Letter: Mencap: taking a pragmatic view of terminology for the disabled

Sir: Such sweet irony. One of the few justifications for 'politically correct' language is that it discourages the use of pejorative labels. Yet Declan Treanor, an adviser to People First, does precisely this in his letter of 22 July by calling Lord Rix a 'titled person' to imply that Lord Rix must know less than he about the effects of the term 'mental handicap'. Thus he provides us with a perfect example of how labelling merely reveals the ignorance and prejudice of the user.

Yours faithfully,

GERARD M. BLAIR

Edinburgh

23 July