learning to not use ableist language, mention of said ableist language
i've been using "foolish" in place of "stupid" for a while now and it works in pretty much every situation but also I feel like Franziska von Karma
-F
learning to not use ableist language, mention of said ableist language
@plushilee @Felthry 'Dingus' is a pretty satisfying word, although I haven't looked into its etymology to see if there's something really bad behind it. 'Extruded plastic dingus' makes for a good intensification.
If it weren't an actual generic name for hackeysacks, 'footbag' would be a good one. The Sklar Brothers, comedians, also pointed out 'footbagger' is a solid PG substitute for any cuss word.
learning to not use ableist language, mention of said ableist language
It is, if I recall correctly, of a similar meaning/origin to "doodad" or "gadget" or "thingy" as "I don't know what to call this" or "i cannot remember the name of this", from an old german word? I picked it up from a former friend who was really careful with her language to avoid exactly the kind of ableist language we're talking about here
learning to not use ableist language, mention of said ableist language
@plushilee @Felthry Well, I did look it up and etymology.com at least thinks 'dingus', in English, traces to the Dutch 'dinges', meaning 'thing'.
So that's doesn't appear ableist, though I would understand someone objecting to calling people 'things'.
On the other hand we need *some* words for people and any word used to describe people who behave badly will get bad connotations.
learning to not use ableist language, mention of said ableist language
@Austin_Dern @Felthry language evolves. Our usage of it must evolve in pace.
re: learning to not use ableist language, mention of said ableist language
@Felthry "Fool" and variants is what I usually recommend to people. "Thoughtless" and "careless" are good too.
Also we should definitely get you a whip.
learning to not use ableist language, mention of said ableist language
@Felthry we've personally been doing something similar. Usually "dingus" for more... charming foolishness? and "willfully ignorant" for, well, it kind of speaks for itself.