1. We had a guest post by a lawyer who discussed the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and how it is often undercut, and

2. We’re having an existential dilemma and need advice.

It’s not that “lame” is or was used as a slur toward paraplegic or other PWDs; it’s that it implies that lameness–like gayness or darkness–is simply bad. It might be that most people simply don’t make the connection between “lame” and people who did use to be referred to as lame; it’s true that calling people lame because they have difficulty walking is a generation or two archaic. Then again, I never heard “spaz” or “gimp” when I was a kid around kids, and I had no idea that they referred to disability. And your average first-grader might not even consider that “gay” is also used to refer to men who have sex with men.

It’s normal to see people with physical disabilities as less-able and lesser in a global sense; this is why “lame” as in lame-assed is even more durable than “lame” as in survived polio. You did use the term to imply that the apology was weak, worthless, so I think you’re using it in an original sense. They probably entered the lexicon together.

It’s my understanding that irritation over expressions like “lame-ass performance” and “crippled police force” is pretty widespread amongst people who live with the understanding that they are their legs. Terms like “retard,” “gimp,” “spaz,” and “thlid,” are not archaic despite strenuous complaining, so I dunno if the community has entered obnoxious PC territory yet.

Lame used in this context was very obviously not derogatory slamming of “differently abled” persons nor is the term lame-assed (or even lame, alone) a generally known negative epithet a la those commonly used derogatory terms to slam gays, blacks, hispanics, arabs, etc. Had I referred to the apology as “retarded”, which is commonly used in a derogatory fashion to the point that even using it in the appropriate clinical context gets some people frothing at the mouth, I would have understood why someone would take unction but this is a prime example of political correctness gone awry. I reiterate, we have given words waaaay too much power that pretty much anyone can find a way to turn anything into something that should be considered offensive.

The “ablist and uncool” part was using the description “lame-ass”. That would be to paraplegics and others who have difficulty walking, the equivalent of using “gay” as an insult.

You are sh1tting me! I’ve heard lots of rude comments and nicknames but I have never heard the term “lame-assed” used as slang reference to someone with decreased use of lower extremities. Where the hell did this come from and where is it said (I’ve never heard it in the hospital or other clinical settings in which I’ve worked). Sorry to be politically incorrect but, dear lord, we give some words way too much power these days.

http://floretacui.blogspot.com/2009/01/skin.html