Hard News: Sick with Anger
55 Responses
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Ian Dalziel, in reply to
“War on Drugs”
Love is a drug, and I suspect
some children don't get enough!And Law and Order can't abide it...
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Hilary Stace, in reply to
Sacha, I dislike the term 'special needs' too, but it is useful shorthand sometimes as people generally know what you mean. I don't know what specific impairment the girl in the story has, and all disbility terms are loaded eg 'learning disabilities' implies intellectual impairment and that might not be accurate either. 'Vulnerable' has negative implications, 'difficulty in processing information quickly' sounds patronising.
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Joe Wylie, in reply to
special needs
What would you suggest? Through most of the years of being a special class parent I rarely ever found it to be a stigma. Certainly not one of those trigger expressions like handicapped. IMHE some people who measure as low IQ can display an acute sensitivity to the intentions that underlie words. Someone who could talk proudly of what “us specials” had done that day would become totally uncooperative with a well-intentioned busybody who used the term “special needs” in their presence.It’s all in the tone.
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Sacha, in reply to
What would you suggest?
'disabled' is a pretty good term.
nothing 'special' about it. education sector needs less sugar -
Recent article some might not have seen, seems legit:
That’s not autism: It’s simply a brainy, introverted boy
Excerpted from "Back to Normal: Why Ordinary Childhood Behavior Is Mistaken for ADHD, Bipolar Disorder, and Autism Spectrum Disorder"
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Islander, in reply to
‘disabled’ is a pretty good term.
nothing ‘special’ about it.I am severely visually disabled.
The special aids I have (implanted lens/ocular lens/2 kinds of glasses)
are necessary for me to function as an adult.
Because 'disabled' - for me & mine- refers to a range of disabilities, from visual to mental to hearing to bowel to kidney- I'm fine with it. -
Islander, in reply to
I am severely visually disabled.
I also happen to be quite obsessive about a lot of matters.
Which does not stop me being an excellent cook & fisher, a truly great librarian in my own library(and any others people will let me in to), and a pretty good daughter/aunt & great aunt...in other words, I hold my own and more than just work my own way-cheers! -
Travelling with paralympians in an Asian country a few years ago: "You handicaps please come the front, you normal people queue at the back please." Had cripples too at another place. But Europe still uses "handicapped" in a lot of general conversation. Translation problems probably.
And I suppose all those (rope?) "bound wheelies" are right into 50 shades eh.
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Chris Waugh, in reply to
Travelling with paralympians in an Asian country a few years ago: “You handicaps please come the front, you normal people queue at the back please.” Had cripples too at another place. But Europe still uses “handicapped” in a lot of general conversation. Translation problems probably.
I can certainly imagine that happening in China. And about 5 1/2 years ago I was judging a speech competition in which I had to ask a few questions of each participant. One couldn't seem to understand that perhaps requiring wheelchair users to phone ahead to subway stations and arranged for the lifts to be turned on, although an improvement, perhaps wasn't all that convenient, really.
Translation problems, certainly, of both the linguistic and social/cultural kind.
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Yee Haa Islander: Now there’s two!!!!!
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Ian Dalziel, in reply to
Now there’s two!!!!!
West Coast waters
run fast and deep.
Must be the regular
Coaster living
adjustments...
;- ) -
Islander, in reply to
Neat eh?!
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Islander, in reply to
Not sure that Catton has ever lived here, but she obviously knows that the place is rife with stories-
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Ian Dalziel, in reply to
high timbre-line...
...the place is rife with stories
when the land
speaks volumes,
the trees,
the trees
hear reaming,
and grow nervous...| / __
:- D
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Bart Janssen, in reply to
‘disabled’ is a pretty good term.
The problem is always going to be that some er "human-like-beings" will use any term as an insult, you can't win with those.
As a result there is a chance that any term can be received as insulting depending on the person's previous experience with the term.
As always the receiver gets to choose what is offensive or not.
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Islander, in reply to
…the place is rife with stories
when the land
speaks volumes,
the trees,
the trees
hear reaming,
and grow nervous…Aww, mate, you're brillant!
Truly! -
Islander, in reply to
As always the receiver gets to choose what is offensive or not.
Indeedy!
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Sacha, in reply to
As always the receiver gets to choose what is offensive or not
Nope, language is a dance. And the issue in this case is people trying to find a 'nicer' term.
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Islander, in reply to
Um, you're attempting to teach me about language?
English useage? Common English useage?Go away & grow up-
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Sacha, in reply to
you're over-reacting again - and after 3 previous flounces, you might want to reflect on that.
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Islander, in reply to
YOU MIGHT ALSO
*really* want to check out your creedance levels-
describe previous flounces-frankly **Sasha* - you are now nithing-
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Sacha, in reply to
dearie me
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Good news on the Booker. Congratulations Eleanor Catton! I read the excerpt in the Herald - somewhere in here - and it's enough to get me intrigued, but also enough to make me wonder how well I'm going to tolerate the style of writing. Which is good, there's only one way for me to find out - guess I'm going to have to ask my mum to send me another book (although... Booker... might be enough for me to find it in China, but given China's Nobel fixation and near complete ignorance of the little countries, maybe I should just ask my mum).
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Rob Stowell, in reply to
If you are impatient, The Luminaries is available as an ebook. Took about 5 minutes to google, pay download – and start reading :)
(And yeah, the style is a little self-consciously 19th C. But I like a lot of 19th C writing, and in the setting – and the style, the mode of address is a vital part of the setting- it works.) -
Chris Waugh, in reply to
Thanks for the tip, Rob, I'll have a look.
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