tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-530548799681444324.post8014972502317643004..comments2023-10-07T11:03:10.202-05:00Comments on Autist's Corner: Link Roundup, Feminism-and-Disability EditionLindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10860246538349067232noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-530548799681444324.post-65555895429339091602009-10-27T02:41:33.505-05:002009-10-27T02:41:33.505-05:00I knew that about "dumb", SBWG.
I'v...I knew that about "dumb", SBWG.<br /><br />I've also had similar thoughts that calling people "stupid" is ableist; it seems like it's related to calling them the R-word, especially since so many of the synonyms we now use for "stupid" --- say, "moron," "idiot, "imbecile," etc. --- used to be technical terms for varying degrees of cognitive impairment.<br /><br />The ableist-word posts over there are an ongoing project, and they're always open to suggestions if you've got some words you'd like to see profiled, or would like to write a guest post on a word.Lindsayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10860246538349067232noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-530548799681444324.post-11380188825930229002009-10-26T15:09:25.130-05:002009-10-26T15:09:25.130-05:00Might I also add that the word "dumb" as...Might I also add that the word "dumb" as a negative adjective has some ableist origins? In today's society, chances are that if you got a nickel for every time you hear someone calling someone "dumb" to refer to them as being unintelligent, you'd get enough money to buy yourself a nice amount of snacks from a vending machine. However, it was originally used exclusively to refer to someone who could not speak (i. e. nonverbal). In some Shakespeare plays, characters say the word "dumb" to describe a person who has fallen silent for some reason. I'm not saying that Thelma and Louise are ableist. I love them and their bashings of anti-vax peeps too much to attach that label to them. I'm just saying that the word "dumb" as an insult has ableist origins.TheWiredOnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10603161451462354948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-530548799681444324.post-16921384060888054502009-10-22T19:31:40.371-05:002009-10-22T19:31:40.371-05:00@AnneC,
Yeah, I liked what Amanda said about soci...@AnneC,<br /><br />Yeah, I liked what Amanda said about socializing cats. (We try not to handle ours when they clearly don't want it --- my sister says it frustrates them. She's the animal-psychology-and-behavior expert in our house. Socialization of the cats --- the younger ones, anyway --- consisted of fostering different kittens until we found two who seemed to work well together, and teaching them not to bite us when we're playing with them, which we did by yelping and stopping what we were doing whenever they bit, to show them that even tiny bites hurt the wimpy hairless humans :))<br /><br />We also try to walk the tightrope between respecting the cats' autonomy and protecting them from dangers they can't understand, too.<br /><br />You really need to have a decent idea of how a cat's mind works, to be a good companion to one, I think; you need to be able to tell when they need their space, and how not to frustrate them into chronic irritability, or make them afraid of everything by freaking out all the time, and you need to know what they can and can't grasp, so you know when to step in and stop them from doing something that could get them hurt.<br /><br />(Mine *LOVE* cardboard boxes! They chew on them, curl up in them, pounce on them ... endless fun).Lindsayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10860246538349067232noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-530548799681444324.post-56067095148635183072009-10-22T12:28:34.274-05:002009-10-22T12:28:34.274-05:00I've created a new blog if anyone wants to com...I've created a new blog if anyone wants to come to it. http://thegodlysociety.blogspot.com/A better future for allhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03815949082061415658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-530548799681444324.post-75531623419494451762009-10-22T11:45:34.917-05:002009-10-22T11:45:34.917-05:00Regarding: "How do we expect to *socialize* s...Regarding: "<i>How do we expect to *socialize* someone if we never give them a chance to interact socially, and we treat them as if they are rehabilitated animals at a nature center of some sort?</i>"<br /><br />I agree with you completely that "animals, too, should be free to engage in whatever odd behaviors they like as long as they aren't hurting anyone!" <br /><br />This is the approach I am taking with the feral kittens I've adopted...essentially my goal is NOT to "make them act a certain way", but to find ways to communicate with them, through my actions, that I am not a predator and they can trust me. They have no good reason to trust me or any other human if we haven't earned it, and I WANT them to grow up with minds of their own.<br /><br />And, as Amanda (I think) noted in a comment to my blog, there are some schools of thought which suggest that "socializing" animals ought to be about getting them to put up with being picked up and carried and grabbed all the time, etc. -- stuff that sounds a lot more like "teaching passivity" than "socializing". And I don't think that approach is appropriate for humans OR animals.<br /><br />(And, really, this whole kitten thing is illustrating loads about how obvious it is that "acceptance" isn't the same as "neglect" -- accepting their feline nature doesn't mean I won't take them to the vet, give them medicine when they need it, or keep them out of rooms in the house that aren't safe for them yet due to residual moving-in clutter. It just means that I accept that they're CATS, and that they've got their own agenda on which I am not necessarily going to rank above "interesting new cardboard box". :) And frankly that is something I love them for!)Anne Corwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940566603711834053noreply@blogger.com