Media popularity? News media coverage? Politicians' opinions? Celebrities?
Example: "Lame" is not currently considered a slur despite a direct link to the disabled.
Media popularity? News media coverage? Politicians' opinions? Celebrities?
Example: "Lame" is not currently considered a slur despite a direct link to the disabled.
Enough people started using words to berate people, and they came to mean that exact thing. The reason "lame" isn't considered a slur is because it began to be used so generally that almost nobody gives a shit that it used to refer to disabled people.