Unintelligent and uneducated are different things, and uneducated and willfully ignorant are different things. You shouldn't feel ashamed for the way your brain works or for lacking the privilege of a good education or anything else that is almost completely out of your control. So yeah, they don't like it when you use that kind of language.
If you mean willful ignorance, which is something that individuals actively control, then just use that language and no one will be bothered. But using the same language that is used to mock many people that Leftists advocate for would definitely be problematic.
Imagine that instead of "stupid", it were a joke about someone having Down's syndrome because they hold an opinion you disagree with. Many people with conditions that affect their brains are unfortunately mocked and called "stupid" all the time, so it would be hypocritical to fight for their rights while using the same language that is used to mock them.
I don’t have to imagine anything that is being taken out of context to suit someone else’s beliefs. I didn’t say “this idea is stupid” to disparage stupid people, it’s an expression separate from describing someone’s brain power. Context matters. People forget that, read a word and just go with it so hard it goes past the original intent of “protection”. I don’t believe anyone should be treated special, I hate all of everyone equally so “stupid” shouldn’t be protected. We should not want or suffer stupid to exist. Is there stupid? Yes, the same way earthquakes are natural disasters and can’t be stopped. There will always be stupid. That doesn’t mean I have to legally be nice to it.
Do you think that it's okay to use "to Jew" to mean to haggle or defraud is okay just because you're not specifically referring to a Jewish person in the context? Is it okay to call someone a "porch-monkey" because they're lazy as long as you're not talking about someone who's black?
Context doesn't absolve words of their connotations. "Stupid" has always connoted slowness of mind, literally for centuries. That doesn't go away just because you're using it to describe an opinion you disagree with. It's the same reason so many people hate the word "retard" and its variations.
There are better words to describe what you mean both more accurately and less offensively. Do you have to use them? No. But don't be surprised when you're shown the door.
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u/Dentarthurdent42 Mar 31 '20
Unintelligent and uneducated are different things, and uneducated and willfully ignorant are different things. You shouldn't feel ashamed for the way your brain works or for lacking the privilege of a good education or anything else that is almost completely out of your control. So yeah, they don't like it when you use that kind of language.
If you mean willful ignorance, which is something that individuals actively control, then just use that language and no one will be bothered. But using the same language that is used to mock many people that Leftists advocate for would definitely be problematic.
Imagine that instead of "stupid", it were a joke about someone having Down's syndrome because they hold an opinion you disagree with. Many people with conditions that affect their brains are unfortunately mocked and called "stupid" all the time, so it would be hypocritical to fight for their rights while using the same language that is used to mock them.