Call me Smart Ass Weed

A lot of people have told me that they are offended by my use of the word cripple. But I am offended by the way euphemisms like physically challenged and handicable downplay being crippled, as if being crippled was always something bad. But, in the spirit of compromise, may I suggest that we all refer to cripples as weeds instead. Because cripples are a lot like weeds, in that the value of a weed is in the eye of the beholder. One man’s weed is another man’s flower. And when someone weeds (as a verb) their garden or flower patch or whatever, they are, in a way, carrying out a genocide. They are trying to wipe out any trace of the weed from existing in their space. And that's the way many generations of cripples have been treated, historically. It isn’t so much that people have tried to kill us all off. It's more like they’ve tried to pretend like we don’t exist by putting us out of sight and out of mind by banishing us away to distant institutions where the nuns or nurses can take care of us. It’s the “benevolent” version of genocide. But, like any good genocide, in order for it to be most effective, there must first be enough of a consensus reached that officially declares that cripples are weeds. That’s why propaganda is needed to convince enough people that cripples have no purpose. All we do is hang around and ugly everything up. We are useless. We just take up space. Thus, banishing us is the humane thing to do , for the good of all. My online dictionary defines a weed as, “a wild plant growing where it is unwanted.” That sounds like a pretty good definition of a cripple to me, at least according to how some people view us. But really, is there any such thing as a weed? I mean just because not everyone understands the purpose of a plant or its reason for being doesn’t mean it doesn’t have any. Anyway, if anyone out there feels more comfortable calling me Smart Ass Weed, you may do so. I won't object. (Please support Smart Ass Cripple and help us keep going. Just click below to contribute.) https://www.paypal.me/smartasscripple?fbclid=IwAR2qrql-UFH19OepgeaCG4WmblyNylb27k2q8eYxXHH-nvFX30Mk2fJx9uI