Using "vegetable" to describe a comatose person - how rude is it?

[jirihuf]

Hi,
could you help me understand how rude is it to use the word "vegetable" to describe someone who is in a coma or otherwise mentally (and physically) incapacitated.
I have just heard it on an X-Files episode where Mulder and Scully used it to identify a person in a casual conversation. On that show, it almost did not seem rude at all but I was under the impression that this is quite impolite. Has the meaning changed over time or is my perception incorrect?
Thanks!

 

[jutfrank]

Do you mean that the comatose person or the comatose person's family members were present? If not, then it can't really be impolite, can it?

 

[Raymott]

I'd say it's impolite in Australia. But you have to take into account the people speaking. You probably wouldn't say it publicly. Mulder and Scully have an understanding. If they both used the term (or any term), then it's not likely to be offensive. But you might mean offensive to viewers. If so, then this is a problem for all TV shows that want to portray realism. Characters have to talk in character. If you don't like the language used in a certain show, you can turn it off.

 

[Rover_KE]

A patient can properly be said to be in a vegetative state. This is accepted medical terminology, but to call such a patient a vegetable — especially in the hearing of their loved ones — is insensitive and likely to be hurtful.

 

[Tdol]

It's usually rude:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjE080TGEEk