Given your clarification, definitely no. I might try to be a bit more sensitive about it if I knew I was speaking in company of someone who didn't like it, but usually I think I make things worse when I try to be careful.

No and generally no.

I have thought about the use of words like that but I feel they're so common it would be difficult to find someone who would be truly offended.

It reminds me of when Ricky Gervais joined twitter and called someone a Mong and everyone went "mad" and "mental" at him for it. I'm sure I've called plenty of people a mong in the past, and at no point meant it as a comparison to someone with Down's.

No, I see them as entirely diverged meanings. I don't see it as disrespectful/insensitive at all, it's just how language works.

Attempting to modify language as if that will change how people think of and treat people is... doing it backwards. And not recognising that many words have separate, albeit related, uses is just fucking dumb.

* I may have undiagnosed mental health issues.

This is my view also, but I've encountered the opposing view quite a few times too.

Last time was from a gay, manic-depressive union organiser friend*. Perhaps now the Gays have wone he's looking for other issues to get worked up about.


*not to be confused with the black lesbian in a wheelchair.

Oh sweetey, don't we all.

A case in point for me regarding this kind of thing is:

If we want to rob the word 'nigger' of all of its (negative) power then what could possibly be better than white kids referring to each other as 'nigger' as a token of affection?

Now of course I understand that a black person who has grown up with the word as a racial slur might be sensitive to the word and one always has to apply manners in such situations and not be a dick about it. But that's a relic of the old usage. The new usage is entirely good.

"Last time was from a gay, manic-depressive union organiser friend*"

There's a union for manic-depressive gays?

But really, given that being a union organiser is basically volunteering to be offended about things on behalf of other people, I imagine that he's predisposed to being offended about things whenever the opportunity arises. How often does he use the word "discourse"? It seems to crop up frequently in the more handwringy articles that my gay manic-depressive union organiser friends post to Facebook.

Some things are best left alone.

Yes, the AUUD (Amalgamated Union for Ups and Downs).

>>I imagine that he's predisposed to being offended about things whenever the opportunity arises

Ah, you've met him then?

In seriousness though, because this person (and most others I've heard this view from) are like that it's very easy to dismiss the whole notion out of hand without actually considering the issue. My default position is to automatically assume he's wrong about 99% of things, but then I'm often left wondering if there's something in it after all.

'rob', 'nigger ',' token'.

You're such a fucking racist, xen.

They're a very rhythmic people, aren't they?

It's all tom toms and pom poms.

I voted 'yes', but was thinking both about the pejoratives associated with learning disabilities and those associated with mental illness.  'Mong', 'schizo', they're not cool.

Is it a bit like dealing with a blind person?

See what I mean? Look, I don't want to... Watch for...

All things blind people can't do.

Used in the presence of someone with psychological disorders, I think some expressions (whacky, crazy, nuts, etc.) might just be overlooked as colloquial expressions unless of course the comments were directed at that person. But I don't know for sure.

Is is right to call a person with epilepsy an epileptic? No, because they are not usually defined by their condition. They have epilepsy.

My examples are not the same but I get what you are saying. Interesting, because people who suffer from nothing at all probably give no thought at all to those terms and more.

I'm sure we all have friends many would consider to be overweight. At what point is it OK then to talk about that fat so and so over there? Is it OK if our friend is at least not as heavy as the one being talked about? Does the fat comment bother them even if it is about someone else? I have been in that situation before and heard a comment made in the presence of a rotund individual and immediately looked at the person... Does that make me guilty as well?

I am not making light at all by making the fat comparison. If I in fact am overweight is it OK for me to make a "fat comparison"? It is a bit tricky, awkward, uncomfortable and insensitive at the same time.
 

No, everything you say is right.  As a broad and general principle it's best to acknowledge people's common humanity before one addresses the peculiarities of the shell they live in.

Going to try and find the original comment about this, but Facebook search is shit so it may take some time...

My humanity is anything but common, dahling!

Although, strangely, if you're a policeman (or policewoman, let's not be sexist about this), it's the first thing that gets mentioned when you're being introduced to someone. No one ever thinks about how that feels. You bastards.

It's just a heads up - kind of like when you take a call from your best mate while on hands free with your wife in the car. "Hi mate, how you doing - you're on hands free, say hello honey"