![]() As my colleague David Graham noted, watching this year’s State of the Union, ‘None of the policy goals Obama enunciated would suggest a president with narrowing horizons.’ And, indeed, Obama, in the speech, displayed an easy confidence you could fairly describe as swagger. More than anything, though, ‘lame duck’ is often simply inaccurate: The golden years of a presidency can be, for better or for worse, intensely productive ones-not just despite a president’s ability to extricate himself from standard political pageantries, but because of it. It is offensive to both humans and, we can reasonably assume, the entire waterfowl community. Garber notes that media took to using this term to describe President Barack Obama’s last months in his second term: Megan Garber, author of The Atlantic article “A Better Way to Say ‘Lame Duck,’” suggests we adopt the term Zero Fucks to refer to the November/December period right before the presidential power is transferred. ![]() While the political definitions-meanings two and three-do not directly reference weakness or disability, these meanings evolved to carry the same connotations which equate weakness and disability with something negative. Now, returning to the political idiom, we can see how the former degrading usage of the word “lame” fuels our understanding and usage of the phrase “lame duck.” Just look at how the Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines it:ġ : one that is weak or that falls behind in ability or achievement especially, chiefly British : an ailing companyĢ : an elected official or group continuing to hold political office during the period between the election and the inauguration of a successorģ : one whose position or term of office will soon end ” Hopefully these comparisons help put this L word into perspective. ”Ĭomparable terms which can be descriptive of a state of being, but are often appropriated in a derogatory manner, especially by people who are relatively privileged and outside the communities for which the terms originated are “queer,” “gay,” “black” (maybe this is just me, but I take offense when “black” is used as a substitute for immorality, evil, or shame), “crazy,” etc. Again, usage of this term suggests lameness is negative and equates physical disability with unconvincing rhetoric. “ Lame –This term is used to describe something as feeble or unconvincing, a negative definition originating from the term referring to someone who cannot walk or has a leg or foot injury. The blog Learn From Autistics has a very useful article called “Common Ableist Terms You Might Be Using” which compiles a list of the ableist slurs many of us throw around in our day-to-day language (and might want to consider using other, usually more accurate, words instead!). Hopefully a brief explanation about why the word “lame” is insensitive when used as a form of disparagement will help you understand why I have made this decision. Since the term “lame” is disparaging, targets a particular social group, and I don’t feel particularly comfortable using it, I will make sure to employ quotations. The goal is to find something more explicit (as in, the meaning is clear) and not ableist, that does not support a system of power which values temporarily able-bodied people over fellow disabled folks. In this piece, I am zeroing in on the political usage of “lame duck,” as that has been the context in which I have primarily encountered the term, and offering some new terms. And before either of these connotations, the phrase was used to refer to “any disabled person or thing,” which is just plain messed up and the main reason why we should leave the term behind and opt for a new descriptor. Before that, “lame duck” was used as Stock Exchange jargon, referring to a person who has defaulted on their debts (just say “defaulter!”). The sentence in which it appeared did not provide the context needed for my brain to put the pieces together, either, so I turned to the good old internet.Īccording to, “lame duck” as used in a political context began in 1863, with a popular historical documentation attributed to President Abraham Lincoln in 1878. Now, this had been my first time coming across the term “lame duck,” and I had no idea what it was supposed to mean. writer’s Seema Mohapatra touches on similar themes). In it, the newsletter specifically warned that the upcoming “lame duck” period of the presidency was going to be dangerous for women’s rights and equality in general (although not the original newsletter, this article by Ms. president did not mean the hard work of fighting for, securing, and ensuring justice for all was done. magazine reminding us that electing a new U.S. The days following the election, I remember receiving an email from Ms.
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