First of all, not only am I neurodiverse, I am also physical disabled, so if you think that you have some special power over this argument because of your identity or life experience, you’re totally wrong. You’re not in charge of tone-policing people who are opposing ableism.
The important thing here isn’t who has agency over which words, but whether or not your use of those words is harmful. No white person has ever really been victimised by the n-word, and therefore, they can’t really be hurt by it. Additionally, your example isn’t even what we’d think of as an insult. “You’re crazy” isn’t really a scathing remark unless it’s said in a certain way, and it’s way more often said in a playful or friendly context, like “wow, you’re working so hard, you’re crazy!”
If we cut deeper into what you’re saying (that identity is all that matters and that the n-word is fine to say if you have dark skin) then do you believe it would be acceptable for someone to say to someone else “You’re a horrible, disgusting n-word, go to hell”, for example? Would it matter what colour of skin either person had in that exchange?
Using the r-slur as an insult is harmful because it dehumanises people with disabilities. That’s the important thing, it’s nothing to do with semantics.
Self-identification is valid, feel free. But using a term as an insult against others is not.
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First of all, not only am I neurodiverse, I am also physical disabled, so if you think that you have some special power over this argument because of your identity or life experience, you’re totally wrong. You’re not in charge of tone-policing people who are opposing ableism.
The important thing here isn’t who has agency over which words, but whether or not your use of those words is harmful. No white person has ever really been victimised by the n-word, and therefore, they can’t really be hurt by it. Additionally, your example isn’t even what we’d think of as an insult. “You’re crazy” isn’t really a scathing remark unless it’s said in a certain way, and it’s way more often said in a playful or friendly context, like “wow, you’re working so hard, you’re crazy!”
If we cut deeper into what you’re saying (that identity is all that matters and that the n-word is fine to say if you have dark skin) then do you believe it would be acceptable for someone to say to someone else “You’re a horrible, disgusting n-word, go to hell”, for example? Would it matter what colour of skin either person had in that exchange?
Using the r-slur as an insult is harmful because it dehumanises people with disabilities. That’s the important thing, it’s nothing to do with semantics.
Removed by mod