Our language constantly evolves, that's a wonderful thing. Words change meanings as our culture matures. Words have a definition, and a connotation. One such word, that I hear constantly, is "Crazy". What a diverse word - with nearly as many uses as the f word. In fact, it is used in combination with other "colorful" language all the time. Sometimes it is even considered a polite replacement for a derogatory word. But mostly it is used to describe a person or action that makes little sense.

I think that "Crazy" is about one of the most offensive words that our culture uses. It rings of a time where the mentally ill were locked in padded rooms and given electroshock therapy at the slightest erratic behaviour. To some it may mean nothing more than "Affected with madness; insane", but to those of us that have been discriminated against, it hurts just as much as the "n" word (and as snoop said "nizzle don't mean neighbor").

The stigmatism of having a mental illness is huge. People treat you differently, fear your actions, assume, and have all types of stereotypes; when you tell them you are mentally ill. They don't want you around their children, or families. They don't want you to work in the same office, or be the boss of anybody. All of that comes even before you even have an episode.

And since an episode of mania or depression is different for you than it is for them, they react so strongly to you. They get angry because you are so sad, or scared because you are so intense. Only the closest of friends will realize that you are not very different at all. In fact, most of the time, you are perfectly normal.

But when you are not normal, you are crazy. Crazy is a bad thing. Its' always used to describe stupid actions, or things that make no sense. "Girl.. you so crazy", or "that crazy mofo", etc, etc. The list goes on. Just like the 'N' word used to mean a fool.

So, please be careful when you use the word crazy. Don't call people crazy, its' just plain rude. Mentall illness is hard enough without people insulting you unintentionally.