What's an equivalent replacement for the word "lame"?
I don't know if I'm just becoming overly sensitive to my own language or if this is an actual issue, so feel free to let me know if it seems that I just need to grow thicker skin, but still.
I keep getting this uneasy feeling whenever I use the word "lame" and I think it's because I'm starting to realize it's technically ableist. However, there's no single non-profane word that I know of that fits the niche that I use it in.
For example, I wrote out something earlier about a behavior I do that I don't like that I do because I think it's kind of shitty behavior, but it's overall harmless. I use lame to describe it casually. I could also call it kind of shitty, as I did before, but not to audiences that I don't want to use profanity around.
Anyone know of a word I can replace "lame" with?
I'd say maybe weak, but that's got its own baggage that I'm not sure I'm ok with switching to. Annoying is too strong of a word for what I'm going for. Maybe lame is a short word for "this makes me feel slightly sad"?
Idk, so I open it up to the public: Is this even an issue or am I being too sensitive? Could this be solved in a single replacement word or do I need a whole ass phrase to express this?
To me, the definition of 'lame' meaning like a lame leg or something is too dated to be the first thing most people think of in most contexts.
As a rancher "lame" is in regular usage, but it's something that happens to animals and not to people.
A person with a persistent leg injury would simply be referred to with a sentence like "Jim's got a bad leg, he's walked like that since a bull ran him over"
Good friend of mine has a gimpy leg after 2 too many motorcycle accidents. He is lucky to have one of them at all. I dont think "lame" has ever come up in context of him or his infirmary.
'Gimpy' in this context is definitely an ablist slur.
That's my thinking too. It's too removed from its roots to really have a negative context for most folks.