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Original poster

To think that calling someone "spa***c" is offensive?

131 replies

IglooLists · 06/07/2024 17:00

I'm in a parenting group on FB that describes itself as a "respectful parenting community". Someone posted for some advice about her child's behaviour, and described him as "goes spastic". There was nothing in the post to suggest the child has any medical condition. I responded with some advice, and also said that I was struggling to get past the use of "spastic", and questioned the moderation of the group. Cue several responses to me suggesting that I don't know what the word means, it's my problem if I interpret it as offensive, it's just a word, etc etc. I felt like I'd stepped into a parallel universe!
Am I some kind of professionally offended snowflake or is that an incredibly offensive way to describe someone?

[Title amended by MNHQ]

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MNisHarshSometimes · 09/07/2024 15:59

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CarolinaInTheMorning · 09/07/2024 13:45

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Report this post and ask why. A previous post of mine was hidden as soon as I posted it. When I asked why, it was immediately un-hidden. I wonder if there are certain offensive words that prompt immediate action from MNHQ. But it's often difficult to discuss issues like this without referring to the words themselves.

MNisHarshSometimes · 09/07/2024 12:24

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Nearlyroses · 08/07/2024 18:36

mumof2many1943 · 08/07/2024 17:21

Nearlyroses mn*g means mongol 🤬🤬

Thanks - it's not a term I've ever heard anyone use.

mumof2many1943 · 08/07/2024 17:21

Nearlyroses mn*g means mongol 🤬🤬

Toddlerteaplease · 08/07/2024 15:38

TomatoSandwiches · 06/07/2024 17:07

My son is under a specialist paediatrician for spastics, it's part of their title.

Calling someone spastic is derogatory and some Americans seem to think they're the exception and refuse to be educated on the matter.

In the UK? I'm a paediatric nurse and have never ever heard the term used, unless describing body condition. As in 'they have a lot of spasticity in their legs'

PrincessPeache · 08/07/2024 15:35

I went NC with a friend for saying this about her daughter as well as using the word retard. Everyone else in the friendship group took her side and I no longer speak to any of them.

All of us are SEN mums.

I stick by my decision!

Toddlerteaplease · 08/07/2024 15:34

Hugely offensive!

Nearlyroses · 08/07/2024 15:30

PauliesWalnuts · 06/07/2024 17:04

It’s horrible. My ex sister-in-law uses it, along with “m*ng”. Thankfully we’re no longer in contact.

What's "m*ng"?

MNisHarshSometimes · 08/07/2024 15:26

Very derogatory!

Normallynumb · 08/07/2024 15:22

@sunflowrsngunpowdr
It is widely known that the S word is offensive and I have the condition
Just like Golliwog toys were deemed racist in the 80's
It's not a case of policing peoples language
Are you in the habit of using terms which would be termed a hate crime nowadays?

Readingallthetime · 08/07/2024 07:18

sunflowrsngunpowdr · 08/07/2024 00:03

People that police other peoples word and get offended on behalf of others are the worst.

Ridiculous statement. So if you heard someone using a racist or sexist term you'd say nothing?

sunflowrsngunpowdr · 08/07/2024 00:03

People that police other peoples word and get offended on behalf of others are the worst.

MrsSkylerWhite · 07/07/2024 23:53

I was born in the early 60s. I can recall collection boxes for spastic children. By the late 70s, society was already beginning to question the term.

DietrichandDiMaggio · 07/07/2024 23:46

saraclara · 06/07/2024 22:55

If you read the OP 's updates, the person was in the US where the history and usage of the word is very different.

Of course it's horribly offensive in the UK, but in the US it has never been used for people with cerebral palsy (or any other disability).

Show quote history

So where did they get the word from, if not from the medical use?

mumof2many1943 · 07/07/2024 12:39

In the 1960’s when doing paediatric training we were not allowed to use the word spastic the children had cerebral palsy.

stokessauce · 07/07/2024 12:07

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stokessauce · 07/07/2024 12:05

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Haveanaiceday · 07/07/2024 09:08

To be honest the fact we have to stop using a medical word as some people turn that into an insult, and people with the condition come to see it as a put down is a bit horrible in itself.

Cattyisbatty · 07/07/2024 09:00

CHEESEY13 · 06/07/2024 18:07

Last time I can recall it being common was way back in the fifties. And I remember a model of a child in a shop, holding a collection box and the words " for the S Society"
No longer, thank goodness.

I remember these in the 70s! It said ‘Please Help Spastics’

Readingallthetime · 07/07/2024 08:55

It's still in use medically in the UK though. But yes it's considered very offensive when not used in a medical context.

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 07/07/2024 08:33

IMO it’s been seen as offensive for decades now. A long time ago it was a ‘normal’ term used for someone with cerebral palsy, but that stopped decades ago because it had turned into a term of abuse.

BanditofBrisbane · 07/07/2024 08:20

Gypsy/gypo is used a a derogatory term. Much as spastic was, hence the reason Scope changed their name. The Gypsy, Roma and Traveller advisory groups in the UK recognise the differences between the three ethnicities. You can't argue the semantics of using their own name.

Of course there are always some that will use it in a derogatory way. Doesn't mean there aren't groups who prefer the term.

I've spoken to local groups for work and I've always specifically asked what they want to be called in the final report. Only one has said anything other than "gypsy".

CarolinaInTheMorning · 07/07/2024 00:18

saraclara · 06/07/2024 20:20

I would also say that while retard is still used in the US, it's on the decline. People are starting to recognise that it's seen as offensive.

While retardation still has a place in medical definitions, and talking about someone being retarded might well be around for some time, until medical professionals over there stop using it, retard as a noun is gradually coming into 'hmmm, this probably isn't a good way to describe someone' territory.

Edited

Professionals in the US tend to use the term "intellectual and developmental disabilities." The "r" word is definitely increasingly considered offensive.

Also, as a related matter, "learning disabilities" in the US means what people in the UK refer to as "learning difficulties."

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