Defining Ourselves and Our Community
Ann,
All Things Pedagogical,
Nov 27, 2023
Something I've learned over the years is that most people don't use the right words most of the time. Sometimes their errors betray a misunderstanding of categorical theory (using 'All are not' instead of 'Not all are', for example). Other times it's a misunderstanding of reference (mistaking 'intention' and 'intension'). Or whatever. There are many ways people can be wrong. This includes referencing a community where (as Ann says) "judgment or misleading terminologies were used like 'wheel-chair bound' and 'confined'." The point here, though, is that it is inappropriate to leap to a correction based on an analysis of the language used. "If that analysis was not part of the project itself, a question like that could be read as a critique of the awesome work the project was doing, instead of a way to bring up modelling inclusive language practices." The best advice I can give to activists is "let it go" and to "tend to one's own practices, not others'". And that's why I like this post.
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