deliriousmintii asked: Serious question about alternative uses for crazy... when can you use crazy?
Instead of saying we should use alternatives for crazy, shouldn't we instead learn to use crazy for more appropriate uses than attributing the connotation of crazy as a psychophobic term?
There are no appropriate uses for “crazy,” with the exception of people with mental illnesses self-identifying as “crazy” in a reclamatory way.
If “crazy” isn’t referring literally to mental illness, then it’s generally either serving as a slur or a comparison. Using “crazy” as a slur, i.e. “Sarah Palin is crazy!” is overtly ableist, and has already been explored thoroughly by RMJ.
The use of “crazy” as a comparison, i.e. “the concert was crazy awesome!” is a little bit more complex but ultimately equally inappropriate. Using “crazy” as a modifier in this way draws an implicit comparison between the “awesomeness” of the concert and the experience of mental illness. This trivializes mental illness, in the same way that saying “that exam raped me” trivializes rape. Trivializing mental illness promotes ableist views—i.e. “it’s all in hir head,” “ze’s making it up,” “ze should just get over it,” “just think positive!” (for depression), etc.
Additionally, the use of “crazy” in either common usage is also potentially triggering for people who have experienced or are currently experiencing mental illness. Constantly being reminded that you are sick, that you are different, can make it excruciatingly difficult to get better, to see yourself as a fully-functioning human being.
Thus, if you are referring literally to mental illness in someone other than yourself, it is not appropriate to say “crazy,” because of the connotations. Even if you don’t hold ableist views regarding mental illness, “crazy” is a word that has dismissive connotations, and the person to whom you are speaking will likely hear those connotations regardless of whether that is your intention. Culturally, words mean things.
The only unoffensive use of “crazy” is if and only if you are a person with mental illness self-identifying as “crazy” in a reclamatory way—much as some gay & otherwise non-heterosexual* individuals self-identify as “queer.” I hope this answers your question adequately.
(*Corrected moments after posting. Thanks, Dorian!)
Notes
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triangularisthepie said:
Brava. Only think I’d add/clarify is that it’s certainly not just gay individuals who ID as queer—it’s used among a /lot/ of groups of non-het folks.
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pastthestorm posted this
