Insults specifically related to autism

Post Reply New Topic

at the moment sperg/to sperg sounds like slang rather than a word that means trying to say someone doing something weak/negative has aspergers,unlike words such as ret*d which are deliberately derogatory to those of us with intelectual disability [as it relates someone doing something stupid to what people stigmatise us as doing], but like all of these terms itll probably end up becoming darker and derogatory at some point.

Also, you defend bullying, and you bullied others. So it helps to have that context when reading your defense of the use of slurs. I am not sure someone who thinks harassing others for the sake of a reaction has a credible viewpoint as to whether others are blowing the use of slurs out of proportion.

They're already there, at least in terms of usage on Encyclopedia Dramatica, Something Awful, and 4chan. A couple of years ago a video game called Sword of the Stars 2 was released prematurely, which made a lot of people angry. People from Something Awful came around to Kerberos Productions' forum (Kerberos being the company that made Sword of the Stars 2) and expressed rather vulgar insults that hinged on calling the lead designer a "sperglord" and anyone who didn't hate him "spergs."

Like the only times I've seen it used were in situations of intense hatred and anger.

And here's fnord to provide us with our straw man quotient for the day.

It's interesting to me that the people who are most dismissive of the impact of such things are those with the most privilege, economically and socially speaking.

I mean, I'm not offended by the words, but I have seen how they are used and what they are meant to convey, and I do not think that such usage is praiseworthy or defensible. There's not much to be done right now in preventing its use, but that doesn't mean that one is obligated to be anything but honest about what the words mean and what they imply about the person using said words.

WHAT straw man? I posited no superficially similar yet inequivalent proposition, and then denied it without ever having actually denied the original position. I've simply mocked the concept that a word could be considered "dirty", since words have no power over us that we do not give them ourselves.


Conversely, it is also interesting to note that the people who seem most affected by "the impact of such things" also seem to lack both social status and economic privilege, as well as simple respect -- why have any respect for a person who has an emotional melt-down at the sound of a single word?


Oh, I am well aware of the intent behind the use of insulting or otherwise "dirty" words; I've simply stopped caring about the use of those words and the intent behind them, as well as the people that use them with the intent to hurt or demoralize others.

As I've said, mere words have no power over us that we do not give them. Couple this with the idea that one should never back down from a bully, and one could very easily come away with the concept of not letting mere words have any effect -- "sticks and stones", et cetera.

At the very least, letting those who would call us "Spergs" know that the word is somehow offensive or hurtful gives them all the more reason to keep using it against us -- bullies and trolls are like that.

The more reactions that a troll gets from you, the more often the troll will try to invoke those reactions. This is common knowledge. Ignore a troll, and he or she will eventually go away. This is also common knowledge.

Then again, maybe it's just a better idea for some to "develop a thick skin".

It doesn't bother me personally, because I see it as a statement of literal truth. It's like someone telling me I'm female... Uh, okay, you're right, congrats!

Also I have no interest in socializing with those people, so I simply don't care whether I'm accepted or not. But I can see how others might find it hurtful (especially if they can't avoid social interaction, like in school). So for that reason I agree that these terms are inappropriate, and should be discouraged.

I don't feel anything about them, but if they offend people, don't say it.

You really wanna go there? I'm not sure someone who sees insults in as many things as you do has a credible viewpoint in whether or not a slang word is offensive. Nor am I sure how much credibility someone has who labels others as having psychiatric disorders they don't have. Because I picked on some other children in elementary school you labeled me a psychopath (or was it sociopath?). That's a useful context for people to remember when they read your views on this issue. It's also useful to keep in mind that someone who don't see the difference between a harmless prank (such as giving someone a chili caramel) and blowing someone's hands off might be prone to hyperbole.

Yeah, I've bullied others in elementary school (that's only 24 years ago by the way, so it's perfectly understandable that you harp on about that) and that's exactly why my words count in regards to bullying; I know what the target could have done to stop it. It would have helped them to not give the wanted reaction, just like I stopped my own bullies that way, and it would have stopped me.

