Stuff like "stupid, idiot, moron, dumb," you know the ones. If you’re insulting someone for their shitty garbage beliefs and all you can manage to come up with is ways to insult their intelligence, appearance, or other aspect about them that has nothing to do with their cruelty and shittyness, you should maybe reevaluate.

Just saw a thread on here where a user was stubbornly refusing to adjust their language when another user politely pointed out that it was harmful to our comrades as well, and the person refusing was massively upvoted and the comrade trying to explain why it was harmful was downvoted. Thought we were better than that

I'm not calling anyone out, just wanted to make a post explaining my feelings on it and that when stuff like that happens (not the intelligence based insults, I know its hard to switch, but getting insulted for asking people to avoid them) it hurts and makes me feel less welcome here </3

Using words like “You’re being ignorant” or “That’s a cruel belief” is actually more effective than just going “lmao idiot”.

If those are the words you actually mean to convey I'd say use them instead :)

Edit: if the reception this post got isn't a good proof that this is something this community needs to grapple with, I don't know what is.

  • RedDawn [he/him]
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    4 years ago

    Your argument doesn’t make any sense. You’re arguing that some people actually are stupid but that the word itself just shouldn’t be used because it hurts feelings or has these other harmful effects, but to just stop using a word that is an accurate description of reality would require one to either just entirely stop talking about that aspect of reality, or substitute a different word, which would only take on the same negative connotation and have the same effects. The first is obviously impossible and the second is entirely pointless and makes this whole argument a colossal waste of time and energy.

    • Civility [none/use name]
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      4 years ago

      If a phrase

      hurts feelings or has these other harmful effects

      such as forced sterilisation and furthering inequality.

      It's not just about the slur, it's about not discriminating along those lines. Ceasing to believe the lie of capitalist meritocracy that people who are more able should have more and people who are less able should have less, and stopping shaming and discriminating against people for being less able

      • RedDawn [he/him]
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        4 years ago

        No, I don’t. I don’t think that using the word “stupid” is discriminatory or furthering systems of oppression.

        ”it’s not just about the slur”

        It’s not about any slur because the word “stupid” is not a slur.

        • Civility [none/use name]
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          4 years ago

          This is fundamentally, to me, about from each to each.

          Just because people are less able does not mean they should have less

          • RedDawn [he/him]
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            4 years ago

            Never said that anybody should “have less” than anybody else.

              • RedDawn [he/him]
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                4 years ago

                Never said they should, never have shamed anybody for being less able

                • Civility [none/use name]
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                  4 years ago

                  Insults based on intelligence are derogatory terms for people who are less able.

                    • Civility [none/use name]
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                      4 years ago

                      Are you saying "idiot" isn't derogatory or doesn't refer to someone who is less able?

                      Or that being less intelligent isn't a form of being less able?

                      • RedDawn [he/him]
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                        4 years ago

                        Less able to what? You keep describing people as “less intelligent” which is literally just the same thing as stupid. In fact I find your use of the words “less intelligent” in all these comments extremely hurtful because less intelligent people like myself are discriminated against. I insist that you stop saying those hurtful words and apologize to me.

                        • Civility [none/use name]
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                          4 years ago

                          This is the "noticing race is racist, you bigot" argument chuds fall back on when they're trying to pretend they're not owned.

                          Are you gonna tell me you didn't feel at least little gross typing that?

                          • qublic69 [none/use name]
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                            4 years ago

                            I just want to take a moment to appreciate this comment. lol

                            At this point I'm not sure what to do with all the cognitive dissonance I have after this.
                            Ironically arguing with RedDawn has shifted my view somewhat, especially:

                            Slurs are bad because they reproduce systems of oppression against marginalized groups of people,

                            is just impossible to square with using some of these words anymore.
                            It's ridiculous, but it feels like I'm holding on to 'st*pid' for dear life and I don't really even understand why anymore.

                          • RedDawn [he/him]
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                            4 years ago

                            You should feel so gross you feel like you need to take a shower for actually trying to equate a word like “stupid” with actual slurs like the n-word. Frankly it’s disgusting and offensive in addition to being incredibly, mind numbingly dumb.

                            • Civility [none/use name]
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                              4 years ago

                              And this is the pro free speech warrior "haha look at me I'm calling the person asking me not to use slurs the slur" move.

                              Why is it so important to you to be able to refer to less able people in a derogatory way?

                              • RedDawn [he/him]
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                                4 years ago

                                Also, it’s obviously not that, since I have not one single solitary time called you stupid. But I have called your arguments stupid which is what this is really about. You don’t like being called out when you type fucking nonsense on message boards and you’re trying hard to make that into you being oppressed somehow. And it’s honestly beyond disgusting, you need to grow the fuck up.

                                • Civility [none/use name]
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                                  4 years ago

                                  Calling an argument stupid again, has a similar effect to calling a person stupid IF that person or people who see it have internalised that they're stupid. It's a social bludgeon to tell those people their input isn't wanted and they're barred from this discourse.

                                  I don't think you're oppressing me. I was pointing out your using bread and butter chud arguments and attacks. That's three in a row now so I'm not gonna bother with this conversation anymore.

                                  Please take some time to consider why you feel the need to use words people are telling you are making them uncomfortable.

                                  • RedDawn [he/him]
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                                    4 years ago

                                    Thank god you’re done because every one of your replies that I read is making me a bit dumber.

                                    Please take some time to consider why you feel the need to use words people are telling you are making them uncomfortable.

                                    Because I’m not in the habit of pretending things aren’t what they are because it might make somebody “uncomfortable”. Racists get uncomfortable when you call their racist arguments racist, but I’m not about to stop doing that anytime soon either.

        • Civility [none/use name]
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          4 years ago

          "Stupid" is a word used to shame and discriminate against people for something about them that is inborn and often can't be changed to a significant extent. It shames other people who maybe don't match the definition by claiming they do. It's absolutely a slur.