69 replies to this topic

[Terrible Texan]

How many of you get offended by the words Gimp or Crippled?

I guess it depends in whos saying it or how irs used in a sentence

[Simba]

When I first met my husband his nickname for himself was 'kripple' so I started using it too.

Guess it's an individual thing, some find humour in their situation.

It really raises some eyebrows in public though so am watching it where I say it and who's around as sometimes they tell me it's not appropriate but when it is his nickname that he was already using then what should it matter? He likes it as a nickname he thinks it's quite funny that I refer to him as such as he doesn't perceive himself to be krippled so that's the irony for him in it I guess, to us it's just a joke and a term of affection but that's a decision we have made and are comfortable with.

I wouln't feel comfortabe about someone else using either of the above terms when addressing my husband as then the meaning would be different as their perception is probably not the same as ours.

[goose]

I think both words stink. I'm not personally offended but I don't see the humor in them. I don't want those labels attached to me because I feel normal inside. I'm not broken. I just have certain limitations. I wouldn't call someone fat because I know it would hurt their feelings.

[Hapahowlee]

Hubby and I don't really use "Gimp" except when we're quoting a line in Pulp Fiction.

We do both say "Cripple." But we only say it to each other. We'd never say it to or in front of anyone else. We usually say it when we need something that requires us to press the issue that my husband is disabled. Then we say, "Guess we gota pull out the 'Cripple Card'."

We don't much like to hear it from anyone else, but then we also consider the source. Many older people like my dad who was born in 1925 always said Cripple. But then he also still used the word "Colored" for black people, still called the refrigerator an ice-box and the bathroom sink a face-bowl.

Years back when Mr. Hapa was looking for something to do with his spare time, he signed up to be a "Big Brother." He and I both got offended when the case-worker was filling out a general data sheet on my husband relating to his health and when it came to his hands the BB employee wrote, "Deformed!"

Now that was really rude. He could've put down impaired. My husbands hands actually look pretty much like an able-bodied person. He often used to get mistaken for a para. I'm just going to say the guy is an idiot.

[airart1]

dont really see the big deal, thats what we are, disabled, cripple or gimped, its really basically generational...like all nicknames, the PC thing annoys me more............just the way i see it....

[ClaraTaylor]

More important things to worry about than whether someone is called a cripple!

[Ratticis]

The only one that really annoys me is "differently abled"

[dangerousdave]

In the minds of the many.....the word Cripple is associated with polio and thus calapers and wheelchairs
It is a word I like as it singles us wheelies out from the multitude of disabilities
The trouble with the word Disabled is that it is now being associated with the word Scrounger
Something the word Cripple is never associated with

[Tatiana]

If used to be rude to me then i would be annoyed and have my say with the said person- in a very controlled manner of course . not because i would be offended but because i would think 'how floopin dare you..you plesbetarian'.

..but i call myself worse...and those close to me can because they would only do it in a humorous way. Im from a very sarcastic family and its our way so thats cool with me.

[curbyi]

I'm with George Forman "you can call me fat, call me stupid (or a cripple) just make sure you call me at dinner time.

[mcjane]

I, too, often "play the Cripple Card" lol. Actually cripple is the term that I prefer. Altho I can now say paraplegic without crying. : ) I wish I was a Gimp...sigh.

Edited by mcjane, 08 June 2011 - 11:44 AM.

[catmint]

dangerousdave, on 08 June 2011 - 08:15 AM, said:

In the minds of the many.....the word Cripple is associated with polio and thus calapers and wheelchairs
It is a word I like as it singles us wheelies out from the multitude of disabilities
The trouble with the word Disabled is that it is now being associated with the word Scrounger
Something the word Cripple is never associated with

I think you make a valid point Dave. The word Disabled has been abused and is all but meaningless. I believe the average person does bracket the word Disabled with scrounger and Benefit Cheat.

Just my opinion

[rollingtrouble]

I kinda rather be called a cripletic, but it really doesn't matter to me cause I been called alot worse in my time

[chop-02]

IT does NOT bother me in facked I call my self-" CC" cripple chop..lol
There is more important things to worry about...ha ha roll on
CHOP

IT does NOT bother me in facked I call my self-" CC" cripple chop..lol
There is more important things to worry about...ha ha roll on
CHOP

[The Black Sheep]

when it's said to or about me, it depends who it is and how they say it. My family jokes, and I know it. It's intended to be funny and I don't really care. It still bothers me when strangers or people we don't know well say it though. I think part of that is because they're judging me based on it, where as my family has accepted it and they know ME, not just my "handicap".

