Quote:
Originally Posted by straightleftknee
It is and it isn't. I'd say much depends on context and audience much the way the word gay had changed meaning.
For instance:
Mad Spaz Club
RE: Gay. Speak to kids and computers are gay, that game is gay, those shoes are gay etc. It has shifted to often mean something a bit crappy, however, it still has it's older slang meaning.
Spazz Wheelchair Colour Wheelchairs
It actually has the name on the frame. |
And you would feel entirely comfortable calling a wheelchair user a spaz? Or a person with cerebral palsy? Or an epileptic, or a person with muscular dystrophy? Or a colleague who is a bit clumsy? Or a friend who is a bit ditzy?
I know I wouldn't, even if that's what he/she would call himself/herself.
It's a derogatory term that is being reclaimed by the disabled community. When used by those outside the community it remains a derogatory term. I defy you to find UK usage of the term spaz in any non-derogatory manner, outside that community.
It's the exact *opposite* of the term "gay", which was originally coined by the gay community to be a neutral term, free of any derogatory meaning or insult.
Spastic - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Spazz wheelchaires are American, not British, and I accept that the American usage of the term spaz is not considered offensive there. But this is an international board, and international sensibilities should be respected.