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The backlash of that comment has been quite eye opening, to say the least.
The comment that invoked the most criticism was - ".......But as usual the world turns a deaf ear to the suffering of others. We develop a severe case of ADD and would much rather focus our attention on who's attending Chelsea Clinton's wedding, what Snooki has to say about Obama or who'll be the next American Idol. Fuck that!" - [original point - the daily suffering, rape and brutality being inflicted on Haitian women, including young girls, in refugee camps in and around Port-au-prince]
Because of my comment I was accused of using ableist language. With ableism being defined as discrimination of the disabled in favor of the able bodied, and since I appropriated the word deaf and the acronym ADD as a means of expressing negative things, I'm guilty.
Please!
Deaf is not only the inability to hear - it is also an unwillingness or refusal to listen. In contrast, ADD may not have been the most appropriate word choice, I agree.
I do find the chastisement quite ironic coming from readers and moderators of a feminist blog that includes links to blogs titled Angry Black Bitch and BitchPh.d - a word e.g. bitch that is viewed as both sexist and based on stereotypical assumptions about women. Are words used to describe women negatively less incendiary than those only loosely associated with certain disabilities?
And to assume being accused of using ableist language by someone with a disability automatically makes the accusation more credible than a person without a disability is a stretch. What you have done is provided me with your opinion on the subject and validated your presumption that the one accused of the offense is not a disabled person themselves.
Negating all the previous points I've made, the hypocrisy of the whole sorted mess is astounding. The actual post I was commenting on contains the same language I was heavily criticized for using.
In an open forum, the risk of triggering a negative reaction or opposing view from others is inevitable, especially in an extremely diverse environment. There was never any dialogue about Haitian women and young girls being exploited daily at the hands of rapists, thieves, and murderers - only a lesson in how to say what you're supposed to say without saying something you shouldn't have said that might be viewed as offensive.
Comments should stay on topic, not be used as ammunition to assert that you are right and I am wrong regarding my choice of words. Whittling away at every minute detail eventually nullifies the point the author and commenter were attempting to make in the first place.
