Yeah, I looked into this a while ago, because I was puzzled too.
The connotations the word has in America, mean it is a horribly misogynistic term used against women exclusively. If I were American, I would consider it a misogynistic word. The connotations it has in the UK, it isn't a misogynistic word, just an offensive term to use towards people otherwise covered by "douche" and "dick". "Twat" is very similar, but with less heat, so Americans will also lecture you on how you are horribly misogynistic and "are claiming that the UK is a magical land where sexism doesn't exist" if you use it.
The solution is to object to every single American who uses the word "spaz" online, and point out how offensive and ableist it is. I've never actually tried accusing them of pretending that America is a magical land where there is no prejudice against the disabled, because I'm not that much of a twat even when people are being terribly dense about language and culture not being American everywhere. Even when they try to claim that words are offensive purely because of their denotation in this one case.
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The connotations the word has in America, mean it is a horribly misogynistic term used against women exclusively. If I were American, I would consider it a misogynistic word. The connotations it has in the UK, it isn't a misogynistic word, just an offensive term to use towards people otherwise covered by "douche" and "dick". "Twat" is very similar, but with less heat, so Americans will also lecture you on how you are horribly misogynistic and "are claiming that the UK is a magical land where sexism doesn't exist" if you use it.
The solution is to object to every single American who uses the word "spaz" online, and point out how offensive and ableist it is. I've never actually tried accusing them of pretending that America is a magical land where there is no prejudice against the disabled, because I'm not that much of a twat even when people are being terribly dense about language and culture not being American everywhere. Even when they try to claim that words are offensive purely because of their denotation in this one case.