Semantics

Like many minority groups, people with disabilities have developed a dialog that is readily understood by our own community but may be misunderstood by society at large. For example, a person without a disability is a TAB (temporarily able-bodied), a term which implicitly recognizes the fragile divide of circumstance and/or age that separates disability from so-called normalcy. Some of our terms are co-opted from those that society once freely used to describe us. “Cripple” is a good example. I use “cripple” frequently when talking about myself, i.e. “kiss my crippled ass” or “where’s the cripple parking?” or “Not this cripple!” I may use it around other people with disabilities who I know are down with that term. “Yo, cripple, ‘sup?” I never use it in polite conversation, particularly with TABs. If a TAB used that word with me, I’d most likely throttle them. I once had a nurse ask me during her orientation, “What’s it like being a cripple?” Needless to say, she didn’t last long. I know colleagues who will toss the term casually like a Frisbee around TABs in an effort to shock or provoke. I don’t entirely agree with that approach; I think it just confuses the poor things and it distracts them from whatever the rest of our message is. I suspect that I regard the word “cripple” and the rules for its usage in much the same way that many African-Americans regard the N-word. In fact, I see the potential for a true meshing of our cultures. I think “cripple” could be used quite effectively in rap lyrics. Maybe that’s where my calling lies. Ladies and gentlemen, MC Cripple and the Gimp Posse!