LogFAQs > #979904540

LightningThief posted...

Words have definitions.

Should we stop calling an addict an addict?
Should we stop calling an alcoholic an alcoholic?
There's so many negative labels that definitively describe people as it has a definition.

We agree those people shouldn't be made fun of. The only stereotypes being reinforced here is if on top of being what you are, you are also not trying to improve on those problem or worse doing things that adding to the problem.

What isn't helpful is pretending they aren't the definition of the very word, as some form of denial or bargaining with the facts

I don't refer to people as "addicts" or "alcoholics." I find it demeaning and stigmatizing to label people as such even if those words are adjectives in our language. It's not hard to refer to someone as struggling with addiction or alcoholism. We don't have to reduce people to labels.