There's a fellow gimp that frequents the bar I work next to and we go back and forth calling each other gimp or wheels. It's OK amongst fellow gimps if said fellow is OK with it too.

[Astack23]

I would be offended if a stranger used it. But if a close friend used it jokingly I don't think I would be offended.

[maisy1996]

i could care less tbh whether people used the word cripple or gimp, unless they are saying it in a spiteful kind of way to purposely hurt someones feeling

[T-bone]

Hello Newbie,

I haven't heard those words used since the 1950s. I think most people today are understanding of the needs of disabled people. It is probably only the most ignorant people that use those words in this day and age. Just ignore people like that and pity them because they don't have common sense.

T-bone

[quadinva]

Language has become crippled (pun intended) by political correctness. Its cyclical as people decide neutrally descriptive words become negative due to mis use, and marginalized people have to find new words for themselves. Cripples are crippled, but the simple word has become to sensitive so the non-descript "disabled" is used. Black people cannot be called black anymore, so n the U.S. we must use "African-American" whether they've seen Africa or not, can trace their roots to Africa or not, but it is not to be used for non-blacks from say South Africa, Egypt, etc. Fat people arent "fat" or "obese" anymore, theyre "overweight", but aren't super muscular people overweight? Political correctness just deadens a once descript language. Everything would be fine if so many a-holes didnt use harmless words to degrade or put people down, thus rendering them 'bad' words over time.

[dom]

Hapahowlee, on 08 June 2011 - 05:48 AM, said:

Hubby and I don't really use "Gimp" except when we're quoting a line in Pulp Fiction.

We do both say "Cripple." But we only say it to each other. We'd never say it to or in front of anyone else. We usually say it when we need something that requires us to press the issue that my husband is disabled. Then we say, "Guess we gota pull out the 'Cripple Card'."

We don't much like to hear it from anyone else, but then we also consider the source. Many older people like my dad who was born in 1925 always said Cripple. But then he also still used the word "Colored" for black people, still called the refrigerator an ice-box and the bathroom sink a face-bowl.

Years back when Mr. Hapa was looking for something to do with his spare time, he signed up to be a "Big Brother." He and I both got offended when the case-worker was filling out a general data sheet on my husband relating to his health and when it came to his hands the BB employee wrote, "Deformed!"

Now that was really rude. He could've put down impaired. My husbands hands actually look pretty much like an able-bodied person. He often used to get mistaken for a para. I'm just going to say the guy is an idiot.

yes i suppose words come and words go, in another 10 years a load of words will be non pc,with regards to coloured people i too used that word years ago innocently now it's black but that too is a misnomer? a so-called white person is never completely white and people of darker shades are not completely black,so to me it's nonsensical,i heard that the people of a secific group 'choose' the word they wish to be called but as in racial tags i'm not sure everyone would agree and the same as in physical attributes/non attributes?
we are all individuals and i hate tag names but sometimes they are necessary for inclusion/exclusion as far as i'm concerned if a name is said with malice then that is not acceptable

dom, on 08 June 2011 - 06:12 PM, said:

Hapahowlee, on 08 June 2011 - 05:48 AM, said:

Hubby and I don't really use "Gimp" except when we're quoting a line in Pulp Fiction.

We do both say "Cripple." But we only say it to each other. We'd never say it to or in front of anyone else. We usually say it when we need something that requires us to press the issue that my husband is disabled. Then we say, "Guess we gota pull out the 'Cripple Card'."

We don't much like to hear it from anyone else, but then we also consider the source. Many older people like my dad who was born in 1925 always said Cripple. But then he also still used the word "Colored" for black people, still called the refrigerator an ice-box and the bathroom sink a face-bowl.

Years back when Mr. Hapa was looking for something to do with his spare time, he signed up to be a "Big Brother." He and I both got offended when the case-worker was filling out a general data sheet on my husband relating to his health and when it came to his hands the BB employee wrote, "Deformed!"

