For hating this teen phrase?

[Enchilada81]

Didn't put it in the subject header incase it offended anyone!

But basically DS has gotten into the habit of saying "spaz" a lot. For instance when DS2 couldn't get the PC working and then realised it wasn't plugged in DS1 said "you spaz!" etc.

I told him off and asked him not to say it but I think they're saying it that often at school it comes out too naturally.

When DS's friend was here the other night, DS was messing around and his friend said "come on, don't be a spaz"

Another variation is spaz attack. For instance "oh mum it was so funny in history today, everyone was messing around and Mr Smith ended up just having a total spaz attack!"

And now I've just seen on facebook he and some other teens on my friend list have joined a group called "Having a dream about falling over and then having a total spaz attack in my bed"

Am I over-reacting? should I still try and stop him even though it seems they're all saying it?

pooexplosionsareimproving I have not called you anything.
I was just trying to point out that disabled people don't have a choice.

for the record, i don't get het up aboou words like silly, stupid, idiot(as long as not used to mock dd) I object to epi, but not fit.
lots of words are just that now, but if we don't stop people , words like spaz and mong will become the norm and more kids like my ds will have to put up with being bullied.

oh and please don't kid your self that the kids don't know what the words mean.

I would be v cross with my DCs if they started coming out with that kind of thing. But then again, I remember saying similar things when I was 13 (behind my mother's back), having learnt them from a very cool friend. I think teens say silly things, and most of them feel ashamed later on, as I do.

However, I also find swearing very offensive, and I see far too much of it on MN for my taste.

i asked dh(who has epilepsy) and he said no he doesn't.

I don't think you're listening 2shoes. Its really rude to assume you know someones opinion without bothering to listen to them.

The point is, there are some words, not the obvioius ones that we are all agreeing are offensive, but lesser ones like "moron" that someone rides in on and shreiks "thats offensive, you're not allowed to say that!" as if one person finding a word objectionable makes it taboo. It doesn't, particularly if you are basing your objections on a complete misunderstanding of the word.
What happens is that if you put all words in the same category you are diminishing the power of truly offensive words and acheiving the exact opposite of what you are aiming for.

But whatever, what do I know? I'm off to burn a cross on my lawn, because pointing out that not everyone finds the exact same list of words offensive apparently makes me a KKK type psuedo intellectual apologist.

Pixie, what makes you think people with epilepsy might be offended by 'brainstorm'?

I have epilepsy and think the idea that this word is somehow derogatory is flaming ridiculous. Not every reference to the brain in everyday speech relates to epilepsy!

Have always assumed it was one daft do-gooding HR type who dreamt up the false idea that brainstorm has something to to with epilepsy and is offensive. But would be interested to hear from anyone who knows more about how this myth came into being.

The other insults discussed on this thread are clearly derogatory references to learning disabilities. Brainstorm ain't.

Hmm. I have difficulty with this, because I really don't think the vast majority of people are referring to "spastics" or "mongoloids" when they use the words spaz or mong. I think it's a bad idea to use those words, but I can't muster up quite so strong a feeling as some obviously have.

Can't remember who posted this:

"Perhaps the everyday test should be which words would you be happy to shout if you were seated across from your sister/best friend holding her toddler with Downs syndrome?"

It struck me that there would be a hell of a lot of words I wouldn't use in that context, wanker would be one of them, as would shit, fuck, cunt etc. etc. It doesn't mean that those words should never be uttered, just that they have their context.

What also strikes me is that two words that mean exactly the same thing but only one is offensive, and this may well switch over time. (I believe I read while studying that "shit" used to be the more acceptable term for faeces, only latterly becoming more offensive).

I don't really want to defend the use of the word in the OP as it obviously upsets a great number of people. However, a generation or two down the line when nobody remembers a time when those with cerebral palsy were called spastics, the word may just be another word without those unpleasant connotations.

I'm all for considering others' feelings but I'm uneasy about placing a word on a banned list, I think we need to be a lot more open about the fluidity of language.

pooexplosionsareimproving i agree.
I do think by bringing up words like stupid and idiot which have been used in normal conversation for decades(I am ancient and they have been in common use as long as I could talk) is taking it too far.
should I say don't say fit as it might offend DH, of course not it has many meanings and tbh I only use it in the epilepsy context as I have trouble spelling seizure without spell check.

spastic is a type of cerabal palsy and still is.

as riven said why would some one want to be mean to her 6 year old dd?

i had to think hard lol

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spastic

Obviously it's wikipedia, so not the echelon of reliability, but, I think it's interesting what it says on the US evolution of the word "spaz".

shows they can't even get that right in the USA

I disagree 2shoes, I think it shows that the same word can have completely different connotations when heard by different people!

If people don't find it offensive because it has taken on a slightly different meaning why get offended for them??

I will be offended for my dd.
that is my job

But words change, in the US they are clearly farther down that line than we are in the UK, where the word is still considered offensive. Someone using that word in the US is not making fun of your DD or anyone else like her, they are using it as just another self-deprecating/insulting word.

The examples of idiot or moron were given earlier. A word's potential for offending and its connotations can change radically in a short space of time. I'm not saying you shouldn't be offended by that word, it is your right, just that the word is not necessarily offensive per se, it depends on the context.

only read the first few posts, but its a horrid word.

oh goodie, cos the americans do it we must follow..
so shall I get a gun as well??

you can't use how another counrty uses a word to make it ok over here,

spaz is short for spastic, which is a form of cerable palsey........... how hard is that to understand?
it does not mean anything else however much you like to pretend it does. it causes hurt and offence.

nigger was one a name of a coulour, you could go into a shop and ask for it(my mil is 84 and remebers that) can you do that now, of course not as it is racist(and was then) that is the way forward, not using a word just cos you want to......

I didn't realize any adults in this country would use 'gay' as an insult (or complaint), like 'that's so gay'. I thought it was purely a US sniggering teen kind of insult? I thought it was pretty definitely homphobic too.

Pixie - that's interesting. But I wish I could find out where on earth people who teach 'discrimination training' (surely that should be anti-discrimination, btw?) got that absurd idea from. My guess would still be it's some well-meaning but interfering type who dreamed this up out of nowhere.

Hope I come across them one day and can put them right!