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Speaking as someone who has spent most of her life one interview away from being sectioned under the Mental Health Act (involuntary psychiatric hospitalisation for non-UK people), dealing with both deliberately offensive and ignorant remarks is something I deal with on a day-to-day basis. I experience what's called Bipolar I w/psychosis, meaning that at the extremes of mania and depression I get to hallucinate and suffer delusions. I am also a high-functioning autistic. Have I EVER felt marginalised and as if I am some victim of ableist behaviour by being a 'Mad Lab Rabbit'? No! I've made jokes on the subject of being 'the real thing'. Would I be offended by being a 'Loonatic' or similar pun? Again, no. There is a level where the treading on eggshells becomes an insult in itself. Given how many people say things like 'Wow, you guys are totally dedicated', Loonatic is right. We are loony about Looney Labs...and it avoids crossover with other demo teams names out there. Looney Tech is a hidden pun and we can get little card passes made up to clip to our pockets IT nerd-style. Jennifer 'better crazy than mental health survivor' From: knitmeapony@xxxxxxxxx Date: Fri, 21 May 2010 13:56:05 -0500 To: rabbits@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: Re: [Rabbits] Rabbits Digest, Vol 60, Issue 8 There's a concern I've had for a long time about the various names -- while 'Mad Science' has a different connotation and history behind it, going to 'lunatics' hits right smack into ableist behavior. Some folks over at FWD have done a much better job of explaining why exploiting those words and stereotypes are a bad idea: http://disabledfeminists.com/category/ableist-word-profile/ The first post there, on 'crazy', is the most relevant, but to get an over-all sense I recommend taking a few to read through why they're uncomfortable. I know Looney is such an easy pun, and it's fun and easy to say, but if there's rebranding afoot I'd rather it end up less, not more, potentially offensive to folks. Laurie. "…The truth is that male religious leaders have had - and still have - an option to interpret holy teachings either to exalt or subjugate women. They have, for their own selfish ends, overwhelmingly chosen the latter." President Jimmy Carter On Fri, May 21, 2010 at 1:50 PM, David Artman <david.artman@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: I somehow missed Kristin asking for suggestions, or I would have "lit Get a free e-mail account with Hotmail. Sign-up now. |