Now that was really rude. He could've put down impaired. My husbands hands actually look pretty much like an able-bodied person. He often used to get mistaken for a para. I'm just going to say the guy is an idiot.

yes i suppose words come and words go, in another 10 years a load of words will be non pc,with regards to coloured people i too used that word years ago innocently now it's black but that too is a misnomer as quadvina says it's african/american? a so-called white person is never completely white and people of darker shades are not completely black,so to me it's nonsensical,i heard that the people of a secific group 'choose' the word they wish to be called but as in racial tags i'm not sure everyone would agree and the same as in physical attributes/non attributes?
we are all individuals and i hate tag names but sometimes they are necessary for inclusion/exclusion as far as i'm concerned if a name is said with malice then that is not acceptable

[bakerk8]

I used gimp more often than i say cripple but what honestly pissed me off or just makes me feel uncomfortabe is the term "disableed" or handicaped because the only people who use those terms are useually strangers the don't know me, so they think that is correct.

i feel that us as a group have rights to saying gimp or cripple the same way that black people can use the "N-word" yeah i'm white so i'm not going there.
for instance if anyone on my rugby team says cripple or reffers to someone else in a chair as a crip, we'd all just laugh. But if an AB said it i would get unbelivibly piss, am i the only one that feels that way?

[Stand]

Neither word is very appealing but after all, like it or not, it's what we are. The best thing you can do is to have a better card in your hand. Be quick about it and hit them with something slicker and if you ask me, more offensive but at the same time not malicious. At least not really :-). Also, by the time they figure it out, you will have already rolled away. One of my favorite sayings...

''I've been called worse by better.''

[Tetracyclone]

My dad (b. 1921) once explained to me how labels were used in his youth, and that it was condoned and well-understood that name-calling is a valid way to "toughen" kids' skins, as long as they have allies and guidance. It was not done to isolate so much as to establish pecking order. Most of this occurred in the public shower rooms. A gimp could always rise in the pecking order by coming back with labels for their adversaries, and there were always times when everyone pulled together.

Don't think his was a small town. Stockton high School in the 30s had around 4000 students.

His attitude and feelings about it were instructive.

I like the way gimp and cripple link us to a past full of folks like us who coped under more difficult circumstances.

[sh1wn]

bakerk8, on 08 June 2011 - 06:22 PM, said:

I used gimp more often than i say cripple but what honestly pissed me off or just makes me feel uncomfortabe is the term "disableed" or handicaped because the only people who use those terms are useually strangers the don't know me, so they think that is correct.

i feel that us as a group have rights to saying gimp or cripple the same way that black people can use the "N-word" yeah i'm white so i'm not going there.
for instance if anyone on my rugby team says cripple or reffers to someone else in a chair as a crip, we'd all just laugh. But if an AB said it i would get unbelivibly piss, am i the only one that feels that way?

I agree with you on the n-word part but it wouldn't hurt my feelings if an AB said it, just depends on how they said it.

[luke/g]

If it were someone in the street I'd be offended. But not from anyone I know. I use cripple all the time.

[Hapahowlee]

It's so difficult to be "PC" these days.

Everyone has the right to get offended by the term "Cripple" if you do have a crippling disease and/or injury. I really think it's best to ascertain the intent of the person saying the word(s)/label in question. As I had written above, with some people age is a factor and what they had been used to saying all their lives. Where the person was raised could have a bearing on what is said also.

I try to keep up with terms that are "PC" but at times I have difficulty when it comes down to race. I'm a half breed, which was more apparent when I was a youth than as an adult. I was teased all the time and called hurtful names. I absolutely hated being addressed as the wrong race because it was always by some punk who used it in a hateful manner.

I have many black friends and with each one, I would get corrected whenever I decided to go with the trend and use the term African-American. They've all told me, "I'm black, I didn't come from Africa and I really don't know where this African-American shit came from."

Now along the same line, my neighbor is Hispanic and originally from Mexico. She got offended when I referred to her as Mexican. She corrected me and told me I should say Hispanic.

I tried to explain there is her race (Hispanic) and there is her ethnicity (Mexican). So I don't believe either term was incorrect.

Now getting back to Cripple or Gimp vs. Disabled. Hmmmm, are there better terms to use as to not offend anyone if there is an instance where it is necessary to "Label" someone? Physically challenged or physically impaired? I don't believe "invalid" is a good choice b/c it seems to discount the person with the disability, that's my personal opinion.

One issue that is aggravating for my husband and myself is when someone assumes my husband can just get up off his wheelchair to transfer into or onto an apparatus.

[pistol_pete]

'Gimp' or 'Crippled' is nothing compared to what I call myself when my back pain is at level 10 and the spasms are trying to oust me from my chair.

[curbyi]

I coined the phrase Raspberry Ripple = ******* cripple.
No, Stick and stones may propel me out of my wheelchair but words will never hurt me.

[madhouse73]

someone used the term today Differently abled had to check what he said .

If it was someone i knew making ajoke ok but think it all depends on the way it is said and the tone of voice

[T A]

I prefer and use gimp. Only one that seems to bother me is disabled – Everyone is disabled in one way or another for some is just more noticeable.......