Re: Political Correctness and the Writer

Subject: Re: Political Correctness and the Writer
From: Pete Kloppenburg <pkloppen -at- CERTICOM -dot- COM>
Date: Mon, 29 Sep 1997 16:20:07 -0400

Matt asks the leading questions:
> Are these people "victims" (eg. "MS victim" - good for the
> sympathy play)? Are they "suffering from" their
disease/condition/disability
> (also good where sympathy is needed or desired)? Or are they "survivors"
> (which to me sounds rather condescending)? Or should things be worded
such
> that they simply "have" their disease/condition/whatever?

Two ways a pernicious (like my own, frankly) mind could undermine
current terminology:

1) The "differently abled" term now in vogue could be construed to
suggest that that guy in the wheel chair there can do certain things
I can't, like efficiently factor large integers or spin straw into gold.

2) The "people with <fill in your medical condition of choice>" arose
mostly from resistence of AIDS patients to being called "victims"
- they are now almost always termed "people with AIDS". Perhaps
we should now also avoid the term "earthquake victims" and
instead refer to them as "people with earthquakes."

You can say I'm being an asshole here. But how long did it take
for "challenged" to become a quick and easy putdown?

In five years these terms will look as outdated in your writing as
"disabled", "crippled", "mentally retarded", or any other
discredited terminology. As a matter of principle I would be loathe
to play along by using them.

*BUT* I don't have to write for that audience for my current job.
And I guess that matters of principle have little weight when
your audience seems to be dead set on a particular way of
saying something.

Pete

Pete Kloppenburg - pkloppen -at- certicom -dot- com
Technical Writer
Certicom Corp
Mississauga, Ontario,
Canada
http://www.certicom.com

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