Spastics, cripples and retards

On a lighter note, what’s all this Mumbai stuff?
Why can’t we say Bombay if we want to?  Why can’t we call it whatever we feel like?  Why do English speakers suddenly have to change the word they always used and adopt the Marathi version of the name instead?
Sorry now, but I just don’t get this.
Of [...]

Paddy Doyle is a cripple.
That’s right.  He isn’t differently abled.  He doesn’t have special needs.  He doesn’t have a mobility deficit, or any of the other bloodless, insipid phrases foisted on us by a world too afraid to face reality.
He’s a cripple who has to spend all his time in a wheelchair, because a [...]

I was out for a few drinks tonight with Parkenstein.
You’re a handicapped fucker aren’t you? I happened to remark.
I am, he replied, but before we had a chance to nod at at each other drunkenly, an irate lady barged between us.
You can’t say that.
What?
Handicapped.  You can’t say that.
Why not? said Parkenstein.  I am handicapped.
You can’t [...]

When Niall McElwee left a reply here, this post became something different from its original version.
Originally, this post was just a reaction to a commenter on another blog who suggested I was “within a hair” of blaming the victim, and who also cast doubt on the validity of my questions about this case.
I took extreme [...]

RTE News says that the report on the Niall McElwee case is complete and due to be passed over to the Health Service Executive.
Well, you know what I think about the whole thing, so why bother repeating it all?
 
Previously:  What Did Niall McElwee Do?

I see the tinkers in Castletroy don’t want to move into their new accommodation. Oh? Is this because the Council didn’t build the houses to a proper standard? No. They built them to the highest possible specification.
Is it because the houses are unsuitable? No. The Travellers were consulted at every stage of the design.
Perhaps [...]