There’s a lot of “crazy” talk in the fitness world. See above.
We all tend to call the person who does more than us “crazy.” My friend who does Devil’s Week, I’ve called him that. But when I mention the Bike Rally, 600 km from Toronto to Montreal, friends call me “crazy.” Your marathon is “crazy” for a friend but you think it’s the ultra marathoners who are are really “crazy.”
It’s not helpful. It’s hurtful. And it’s not what we mean.
It’s time to end the “crazy” talk. Why? It’s ableist. See the following, social justice and ableism.
Disability metaphors abound in our culture, and they exist almost entirely as pejoratives. You see something wrong? Compare it to a disabled body or mind:Paralyzed. Lame. Crippled. Schizophrenic. Diseased. Sick. Want to launch an insult? The words are seemingly endless: Deaf. Dumb. Blind. Idiot. Moron. Imbecile. Crazy. Insane. Retard. Lunatic. Psycho. Spaz.
I see these terms everywhere: in comment threads on major news stories, on social justice sites, in everyday speech. These words seem so “natural” to people that they go uncorrected a great deal of the time. I tend to remark on this kind of speech wherever I see it. In some very rare places, my critique is welcome. In most places, it is not.”
There’s an excellent discussion of alternatives here.