Since my ancient history interest you so much, you should learn more of it and have more context. When I was 12 I stopped an incident involving another classmate from escalating by diverting the attention of the person. (She'd only have herself to blame as he was just asking her a question and as always she didn't respond, and he got annoyed and started to get rougher. I kinda liked her and knew her home life was hell. I consider answering when people talk to you basic normal behavior, but she only answered another child once, except from me, who she would talk to.)
Also when I was 12 1/2 some girls gave me the knit hat belonging to another girl. I had participated in picking on that girl before and they had every reason to think I would join them, but at that point I was starting to outgrow it and that in addition to her having had a bout pneumonia (I was afraid going cold would make her sick again) made me hand it back to her. Unlike the one mentioned above, this was a girl I didn't like one bit, and so I had no self-interest in that.
At 11 I spent some recesses with a girl 4 years younger than me. She had bad home conditions that made us all sympathetic to her, and my classmates (the same ones who picked on the girl mentioned above) treated her nicely, and I did the same. I even lent her an electronic toy I had, despite being afraid she'd ruin it or lose it (she didn't). She was beaming, so she was happy about it.
People are more complex than you think, Verdandi. There is very little that is black or white, there are mostly only shades of grey. Even at what you would consider their worst, people have other sides too.


As for the actual topic... It's just a fad word. Negative conditions have always been used that way. When I was a child we used "mongo", a few years later it was "døv" (deaf). I have never reacted to them, and I don't care if aspie/ sperg is used that way either. It's not an issue.
People would do well to not take things so seriously all the time and learn to relax.

I've never heard anyone say"Sperg" it doesn't sound all that nice and reminds me of when I was at the special school and the so called normal kids chanted "Spastic" at us and I hate that vile word because of it.

I can see why this could offend some people but to me sperg and sperglord lord sound really awesome! Just don't sweat about it will soon go away, perhaps we could star using it in stead of aspie? Just a thought.

Haha, ignoring these things doesn't make them go away.

And it's not about being offended. Turning it into a matter of offense decontextualizes what the slurs represent, which has little or nothing to do with offending individuals and everything to do with dehumanizing an entire group of people by representing them as inferior, which is the point of these terms. No one uses them as a compliment. When I've seen them used they're often linked directly to homophobic, racist, and other ableist slurs.

It's not really the same thing though, because calling someone autistic (when they actually are) or Asperger's, is the equivalent of calling a female a woman, i.e a statement of fact, however calling someone a "sperg" is the equivalent of calling a female a whore. The point is, one is a statement of fact, the other is a loaded word designed to have no effect other than to wound the person to whom it is directed, that wound coming from the inherent lack of human value that the word represents. When people use the word "sperg" to mean "I think you are less" what they are really saying is, "I think you are the equivalent of autistic" which in their mind means the same thing.

^^^^^

That.

Ignoring the effect of "dirty words" may not make them go away, but it does seem to inspire others to use them less often for their shock value alone.


Ah yes, ye olde "Slippery Slope" argument ...


THERE is your "strawman"!

I wonder if part of the disagreement on this issue is due to the fact that some of us struggle to understand sarcasm, or non-literal usage of words.

I've read the arguments above, and – honestly, it kind of goes over my head. How a word can mean different things in different situations, and why some people perceive it as an insult, while others (like me) just take it literally, and fail to grasp the subtler nuances.

Bottom line, if other people say it makes them feel bad, then I will believe them, and honor their wishes to discourage the use of that word. But for me it's more a matter of filing that bit of data in my brain ("Sperg is a bad word, don't use it") – and it becomes one more social rule that I memorize and follow, even though I don't necessarily understand why.

Like so many slurs before it, it's all fun and games in the beginning using those terms within the group - but not so fun later when the slur becomes mainstreamed and your co-workers are calling you a "Sperg" behind your back.