19 ms·

> After all, "idiot" used to refer to mentally disabled people and few would consider that word to be particularly offensive today. Sure, if your friend loving

> After all, "idiot" used to refer to mentally disabled people and few would consider that word to be particularly offensive today. Sure, if your friend lovingly jokes that you're an "idiot" you won't be offended, but the same can be said for most insults or slurs. However, insults that previously were medical terms can carry particular heft for some people. Try telling the women in your life they are being "hysterical" when they are unhappy with you. Both law and medicine stopped using those words for a reason. Personally, I wouldn't like being called an idiot, and I would take issue with that word being used to describe my loved ones.

Ajedi32 6y ago
In those examples it's the statement that's offensive, not the individual words used to express it. If I'm having an argument with someone and they imply I'm mentally deficient, it doesn't matter what words they use to say that; the statement itself is inherently offensive. Here however it's not the statement people are objecting to (most even seem to agree with that part), but one particular word that was used in expressing that statement. That's a different thing entirely, and it's what I mean here when I talk about a _word_ being offensive.