Submitted by An_Old_Big_Tree in AskRaddle (edited )

For example, many insults are patriarchal, racist, ableist, or classist. I don't want any of those to be included in this list, obviously. Similarly for any other problematic terms. (So, for example, calling people 'pussy', or 'lame' would be excluded.)

I'm looking to get as many choice insults as possible. We're talking one-word here, but I'm open to other things.

Also, if we want to categorise them by use, that could be useful. Some of them might be outdated a bit, but sometimes that's what makes them fun to use (like Bozo, hah).

I suppose we'll leave out stuff that is just calling people what they straightforwardly are (like fascists, nazis, terfs). There also seems to be a grouping of politicised insults that work in opposition to specific problematic behaviour (manarchist, brocialist), which should be included. Pre-existing insults are ideal, but if you want to get creative with one-word descriptors then that's good too.

I'll start with just a few, for you to add to!

  • asshole
  • fuckboy
  • bozo
  • shithead
  • Clown.
  • Dipshit.
  • Fuckstick.
  • Dingleberry.
  • Shitstain.
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Comments

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Defasher wrote

  • bootlicker

  • incel

  • fashtrash

  • goosestepper

  • manarchist

  • junior bureaucrat

  • ruleslawyer

  • human garbage

13

ziq wrote

copfucker

shitbag

anarcho-liberal

fuckhead

11

GrimWillow wrote (edited )

  • puttz(putz)
  • fucko
  • tool
  • hypnotized
  • statist
  • creep
  • bootlicker
9

theblackcat wrote

  • carnist

  • 'as useless as a leftcom'

  • champaign-socialist

  • bourgie

  • imperialist

  • berniebro

  • russel brand

9

DeathToAmerica wrote

  • brocialist

  • clown

  • creeper

  • skeevy

  • meathead

  • dudebro

  • jackass

  • milquetoast

7

AlexanderReidRoss wrote

Here are some common insults leftists use that could be problematic:

'pearl clutcher' (misogyny)

'nerd' (ableist?)

'neckbeard' (fat shaming?)

'dumbass' (ableist)

'vit d deficient' / 'shutin' (obvious reasons)

5

mofongo wrote

Nerd, as it is used, appears as a combination of machism (lack of) and anti-intellectualism. The ableism takes a back sit, but it is still there, I've been called nerd for not liking certain social environments.

The neckbeard is a sancocho of shutin stereotypes of unaccepted social behaviors, like poor hygiene, innapropriate topics of conversations, blatant sexism, serious objetification of women, obssesion with niche activities (like videogames or anime) and a lack of self awareness. In-group, they justify these behaviors on their autism (which I find to be copout^?, because it doesn't prevent them from not being an annoying asshole) or the world around them (which in the rants I've read, their complaints seem more like xtreme reactions to minor slights).

4

J7383 wrote

I've been accused of homophobia for calling someone 'fuckboy' btw.

5

zorblax wrote (edited )

I think people go way overboard sometimes with classifying insults as problematic. Like, yeah, calling someone 'gay' or 'pussy' or 'faggot' as an insult is obviously not okay, but 'lame'? Will that ever reinforce or perpetuate ableism? Its connection to actual disability is mostly etymological, and in casual usage there is no implication.

4

An_Old_Big_Tree OP wrote

I think I'm interested in words that completely avoid even what you've called mostly only etymologically problematic words for two reasons.

1 - different places use different words differently and so while it may only be obscurely problematic in one place, it may not be in another. For example, where I'm from, 'lame' does get used in the older ways.

2 - I think it's interesting for its own sake to see the huge range of words available that aren't bound up in shitty histories. And then also to ask what the point of using words with bad histories when we have so many that don't.

7

sudo wrote

This. If a word used to be problematic a long time ago, but it isn't used that way anymore, then there's nothing wrong with saying it. I've asked every disabled person I've met if they think calling something "stupid" or "dumb" is ableist, and not one has said they think it is. One of them told me it was overly-cautious allies who decided those words were ableist (without actually asking disabled people first), and then all the other allies decided not to say them, just to be safe.

3

MC_Cookies wrote

I generally think with terms like that, it's more of a warning to be careful using it. So a term like "lame" might be okay to use in like 99% of online discourse, but you have to be understanding if you hit the 1%, whereas a term like "f*g" will probably be problematic in effectively all contexts.

Or at least that's how I understand it. Imo, it's not that you should never call something "lame" or "dumb" in a disparaging way, but rather that you should understand that that usage has a problematic origin, even if it's almost guaranteed not to offend people, and that you should just be careful.

2

Catsforfun wrote (edited )

Fuck nuggets

Fuck monkies

4

J7383 wrote (edited )

Is 'fool' okay? What about 'bastard'?

'Cracker' always gets people hot and bothered.

3

mofongo wrote (edited )

Cracker was a funny one to me, when I was learning english I was taught that cracker was a type of cookie, sort of like a biscuit. So when I heard (on tv) someone being called a cracker, I was confused how someone could be offended by being called cookie. It was not until a few months back that I found what it means, it makes more sense now.

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An_Old_Big_Tree OP wrote

I know smart people who think 'bastard' is not ok, and so it's probably very worthwhile to see what people have written about it, given how much we like to say ACAB around here.

Cracker is a great word, I think, and 'fool's probably fine just so long as it isn't used in ableist contexts? It's kinda the same as clown and implies an intentionality rather than a state of being.

4

J7383 wrote (edited )

Someone tried to get me banned from an anarchist forum for calling them 'cracker', lol.

It's a good litmus test to see if you're dealing with a...

  • SCUMBAG
4

BlindAnarchy wrote (edited )

Bastard I believe began as a word used to describe a child born out of wedlock. I believe there have been a few other uses of the word, but I’m personally not aware of it.

4

MC_Cookies wrote

It's also used to denote something as unpleasant or as corrupted from its origin (though the latter is often changed to "bastardized").

Nowadays it doesn't usually have the connotations of a derogatory term for children born out of wedlock, but I'm not sure about that.

1

DissidentRage wrote

  • assclown
  • fuckstain
  • turdmongrel
  • Captain Dippy McShits
2