Chiming in with one of my Long Posts since people are talking about the use of intellectual disability to replace the r-word. Since the societal use of language is one of my areas, I figured I'd drop some info on that.
(Been a rough couple weeks, my sick kid is sick in new and shitty ways. I'm so tired.)
As a side note, I believe there is some auto-blocking of some iterations of the r-word here so I'll use abbreviations like "r-word."
Years ago, mental r- was a diagnostic medical term. It was like saying someone is diabetic.
As tends to happen with conditions that involve mental and/or behavioral health, the medical term entered the popular lexicon, and over time it moved from common use to slang use. As it entered slang use, it was no longer a useful medical descriptor like "diabetic;" r-word was used as an insult to demean people.
This poses several problems. An obvious issue is that, by common use of r-word as an insult, the actual medical condition of intellectual disability and those who live with the condition are viewed on the wider scale as bad. It's simply hurtful speech. One could argue that someone with an intellectual disability has a bad condition, or that they don't understand the word or how it's used to mock others so it doesn't matter, but the mentally r-/intellectual disability umbrella is broad and the vast majority of people with an intellectual disability do, in fact, understand what's being said and how their medical condition is used to mock and belittle.
The larger problem, however, is that the r-word's eventual use as a slur leads to dehumanization. Dehumanization of a group, such as those with intellectual disabilities, is a process where that group is gradually (or sometimes rapidly) viewed by increasing segments of society as less than human or as not-human. Dehumanization at its worst leads to our history's worst atrocities, though before it reaches that point it also has very real effects. As a group, such as those with intellectual disabilities, is dehumanized -
Education suffers. They "can't learn," they're "not worth it," the money can be better spent on "worthier" students, they'll never contribute to society anyhow.
Physical healthcare suffers. They don't feel pain like we do, it's too hard to draw blood or do x-rays, they're just having a tantrum.
Mental & behavioral healthcare suffers. Sedate them, pile on meds instead of taking the time & effort for regular therapy, every single thing in the Maass household.
Living & social situations suffer. Institutionalization increases, the conditions in institutions deteriorate (look up Willowbrook), participation in general society is discouraged, violence increases.
In general, the goal of dissuading the use of terms like the r-word is to stave off the dehumanization that comes with its use as a slur before the process reaches the later, more dangerous stages. It's like a game of whack-a-mole. Intellectual disability used to be known as feeblemindedness, cretinism, idiocy, and many other diagnostic terms before it was called mental r-, and all of those terms followed similar paths. They entered the common lexicon, became insults and/or slurs, and negative repercussions for those affected followed.
It's not a matter of political correctness. It's a matter of decency, and of protecting the well being (and sometimes the actual lives) of members of our society.
Thank you for coming to my TED talk.