Public Language

[beaconshome]

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I thought I would just start up a conversation about how the public seems to abuse mental health terms, specifically the ‘r-word.' Last night while browsing through the news feed on my Facebook I encountered someone I know post this saying as their status "Obama stickers on cars are like helmets on pedestrians; it makes it easy to pick out the ******s." I find this extremely offensive and demeaning. When it comes to people using the ‘r-word' I always find myself beginning to heat up and wanting to take action against the other person. Anyways, I could go on about the issue, but I would enjoy others thoughts and opinions. Thanks.

 

[beaconshome]

i really have no idea why my text turned bold. sorry about that

 

[cara susanna]

I hate when people are like "I am so schizophrenic on this issue" or "I am so bipolar this week" or "I am so OCD, I need my cabinets perfectly organized." No, you're not.

 

[Wildcat06]

Yeah, the other day on NPR a contributor called Kanye West's unpredictable behavior "schizoid" and I swear my head nearly exploded. Good thing my law school sister was in the car and talked me down 🙂

 

[stigmata]

I think this whole thread is ******ed......JK. It looks as though DSM-V will remove the clinical term mental ******ation, but my guess is the derogatory term/adjective will still be heavily used.
Personally I want to go back to calling people "schizophrenogenic mothers"!!

I honestly hope this stuff does not truly bother you all that much because if it does you may just go "schizo" when you encounter managed care, insurance stuf etc.... Sorry, I can't stop....

 

[teo3099]

.

 

[PorkDumplings]

Limited understanding of psychological conditions definitely does not help in terms of when people come in self-diagnosing. If we could get Adjustment Disorder NOS into the mix, then maybe.

 

[Buzzwordsoldier]

The term that get's my eye brow arched the highest is "anal," as in, "I'm so anal about ______," or, "I'm totally anal," etc.

 

[Psychology 76]

I hate when people are like "I am so schizophrenic on this issue" or "I am so bipolar this week" or "I am so OCD, I need my cabinets perfectly organized." No, you're not.

👍

Sadly, people will continue to say such things until they become more educated on what psychology really is and not pop psych.

 

[Rapunzel]

Sometimes it is almost irresistable. Any time someone mentions schizophrenogenic mothers, I can't help think of my mother, who would qualify if we were still using that terminology. Having an autistic father doesn't help much either (even if it's just undiagnosed asperger's). Both of those were factors in my brother's inability to learn to cope with the world. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia and PDD (would have been asperger's except that the DSM simply doesn't allow both) before his suicide.

Maybe a small fraction of the people throwing those terms around are right, but I do hate when people just toss them in casually, without thinking about what they are saying. My teenaged kids have picked it up from their friends, and I'm working on educating them to know what they are really saying. As in, if they call someone a "******" I assign the a book on developmental disabilities or take them to volunteer and get some relevant experience. 😉

 

[lookitssara]

It bothers me tons when people misuse words in a derrogative way (like ******/ed and gay).

When people use things like "I was bipolar this week" or "I'm OCD about my closet"...it doesn't bother me so much. It's incorrect, but it's more of an exaggeration than anything else. To be honest, I don't think it's harmful. In a sense, it "normalizes" the pathology in a way that could result in it being less stigmatized. Just a thought. Using ******ed in any other way than to describe someone that is mentally ******ed still enrages me.

 

[teo3099]

.

 

[olychick65]

My issue with it is that it seems to pathologize normal behavior. I continue to meet some people who have used those phrases (bipolar and especially OCD) as some sort of responsibility dodge.

Exactly. I continue to meet people who announce that they're bipolar or depressed or ... really soon after meeting me and its seems to be a way of explaining away their behavior or gaining acceptance. There was even this wave, like it was contagious (ugh), of people in my high school announcing they were bipolar/suicidal/anorexic as some sort of social rite of passage. Any bad behavior, poor grades, etc. etc. was due to their "illness".

In some ways in may lower stigma, but in others it may enforce it- it 'shows' the general population that people who say they have this disorder or that disorder really do enforce stereotypes, because of way we discuss it colloquially. The disorders become negative personality features instead of illnesses- hardly a way to decrease ignorance.

