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There are limited examples of this effect working in reverse. Take the word "Nice" for example. Nice back in ye old medieval times used to be a synonym for "stupid" or "simple" so saying someone was "nice" was insulting. Then there was this prolonged long fad where things being very plain and straightforward was considered a good thing and "Nice/simple" gained a positive connotation. Saying someone is "simple" or a "simpleton" retains this original sort of vibe but "Nice" now just means pleasant.

Can't wait till neurodivergent becomes the new slur and we invent a new word to describe it so people use that instead of a slur which then becomes the new slur so we invent another new word to describe it so people use that instead of a slur which then ...

Who are you to tell me which words I can and cannot use? You can judge my intent, not my vocabulary. Im asking for permission to smoke and swear.

Just about any term that refers to someone else can be used as an insult!

So as the old saying goes "offense is taken, not given". If you want to be insulted, you will be.

I find, people who insult others are saying more about their own character, than that of the target.

I’ve been thinking about how we call people “right-handed” and “left-handed” instead of “handedness-typical” and “handedness-divergent”

Idk man, a good chunk of these are just sorta not that associated with their origins anymore. A lot of insults are historically demeaning towards certain groups (especially poor people).

du hast doch lack gesoffen "idiot", "neurodivergent" & "lame" als abelism zu bezeichnen.

was so angry/disappointed in that post that i couldn't get the message across with English.

Neurodivergent isn’t an insult…

how is special needs ableist?

Idiot is ableist?

seeing as ableist terms are always rooted in previously uncontroversial medical terms i propose the term "the swag ones"

today i learned that 'cretin' has ableist origins. just hearing the word, and being completely unaware of its origins, i assumed it had racist origins and was somehow related to the isle of crete.

apparently 'cretinism' is an old-timey word for congenital iodine deficiency syndrome.

If one of the words needs an asterisk instead of a letter, I don't think all of them are equal...

Interesting. Feels like there's a bit of a paradox, where we need a term to address a group of people who are being "othered," but while that's the case, there will be people who use that term as an insult.