--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People get all up in arms when I describe…" description: "\"People get all up in arms when I describe myself as a crip because what they hear is the word 'cripple,' and they hear a word you're not allowed to say..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50e/stella-young-7013_allowed_people-get-all-up-in-arms-when-i-describ_2961580.jpg" --- # People get all up in arms when I describe myself as a crip… ![“People get all up in arms when I describe myself as a crip because what they hear is the word 'cripple,' and they hear a word you're not allowed to say anymore.” quote by Stella Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50e/stella-young-7013_allowed_people-get-all-up-in-arms-when-i-describ_2961580.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50e/stella-young-7013_allowed_people-get-all-up-in-arms-when-i-describ_2961580.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50e/stella-young-7013_allowed_people-get-all-up-in-arms-when-i-describ_2961580.jpg) > “People get all up in arms when I describe myself as a crip because what they hear is the word 'cripple,' and they hear a word you're not allowed to say anymore.” [Stella Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-young/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Calling herself a “crip” challenges taboo, confronting language restrictions around disability. **In simple terms:** She reclaims a banned word to discuss disability. Key Takeaway Use language to confront stigma. Themes disability language social norms Mood empowering defiant Type social activist When to use this quote - public speaking - activism - social critique Key Concepts empowerment political correctness Questions to Reflect On - How does language shape disability perception? - Can reclaimed terms empower? A Different Perspective May provoke backlash from those uncomfortable with reclaimed slurs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [People talk about smart sanctions and crippling sanctions. 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Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-d-burns/) > [My older brother was born, who was a cripple, then I was born, and my sister was born, the only girl. So I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-morgan/my-older-brother-was-born-who-was-a-cripple-then-i-was-born-and-my/) [Tracy Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-morgan/) > [I am not a saint or a cripple, I am not a wound; now I will see whether I am a coward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-am-not-a-saint-or-a-cripple-i-am-not-a-wound-now-i-will-see-whether/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Emptiness will always cripple me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vishwajeet-pradhan/emptiness-will-always-cripple-me/) [Vishwajeet Pradhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vishwajeet-pradhan/) ## More by Stella Young > [I am repeatedly asked in interviews exactly 'what's wrong' with me, and I always give them the same answer; I don't identify the name…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-young/i-am-repeatedly-asked-in-interviews-exactly-what-s-wrong-with-me-and/) [Stella Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-young/) > [We think we know what it's all about; we think that disability is a really simple thing, and we don't expect to see disabled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-young/we-think-we-know-what-it-s-all-about-we-think-that-disability-is-a/) [Stella Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-young/) > [For me, in some ways, my whole life is a bit performative and always has been - because I'm stared at and looked at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-young/for-me-in-some-ways-my-whole-life-is-a-bit-performative-and-always/) [Stella Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-young/) > [Believe me, people with disabilities are just as concerned about benefit fraud as anyone else. Money spent on those who are not in need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-young/believe-me-people-with-disabilities-are-just-as-concerned-about/) [Stella Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-young/) > [In many ways, I'm incredibly lucky to have been born with my impairment and that it's visible. It means my path has been predictable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-young/in-many-ways-i-m-incredibly-lucky-to-have-been-born-with-my/) [Stella Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-young/) > [Death is not treatment, even if it's medically facilitated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-young/death-is-not-treatment-even-if-it-s-medically-facilitated/) [Stella Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-young/) > [Personally, I like a generous side of wheelchair access with my cities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-young/personally-i-like-a-generous-side-of-wheelchair-access-with-my-cities/) [Stella Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-young/) > [We’ve been sold this lie that disability makes you exceptional and it honestly doesn’t. … I want to live in a world where we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-young/we-ve-been-sold-this-lie-that-disability-makes-you-exceptional-and-it/) [Stella Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-young/) > [When patronised, I'm unfortunately more flight than fight. 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A simple invitation to the pub is consistently…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-young/as-a-wheelchair-user-i-am-utterly-obsessed-with-toilets-and-all-my/) [Stella Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-young/) > [Doctors are not fortune tellers, and neither am I. Having lived with disability since birth does not afford me immunity from illness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-young/doctors-are-not-fortune-tellers-and-neither-am-i-having-lived-with/) [Stella Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-young/) > [From my first days in Washington D.C., where I rolled a whole four downtown blocks without seeing a single shop, cafe, bar or restaurant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-young/from-my-first-days-in-washington-d-c-where-i-rolled-a-whole-four/) [Stella Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-young/) > [On the whole, my life is and has been wonderful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-young/on-the-whole-my-life-is-and-has-been-wonderful/) [Stella Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-young/) [Explore all 95 Stella Young quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-young/) ## More Allowed quotes > [I just think that things should be allowed to run their course, and not turned into a Disney ride.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-shaw/i-just-think-that-things-should-be-allowed-to-run-their-course-and/) [Fiona Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-shaw/) > [There are certain things you must not say in spite of the fact that supposedly democracy means free speech. 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But it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-mckenzie/one-of-the-mistakes-i-made-was-thinking-chickens-and-penguins-could/) [Bret McKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-mckenzie/) > [I was allowed to believe things that weren't true and I would ask questions about them and talk about them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-taylor-greene/i-was-allowed-to-believe-things-that-weren-t-true-and-i-would-ask/) [Marjorie Taylor Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-taylor-greene/) > [I always wanted to make big action movies as a kid, and that was my dream. In a way, 'Swingers' was the thing I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-liman/i-always-wanted-to-make-big-action-movies-as-a-kid-and-that-was-my/) [Doug Liman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-liman/) > [For years, I had a top secret clearance and never left Russia. 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