From: li@Data-IO.COM (Liralen Li)
Subject: Words
Organization: Data I/O Corporation
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1992 00:57:50 GMT

In article <Bw0ztq.GKD@news.cso.uiuc.edu> trumpins@alexia.lis.uiuc.edu (Barbara Trumpinski) writes:
>re: differently abled vs. handicapped
>personally, i don't care what word is used...the words aren't as
>important as the way we treat people..."
>
>kitten hops down off her soapboxes...grinning.

Liralen grins and sighs.  "Interesting, a librarian and an English major
that doesn't care about which word is used; but the idea that what is
important is the action *is* a rather cool one."  For a moment she thinks.

"I've been involved in the Net for almost..." she sighs, "seven years.
I've seen it evolve from net.* to the heirarchy, watched the population go
up from so few that we almost all knew each other, to a point where is
nearly impossible to know everyone in a single group.  And in all that time
I've discovered something of the importance of words in perception of a
person's capabilities and attitudes."

"And Here, how you treat people is ultimately entangled with how you use
words, and HOW you express yourself determines *what* you express."

She grins, "Or, from what I've learned, I should have said, 'I've found
that on the net how I treat people is entangled with how I use words; and
that how I have expressed myself determined what it was that I got
across.' Read both of those sentences above aloud.  Which *sounds* more
reasonable?  How many people with the first sentence automatically said,
inside, Not ME!"  Liralen sighs and raises one hand.  "Now, how many
thought that the first sentence was just plain straightforward?"  Other
hands raise.  "Meet the connotations of the use of second person..."

"Someone that uses Oriental for Asian, Negro for African, or Indian for
Native American creates, for me, an image of someone that is ignorant of
the basis of the language that they use.  I don't usually take offense at
it, but for someone who is a writer I usually point out that there are
completely different *connotative* clouds about the different words.  Take
Oriental vrs Asian.  Oriental usually connotes the 'mysterious Orient'
where there are shy, veiled women, the exotic, the unknown and inscrutible
males.  It is a romantic and a very inaccurate image of an Asian
American.  Asian is fairly straightforward, usually connoting simply
someone of Asian heritage.  Perhaps, as StM said, the meanings will change
again... but I'm writing for an audience that lives Now and Here and I'll
take the meanings that are more agreed upon.  If I *want* to create the
Oriental image, I'll know what I'm invoking when I use it."

"Even in the sciences, each field creats its own language to accurately
describe the things that are important to that field.  And to become
knowledgeable in any of those fields, one has to be able to accurately
*use* that language."  She looks around, "How many physicists would jump
on me if I said 'Quark or Quantum?  What's the difference?  They SOUND
pretty close...' or how many a.n.n. experts would jump on me if I said,
'Fuzzy systems and artificial neural networks are the same thing!'"  She
dunks any flying physicists, fellow a.n.n. folks and falls off the rather
large pile of soapboxes.

"Anyway..." a soapbox pops up from under her feet.  Liralen stomps on it,
and it goes away.  "I guess I agree with Rowan about the general thought
that 'words are important to choose carefully'.  And I wanted to say to
kitten that I'm sorry that Sam saw you the way that he did.  Not really
sorry in 'I'm to blame' sorry, but just feeling some sorrow for his
blindness and your resultant hurt."

"A hug?"

---
Liralen Li
li@inigo.Data-IO.com
Newsgroups: alt.callahans