Sustaining an injury on the Euphemism Treadmill
There’s a problem in the disability advocacy world. We have sustained injuries on the Euphemism Treadmill. There are few external symptoms while becoming gangrenous on the inside.
Stephen Pinker, in his book "The Stuff of Thought" (Pinker, S. (2007). The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Tool of Human Nature. Viking Press.), illustrates the concept of the Euphemism Treadmill by noting how terms like "mentally retarded" were replaced by "intellectually disabled," which over time also acquired negative associations, prompting the need for further replacement.
The vocal sector of the self-advocates online are constantly pushing for new, updated terminology. And it is constantly being changed. Autism is a disorder, no it’s a disability, no it’s a condition. It’s high/low functioning, no it has to be low/high support needs, no it’s levels 1, 2, and 3. These superficial changes make it seem like progress is being made but all we’re doing is running on the Euphemism Treadmill. And the problem with running on a treadmill is it doesn’t get you anywhere.
It should also come as no surprise to anyone that people are overwhelmed in modern society. There are hundreds of social causes you must know about and support with your time and money. Each of these causes come with their own dictionary of terminology that you must memorize or else you’re a terrible person. We carry around little handheld devices that keep us constantly connected to the world at large. There are reports of disasters and crises daily from everywhere. And while people are expected to care about everything happening all over the world they are also expected to take care of things in their own lives. Jobs, insurance, appointments, utility bills, family, friends, on and on. It’s too much.
And then we expect these people to continue caring about our plight when we’re constantly changing the terminology?
We expect the average person to continue supporting causes that focus on the superficial while the people we claim to be advocating for have no access to services?
Ridiculous.
We will never have real, meaningful progress while the focus is being put on what words people use. We can’t even stick to consistent definitions of the terms we’re already using. We will never achieve effective social change unless we are able to communicate with the average person who isn’t part of our online bubble. And this means being consistent with terminology and what our goals are.
Until we can do that, we’re just running on a treadmill. Going nowhere.
- “Bancho” Mike
