I got my shit handed to me because I said someone is mentally challenged. But apparently where I work that is considered hate speech. Is there a place where I can read the new terms? Like do we call all people from South America something or is it like Spanish American or Mexican American and so forth?

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[–] 23 points 2 months ago (6 children)

Did you use "mentally challenged" as a way to call someone stupid or were you talking about someone with a learning difficulty or developmental disability?

Most of the time if you cause offensive with your words, it's not the specific words as much as the tone, context and implication.

I grew up in australia which has a very different understanding of offensive/acceptable language. Before i say something that might be touchy, i mentally double check - is this information actually relevant? Am i saying this in good faith?

With a humble tone and a clear reason the worst response i've had was a polite "oh i think X is a better word, but yeah". Speak in good faith, people will respond with grace.

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  • [–] 23 points 2 months ago (4 children)

    I mentally double check

    So you're saying you... mentally challenged yourself?

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  • [–] 8 points 2 months ago (2 children)

    Mentally challenging is how I refer to the church people making life difficult for servers on a Sunday.

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  • [–] 4 points 2 months ago

    ugh, I'm going to hate myself for making this pun, but you can check my history and see I speak up about the "R" word, but here's an example of legitimate usage:

    So you're saying you decided to retard your rate of replies until you mentally challenged yourself?

    I'll… see myself out. :)

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  • [–] 11 points 2 months ago*

    And on the flip side, if you're intentionally being offensive, don't be shocked when people get offended. There's no polite way to call someone a dipshit or any alternative similar word. Insult is insult. I always find this amusing when the person deliberately causing offense gets offended that other people are offended by them being offensive. Not that I can tell from OP if they did or not, this is just a bugbear I'm scratching.

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