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<blockquote data-quote="Kurotowa" data-source="post: 8037794" data-attributes="member: 27957">Alright, this isn't my usual field of discussion, so I'm not very practiced at it. But I feel this needs to be said so here goes.Framing the issue as one of taking or giving offense is fundamentally mistaken. It's treating these things as if they were school yard insults of no importance beyond violating the bounds of social decorum. That's not why they're wrong to use and by treating it as if that were the real problem it trivializes both the issue and those who try to raise concern over it.I'm autistic. When people joke about mild lapses in social skills being &quot;autistic&quot; is spreads the idea that that's what autism is. That makes it harder for me to communicate what my actual difficulties are or when I might justifiably need accommodation. And I'm getting off lightly! Every time someone repeats the ideas of certain races being innately prone to violence and brutality, those ideas stick in people's heads. That's how ideas work. And then those people are a little quicker to call the cops instead of trying to talk it out. Or maybe those people are the cops, so they're a little more on edge and quick on the trigger when someone of a &quot;violent race&quot; reaches for their pockets.The point is that ideas aren't some ephemeral vapor that can't do more than offend someone's delicate feelings. Ideas shape people's actions. Every time an idea is repeated it sticks a little more. And some ideas motivate some really harmful and damaging actions. That's why there's such a push now to fight back against certain old memes like this. They do real, proximate harm to people.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Kurotowa, post: 8037794, member: 27957"] Alright, this isn't my usual field of discussion, so I'm not very practiced at it. But I feel this needs to be said so here goes. Framing the issue as one of taking or giving offense is fundamentally mistaken. It's treating these things as if they were school yard insults of no importance beyond violating the bounds of social decorum. That's [I]not why they're wrong to use[/I] and by treating it as if that were the real problem it trivializes both the issue and those who try to raise concern over it. I'm autistic. When people joke about mild lapses in social skills being "autistic" is spreads the idea that that's what autism is. That makes it harder for me to communicate what my actual difficulties are or when I might justifiably need accommodation. And I'm getting off lightly! Every time someone repeats the ideas of certain races being innately prone to violence and brutality, those ideas [I]stick in people's heads[/I]. That's how ideas work. And then those people are a little quicker to call the cops instead of trying to talk it out. Or maybe those people [U]are[/U] the cops, so they're a little more on edge and quick on the trigger when someone of a "violent race" reaches for their pockets. The point is that ideas aren't some ephemeral vapor that can't do more than offend someone's delicate feelings. Ideas shape people's actions. Every time an idea is repeated it sticks a little more. And some ideas motivate some really harmful and damaging actions. That's why there's such a push now to fight back against certain old memes like this. They do real, proximate harm to people. [/QUOTE]

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