 

[ClinPsycMasters]

It doesn't bother me that much. There is enough bigotry out there that using "******" simply fades into background. While we're at it, I'm not a big fan of he/she thing either. For God's sakes, use "one" or "person" or something. I was reading an article recently and the author kept switching between he and she and it was intolerably distracting. Some people are really politically incorrect and some are annoyingly PC.

Personally I want to go back to calling people "schizophrenogenic mothers"!!

As for the above quote, putting the condemnatory aspect of it aside, I prefer the psychoanalytic term "schizophrenogenic mothers" to "chemical imbalance." Blaming parents--instead of helping and educating them with raising their children--has been replaced by blaming biology. It's more PC I suppose but no truer.

 

[deleted176373]

I thought I would just start up a conversation about how the public seems to abuse mental health terms, specifically the ‘r-word.’ Last night while browsing through the news feed on my Facebook I encountered someone I know post this saying as their status “Obama stickers on cars are like helmets on pedestrians; it makes it easy to pick out the ******s.” I find this extremely offensive and demeaning. When it comes to people using the ‘r-word’ I always find myself beginning to heat up and wanting to take action against the other person. Anyways, I could go on about the issue, but I would enjoy others thoughts and opinions. Thanks.

Perhaps you could just learn to be more tolerant of others and realize that not everyone has the same level of respect for others... That's the price of freedom, people get to say things that may offend you.

Mark

 

[futureapppsy2]

Perhaps you could just learn to be more tolerant of others and realize that not everyone has the same level of respect for others... That's the price of freedom, people get to say things that may offend you.

Mark

Yeah, but that doesn't mean you should just let people use offensive language/slurs (some consider "******" a slur) without at least trying to educate them about the offensive or potentially hurtful nature of the term, IMO.

 

[erg923]

Um...I have to side with markp one this one. I think a healthy dose of life according to George Carlin will fix you all ya right up😀

I think Carlin once said that if he hadn't been a comedian, you would have been a linguistics researcher because he was so fascinated with language, semantics, meanings, and how people interpret them (i.e., the 7 dirty words you cant say on television).

PS: Are you telling me nobody on here who is "offended" by these terms ever watches Family Guy? If so, how do you reconcile those 2?

 

[KillerDiller]

I think Carlin once said that if he hadn't been a comedian, you would have been a linguistics researcher because he was so fascinated with language, semantics, meanings, and how people interpret them (i.e., the 7 dirty words you cant say on television).

Carlin is featured pretty prominently in the video on language I'm hoping to show to my intro class this semester. Hopefully I can track down a copy.

 

[erg923]

Two of my personal Carlin favs. Warning, "offensive" language😉

For those self-righteous environmental types...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MARx5W_SQg

And, have to agree here after seeing some of my classmates actually cry after a "bad" evaluation at practicum...please....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zu-AVqxkYtg

 

[ClinPsycMasters]

PS: Are you telling me nobody on here who is "offended" by these terms ever watches Family Guy? If so, how do you reconcile those 2?

Don't get me started on Family Guy! That show is racist, sexist, homophobic, ableist...and offensive in so many ways I can not being to describe. Simpsons is far from a clean family comedy either (specially the later seasons) but it often addressed social issues with enough tact and ingenuity that I felt comfortable watching it with the family. Family Guy, on the other hand, is the common-denominator comedy, the Sarah Silverman of stand-up comedians. Sure I have chuckled at parts here and there, but I have not been able to watch that show for longer than five minutes before I have been disgusted by something that was overly offensive and vicious. Hence, I do not watch it anymore.

 

[erg923]

Archy Bunker had pretty inflexible, intolerant views. Ralph Kramden basically threatened to punch his wife in the face every week on the Honeymooners. Sam Malone was a womanizing chauvinist. These less than desirable traits were used by these shows to get a laugh, no? Does this mean we automatically dismiss the show (whatever that really refers to) as racist, sexist, etc. Or do we perhaps look and think a lil deeper than that?

