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I consider myself both a geek and a nerd; these used to be degrading insults, but no longer, as we grew up and realized that we are okay. Other really bad words, like "queer" and "nigger" have been co-opted by a purposeful campaign to "take back" the words and remove their power. Other bad words lose their impact through attrition, falling by the wayside of common usage or understood meaning.
The ones that stay in the spotlight, never go away, and never get defused, stay "bad" --but is this the word's fault, or the way it is handled, having its power and "badness" actually championed and perpetuated by the very people who wish the word would simply vanish in a puff of collective amnesia?
I guess self-proclaimed geeks, nerds, queers, and niggers are speaking for themselves, whereas the citizens against calling things retarded are erring on the side of caution in the defense of a protected class.
And I understand that, but it doesn't mean they aren't doing the exact wrong thing.
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There's a level of facility that everyone needs to accomplish, and from there
it's a matter of deciding for yourself how important ultra-facility is to your
expression. ... I found, like Joseph Campbell said, if you just follow whatever
gives you a little joy or excitement or awe, then you're on the right track.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Terry Bozzio
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