The term "Aspie" is a deragatory slur in my book.

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I don't mind being called an Aspie by NTs. Nor, I suspect, do any of the others who posted their acceptance of the term 'Aspie.'

I suppose you think "Asian" is a derogatory slur as well.

No man let me translate.

"That n****rs crazy" - "That aspie's crazy" - Yeah i'm crazy but thats me
"look at this n****r" - "look at this aspie" - Yeah i know i'm cool

So.

Well, we could exculde NTs from the use of the word but what happened to the logical lot of us being in the majority here?

Society, yep, that's illogical. The reason I come to WP is that feeling of being in the majority (ok, that one's illogical) and also the wonderful people here who hold a strong view which they can argue for effectively and logically yet manage to respect the views of others even while arguing against the arguements (and not the person) and also manage to be helpful and supportive of each other.

Ok, I'm done with the mushy stuff even if it is true, IMHO.

I think that comparison would be better suited to things like "weirdo", "robot", or "zombie" - if I get saddled with another nickname like that again by a bunch of intolerant brain-dead "normal" people, I'm likely to get nasty about it. But if another aspie reads something I write and wants to say "yeah, you're another weirdo, alright", or "don't worry, you're just a robot like me" or "join the zombie club", it wouldn't bother me, I know it was meant in that case as just the opposite of the original vicious insults. To me, that sort of thing would be an example of a blatant insult coming from NT's that I don't mind hearing from someone with Asperger's, because I'm sure they've been-there-done-that and know precisely how I feel about it from first-hand experience... between "us", I'd feel like it's a "you're one of us" kind of statement.


The term "aspie", at least for now, is different - I've never heard it anywhere else, and I assume it exists only inside the "autism community" so far. ("Inside the autism community"? YUCK! I hate using that phrase! Another dry, lifeless, impenetrable wall of words, where "from other aspies" would feel more natural!) From others like me, I can't take it as an insult, and can't imagine it being intended as an insult. From NT's, it's use as an insult only shows they don't even know what they're talking about. When "aspie" becomes a wide-spread slur equivalent to "nerd" or "geek" or "creep", please talk to me again about it then! But until then, I'm OK with anyone who wants to use the term "aspie", especially other aspies.

*Waits*

I agree with Stryker. I hate many words that end with the long e sound, especially girls names. (don't know why) It does sound a bit like baby talk. (reminiscent of "ducky", "kitty", "birdie", etc.) I prefer abbreviations or the entire word. But that is probably just a personal preference and not anything I could be dogmatic about.

I think I've actually heard the term "Asper" used somewhere. There really doesn't seem to be any way to get around the bad, bad sound of these terms, though. For example, "Asper" sounds like a term used to describe a bodily reaction to the digestion of beans. And we know about the others. I think if there's to be a word used to describe us, it should NOT be based off of the name Asperger.

On an unrelated note, it bothers me to hear it called "Asperger syndrome" and not "Asperger's syndrome". Wasn't Hans Asperger simply the first person to classify the symptoms he observed in certain children? It's not as though he had the syndrome himself, in which case I could see it going either way.

Meep! Answered my own question before posting. From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Asperger:

I still like "Asperger's syndrome" better than "Asperger syndrome".

I really don't get you.

It's only deragatory if people really thinks badly of you and use it as an insult- WHY get mad if they just use it, because it's easier to say? To me, it just seems like you're insulted over nothing- they don't mean anything by it, then how exactly is it deragatory?

It's a friendly word... why see it any differently?

I agree with your entire post, but this is the example which describes my attitude best.

I don't like the term "Aspie" because it sounds too cute, but I don't *have* AS, either. I tell people I *am* neurodiverse, just like I *am* female. If I have to explain it anyway, why not do it all the way?

Stop and think for a minute how someone would respond to being called "neurologically typical" to their face. Unlike we who know what an "Aspie" is, your average NT's mind would be running riot as to, what the hell do you mean by that? Neurological, what? Are you saying I'm neurotic or something? Typical? As in bloody typical? Typical of what, my gender, ethnic background, sexuality? So I'm a conformist now?

By comparison, the word "Aspie" means absolutely nothing to most people. It has no connotations, nor does it even have a strong semantic effect as a term of abuse; nobody could spit out "what a f*****g Aspie" with the same bilious tone as "ret*d" or "spastic". Not that I advocate using either of those words that way...but "Aspie", as it begins and ends with vowels, just sounds kind of weak that way.

I hadn't thought of it that way (the vowels making it sound weak), but you might have something there. It sounds harmless and affectionate to me, but I can see how that same weak-sounding word, for the same reasons, can seem insulting and off-putting to others, now that you've put it that way.

And what you said about "neurologically typical", actually, does hit the nail right on the head - I'd never use that term to someone's face, for exactly those reasons, though I'd never consciously thought about it or realised it before. But when I use the term, that's exactly the way I'm using it: "NT" is not just a way to differentiate everyone else from me, I'm actually using it as deliberate slur for them in many cases. "A tyical neurotic..."? Actually... YES, that may be pretty close to EXACTLY what I'm thinking when I say that.

A lot of "Them" throughout my life have left me with a very bad impression, and I'm not going to easily forget that, though I will grudgingly acknowledge there are some very fair, intelligent, and decent Neuro-Typical Persons out there in the world. But still, whether I like it or not, the bad experiences are going to colour my opinion and attitude towards non-Aspergers-Typical people.

It's not right, it's not fair, but there it is: I'll be honest about it. I don't think of "aspie" as an insult or slur. But oh, I CERTAINLY DO think of "NT" or "Neuro-Typical" that way, and I'll gleefully and quite deliberately use "NT" or "Neuro-Typical" or "everybody else" as a thinly-veiled slur.

After I've calmed down a bit, I'll probably be more fair about it all, but until then, I hope that anyone offended by me will just say "Yagaloth's a jerk", and not let my shortcomings rub off on anyone else and so think "aspies are jerks."


Y.

How about calling ourselves Asps for short? We could have a snake as our mascot!
Asp doesn't sound cute more like don't tread on me or i'm gonna bite ya

You'll still get complaints (in fact, we'll get them, no matter what we call decide to call ourselves.) But, now that you mention it, I can't help but LOVE that "Don't Tread On Me" flag!

Better still to say that we have "Asp-burgers"...we're so tough that we eat snakes for lunch!!

arse burgers definition - to crap oneself?

arse pee - bad case of the runs?

bum nuts - Aussie slang for flatulence


call me a bum nut!! !! !

Jen