hey Marcie -- I live in Chicago, which is indeed far from DC. But I was attempting to hit on you via livejournal (that whole "wanna come upstairs and see my stereo?" bit). I guess it worked since you were game for hanging out with me -- ha ha.
It's funny you mentioned the phrase "retarded" -- I almost never say it, but every once in a while it slips out because I had a friend in high school who's cousin had mild Down's Syndrome, and he would sometimes say about himself when he did something clumsy (but human), like dropping his keys: "Man, I'm so retarded!" He had a great sense of irony, and he loved how strangers got uncomfortable when he said it in public. So I sometimes think of him.
In other annoying word use, I've also become sensitive to the word "crazy", because my gf comes from a family of mental illness, specifically her bio mother who has a near laundry list of diagnosed disorders through the years, so I've become more aware of how casual culture deems things weird vs. normal, sane vs. insane, etc. Melanie never confronts folks on the use of "crazy" (she'd have an annoying full-time job if she did!), but she tends to use the word sarcastically or at least in a campy way.
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My lame attempt to be sleazy.
Date: 2001-05-23 08:12 am (UTC)It's funny you mentioned the phrase "retarded" -- I almost never say it, but every once in a while it slips out because I had a friend in high school who's cousin had mild Down's Syndrome, and he would sometimes say about himself when he did something clumsy (but human), like dropping his keys: "Man, I'm so retarded!" He had a great sense of irony, and he loved how strangers got uncomfortable when he said it in public. So I sometimes think of him.
In other annoying word use, I've also become sensitive to the word "crazy", because my gf comes from a family of mental illness, specifically her bio mother who has a near laundry list of diagnosed disorders through the years, so I've become more aware of how casual culture deems things weird vs. normal, sane vs. insane, etc. Melanie never confronts folks on the use of "crazy" (she'd have an annoying full-time job if she did!), but she tends to use the word sarcastically or at least in a campy way.