Thanks to Andy Beshear!

[Dear_Prudence]

5. Touchy subject.

I am mobility-challenged. One of my knee replacements never worked to restore function or to relieve pain. When I had to sign up for a handicapped parking sticker, I found it very stressful to have to formally embrace that designation. I have gotten used to it now. One coworker once "jokingly" called me "gimp" and another used it in a conversation I overheard. I found that term deeply offensive. In all cases, if a handicapped group prefers a certain designation, if Black people prefer capitalization, if "Eskimos" correct their name to Inuit, or so-called girls ask to be called women, I take my clues from those who are being addressed. Unless you are Black, handicapped, Inuit, or a woman, you can't know the bigotry that has been attached to the rejected terminology and labeling. I have experienced it and it leaves marks. Of course, as Beshere pointed out, sometimes the re-labeling can backfire, by minimizing the challenges faced by some group. Also, sometimes a person not familiar with the latest language update is painted as having bad intentions, which is unfortunate. Language evolves, and so must we. I worked in a library almost 50 years ago and I had to apply white-out to the subject card "Ladies Jobs" and type in "Women-Careers." And so it goes...