There are all sorts of nuances to this particular issue, and not just the simple one of whether you act respectful of the name a group chooses to use for itself.
I prefer politeness and respect, from both sides, whenever possible. But sometimes polite and true do not coincide; other times polite is just not blunt enough to be understood. Finally, calling a skunk a "pretty kitty" (or calling a kitty a pretty skunk) doesn't change its nature. There are times when plain--even blunt--speech is much more effective.
You compare using "anti-choice" here to using "faggot". The latter was and is a deliberately perjorative word, a cussin' word, a word similar in emotional force to the N-word. It's a word meant to dehumanize someone, and has been used to justify everything from harassment to murder--and not only of the gay people themselves, but their straight friends, their families, even their children.
I honestly don't think that "anti-choice" has that kind of negative weight. To me it sounds more comparable to calling a gay man "homosexual". It is an accurate and somewhat pedantic descriptive phrase that is limited in scope to the issue at hand. ("Life" is a very broad word; saying you support life, from a semantic point of view, implies many things that may or may not be accurate.)
However, since you compare those two words, I must assume that you know some people who self-identify as pro-life who find the term "anti-choice" to be derogatory in some way. I'll have to keep that in mind.
no subject
I prefer politeness and respect, from both sides, whenever possible. But sometimes polite and true do not coincide; other times polite is just not blunt enough to be understood. Finally, calling a skunk a "pretty kitty" (or calling a kitty a pretty skunk) doesn't change its nature. There are times when plain--even blunt--speech is much more effective.
You compare using "anti-choice" here to using "faggot". The latter was and is a deliberately perjorative word, a cussin' word, a word similar in emotional force to the N-word. It's a word meant to dehumanize someone, and has been used to justify everything from harassment to murder--and not only of the gay people themselves, but their straight friends, their families, even their children.
I honestly don't think that "anti-choice" has that kind of negative weight. To me it sounds more comparable to calling a gay man "homosexual". It is an accurate and somewhat pedantic descriptive phrase that is limited in scope to the issue at hand. ("Life" is a very broad word; saying you support life, from a semantic point of view, implies many things that may or may not be accurate.)
However, since you compare those two words, I must assume that you know some people who self-identify as pro-life who find the term "anti-choice" to be derogatory in some way. I'll have to keep that in mind.