First off: my main reason for having a problem with "crazy" is that I've heard people with mental illness say they don't like it (though some don't mind it). Which is good enough for me (and as per the rules, should be good enough for you :D) Second: I feel a bit uncomfortable being framed as the expert here: I'm pretty new to the idea of ableist language, and in particular am not mentally ill (eg everything I know is in my post and the stuff I linked). Also one of the things thinking about ablism has really opened my eyes to is the HUGE amount of prejudice I still have towards the disabled, most especially those with cognitive disabilities.
Ok, that said various thoughts: I have never heard anyone with an intellectual disability complain about the term stupid, but it occurs to me I've never heard anyone with an intellectual disability talk about ableism at all, they're not a group I spend much time talking to or reading the POV of. Hmm.
Since I think it needs saying specifically: being mentally ill is not the same as the sort of irrationailty implied by "crazy". Having an intellectual disability is not the same as the sort of thoughtlessness implied by "stupid". Beyond that I'm still pondering, but I think the issue is that most people, myself included, don't bother making that distinction, or thinking about what we really mean by our words.
Yes, disability differs from gender/race etc in that the problems associated with it are not just the result of prejudice. eg I would become able-bodied again with no regrets but have no interest in becoming a man :) This isn't true of all disabilities or all disabled people though, and a lot of the problem is the general lack of flexibility for differences from the "norm" eg if (as used to be the case in the maths dept years ago) all you have is men's toilets neither disabled people nor women will be well served. As you said, glasses are a good example of this, and it's interesting that hearing aids are not seen the same way.
The fact that most ablist terms started out as medical terminology doesn't stop ones that have always been pejorative from being ablist. For example, afaict "gimp" has always been used as an insulting term for "limping". A while ago I decided to try not using the word "crazy" as an experiment, as well as paying attention to how other people use it. It's actually been really interesting: in trying to find another word, I have to ask myself what I'm actually trying to say (and if I mean "mentally ill" I should say so). Because I would say that as with any other ablist term, on the one hand it is associated with the actual condition, but it also has a bunch of other unfair associations. I googled about a bit. There's quite a lot if you search under "ableism crazy" and this gives some examples of the way the word conflates actual mental illness with irrationality.
Joint reply to make the conversation easier to keep track of
Second: I feel a bit uncomfortable being framed as the expert here: I'm pretty new to the idea of ableist language, and in particular am not mentally ill (eg everything I know is in my post and the stuff I linked). Also one of the things thinking about ablism has really opened my eyes to is the HUGE amount of prejudice I still have towards the disabled, most especially those with cognitive disabilities.
Ok, that said various thoughts:
I have never heard anyone with an intellectual disability complain about the term stupid, but it occurs to me I've never heard anyone with an intellectual disability talk about ableism at all, they're not a group I spend much time talking to or reading the POV of. Hmm.
Since I think it needs saying specifically: being mentally ill is not the same as the sort of irrationailty implied by "crazy". Having an intellectual disability is not the same as the sort of thoughtlessness implied by "stupid". Beyond that I'm still pondering, but I think the issue is that most people, myself included, don't bother making that distinction, or thinking about what we really mean by our words.
Yes, disability differs from gender/race etc in that the problems associated with it are not just the result of prejudice. eg I would become able-bodied again with no regrets but have no interest in becoming a man :) This isn't true of all disabilities or all disabled people though, and a lot of the problem is the general lack of flexibility for differences from the "norm" eg if (as used to be the case in the maths dept years ago) all you have is men's toilets neither disabled people nor women will be well served. As you said, glasses are a good example of this, and it's interesting that hearing aids are not seen the same way.
The fact that most ablist terms started out as medical terminology doesn't stop ones that have always been pejorative from being ablist. For example, afaict "gimp" has always been used as an insulting term for "limping". A while ago I decided to try not using the word "crazy" as an experiment, as well as paying attention to how other people use it. It's actually been really interesting: in trying to find another word, I have to ask myself what I'm actually trying to say (and if I mean "mentally ill" I should say so). Because I would say that as with any other ablist term, on the one hand it is associated with the actual condition, but it also has a bunch of other unfair associations. I googled about a bit. There's quite a lot if you search under "ableism crazy" and this gives some examples of the way the word conflates actual mental illness with irrationality.