fitting, however I do prefer to use it in the "I have a disability" rather than saying "I am disabled" because I feels it narrows it down just a part of me and not all of me.
The word I really can't stand is "invalid", it's mainly because of the words other use as "not valid" which makes it feels like you're calling someone not a valid human being.
we are never more visually impaired than in the eyes of those who are not
BexTheMixer [OP]1 points2y ago
Hmm. Never heard that one before. Yeah I don't like it either, it has the same connotations as disabled, and then some, because not only is it implying we aren't able to do things but like you said we are not valid to this earth.
Only1lunatica1 points2y ago
It is mostly used about people who are in a vegetative state, sometimes paraplegic but luckily it’s not heard much anymore
BexTheMixer [OP]1 points2y ago
Really? That's still really sad, like, they're unresponsive so they're not valid anymore.
Only1lunatica1 points2y ago
Yeah some people can be cruel
WarHamster40k2 points2y ago
Often the people who told me that in the past have the same thoughts, regardless of what word they described it as. The more complicated the phrase, the more often people would take a condescending tone, as if they were putting in effort to not use the word they want to use and that "we" should be grateful for their generosity. It took a while for people to not use their go-to words for anyone with a physical/mental/social/etc. complication; some people have different implications for what that means because that's what they knew. It can be tiring to have to teach the same lesson over and over, but use whatever language you feels works best as long as you're willing to put in the effort to doing it every time.
[deleted]1 points2y ago
I am ok with the term it is only how people say it. If someone says it to put me down or say something like "He is disabled! He can not do anything on his own" or something like that then I do not like it but if someone just refers to me like that I am fine but when someone calls me handicapped I do not like it I also don't like Visibly Challenged it just seems very negative and reminds me of the word mentally challenged which is a threat and insult
DrillInstructorJan1 points2y ago
"Disabled" always felt instinctively like I should be using a wheelchair or something, but I suspect that people who do use wheelchairs might object to that idea. Most people tend to go with "visually impaired" which is also wrong because I'd need to have some vision to be impaired. I'm OK with "blind." Or, you know, Jan. It's not like a complicated situation.
BexTheMixer [OP]1 points2y ago
Yeah exactly. I feel the same way.
ukifrit1 points2y ago
no, why?
Revenant6241 points2y ago
It doesn’t bother me at all because I know who I am and my capabilities. It’s just a word
[deleted]1 points2y ago
[deleted]
One_Antelope80040 points2y ago
I think you are trying to say you are not just one thing, and for people to stop being lazy with the titles we give each other.
I see all humans as cutlery... there are spoons and forks and knives and even some sporks. we know they are all cutlery. but when talking about one, we need to give obvious descriptors.
Sadly those descriptors have meshed and merged over time, similar to pusillanimous (shortened to PUSI )meaning cowardly and the word pussy meaning a cat... they slowly merged in society somehow and now confusion occurs between an insult, a cat, and a body part.
Disabled means two things to me. First it means paraplegic, cripple, lame, and paralyzed.
But, disabled also has a completely different second meaning used in a damaging way meaning to weaken, enfeeble, diffuse, and make useless.
You are correct to be angry, but maybe not at the word... angry at lazy peoples misuse of the words separate multiple meanings.
Never be disabled because of your disability.
BexTheMixer [OP]2 points2y ago
That's true. For some reason when I was a kid that was my first thought when I heard the word, of someone unable to walk, and I never really attributed it to me as well. I just thought people only used that word to refer to someone like that, just as they used blind to refer to me or deaf to refer to someone who couldn't hear. Over time though as I've gotten to know my community and just the overall group of people who are at some sort of disadvantage I learned the word applies to all of us.
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