Last night I was watching Comedy Central, and they had a group of people roasting Justin Bieber. Five of the roasters where black men, and the N word was flying around. Now, I can’t even type the N word without feeling racist, hostile, hateful, and derogatory, but these men felt free to call each other that name.

The same is true in the gay community. There are many words that I would never use that gay men freely and openly call themselves and their friends.

I wish that there were words that were off limits to everyone except those of us who have a mental illness.

On social media I often see cartoons of people saying they are bipolar, or psychotic, or mad, or that they hear voices, (there are hundreds of other ones). I can’t count how many times people with no diagnosis post this sort of thing and think they are being very funny, and they get shared and liked all over Facebook or other platforms.

I find it offensive.

I have a sense of humor though, and if a mentally ill person posted those cartoons I may find them funny. It is because they are on the inside. They are making fun of themselves. They truly understand.

We are a group of people that should have special privileges to our own language too. In fact, I think we are probably the only group that it is still perfectly acceptable to make fun of.

People on the outside can’t use our words without sounding derogatory, and I don’t know why we are the last group of people where it is okay.

Maybe, if we point it out, people will be sensitive enough to try and change the words they use. It won’t happen overnight but it could be different for the next generation, and that’s progress…slow and true.