 

[ClinPsycMasters]

I see what you're saying. To be honest, I wouldn't mind it as much if it was on at a later time or on a particular channel dedicated to adult humor and more controversial stuff. What pisses me off is how kids end up watching these shows--which are often on at primetime. It's happened to me at least a couple of times when I go to somebody's place and they just put the show on and we're talking and suddenly the parents are shocked as they witness a racy bit. It's almost like those videos on youtube where people are looking at something on the computer monitor and out of a sudden a horrifying picture comes on and they react with terror.

 

[futureapppsy2]

w do you reconcile those 2?
Don't get me started on Family Guy! That show is racist, sexist, homophobic, ableist...and offensive in so many ways I can not being to describe. Simpsons is far from a clean family comedy either (specially the later seasons) but it often addressed social issues with enough tact and ingenuity that I felt comfortable watching it with the family. Family Guy, on the other hand, is the common-denominator comedy, the Sarah Silverman of stand-up comedians. Sure I have chuckled at parts here and there, but I have not been able to watch that show for longer than five minutes before I have been disgusted by something that was overly offensive and vicious. Hence, I do not watch it anymore

Slightly OT, but I've always kind of liked Family Guy's treatment of disability (I don't watch it regularly, but see an episode here or there). They have a character with a disability with good points and flaws, like all of the other characters, and while they've had some questionable/borderline offensive storylines, not moreso than with other characters/topics. I'm not a fan of the show because I don't find it to be that funny, but I don't find their treatment of disability all too objectionable, esp. in the context of the show. It's not perfect by any means, but at least the character is... human. JMO. YYMV.

I was raised on the Simpsons--I can't remember a time before I watched them, honestly--even though the later seasons have shown a real quality decline, and I watch them only sporadically. I think my brother and I both really benefited from it, as silly as it sounds, both in terms of bits of knowledge we picked up from the show and in terms of bonding. Thus, while I agree that there should be some limits on what kids watch, I'd tend to lean a bit more to the permissive side of that equation.

 

[deleted176373]

Yeah, but that doesn't mean you should just let people use offensive language/slurs (some consider "******" a slur) without at least trying to educate them about the offensive or potentially hurtful nature of the term, IMO.

You're assuming that they don't know that they are being offensive or provocative. That's pretty elitist in itself, why should you accept the responsibility to educate every one how to be sensitive to the needs of others?

I am not saying that you should not hold people responsible for their choice of language. I am saying that some people harbor different values and beliefs than that you hold. You have to remember, not everyone is afraid to offend large segments of society. I will grant you that some people simply may be ignorant of the effect that their language has on others, but there is a large number of people who simply don't care. All the education in the world is unlikely to change their opinion.

You're welcome to call these people out, that's part of freedom as well. I believe that you have every right to hold someone responsible for the language they choose.

Mark

 

[futureapppsy2]

You're assuming that they don't know that they are being offensive or provocative. That's pretty elitist in itself, why should you accept the responsibility to educate every one how to be sensitive to the needs of others?

I am not saying that you should not hold people responsible for their choice of language. I am saying that some people harbor different values and beliefs than that you hold. You have to remember, not everyone is afraid to offend large segments of society. I will grant you that some people simply may be ignorant of the effect that their language has on others, but there is a large number of people who simply don't care. All the education in the world is unlikely to change their opinion.

You're welcome to call these people out, that's part of freedom as well. I believe that you have every right to hold someone responsible for the language they choose.

Mark

Because a lot of people DON'T know that ****** and the like are potentially offensive. Yes, people sometimes use potentially offensive terms just to rile people up or to "reclaim" language, but a lot of people just don't know some terminology could be considered offensive to a group of people. This can happen on the "too PC" side of language as well--I had a friend who used the term "differently abled" in an attempt to be polite and I politely told her that no one actually said that, and it was more strange and off-putting than polite. I just learned not to long ago that "Hard of Hearing" is actually more accepted than "hearing impaired," and I appreciate the correction. If possible now language is potentially offensive and still want to use it, that's ultimately their right/decision, of course.