euphemism only works for so long before the less explicit and offensive term becomes just as explicit and offensive as the term it has replaced unless there is also a change in attitude , much more difficult to bring about.
Bingley, my sweet, you speak the truth. In yesterday's comics, a little girl making arm motions sings, "I'm a little teapot, vertically and metabolically challenged..."
(Her dad says, "Call me insensitive, but I like the
rhyming version."{Speed Bump by Dave Coverly, tsuwm})
It still means short and stout, which both carry negative connotations, and everyone knows it. 'Special ed.' has now become 'Exceptional Child Ed.' here, but everyone knows it
means retarded--'Advanced Placement' is still the 'Advanced
Program'. Gee, I wonder why that one didn't get PC'd?
Though I must say that I think, by and large, people are more accepting of retarded people than they are of those of us who are gay, lesbo, or fat.
Who knows what changes the future will bring? Perhaps advances in medicine will help. People who had epileptic seizures used to be thought demon-possessed. It would be nice if a change to acceptance happens in my lifetime, but somehow I rather doubt it.
