Who was the moron who decided that "gifted" was a way to describe this particular cohort of people?
That's half the problem right here.
The usage has been around a while:
1.a. Endowed with gifts (see gift n.1 6); talented.
1644 Minutes Westm. Assembly (1874) 38 It is one thing to say a gifted man may preach, but another thing to say a ruling elder..by virtue of his office may do it.
1677 W. Hubbard Narrative (1865) II. 201 Such of the Women as were gifted at knitting and sewing [etc.].
1711 G. Cary Physician's Phylactic 241 This is a Text that the Gifted Brethren have often urged.
1796 T. J. Mathias Pursuits of Lit.: Pt. III 25 No patriot weeps, when gifted villains die.
1839 A. Gray Lett. (1893) 100 The famous Christopher North..a gifted genius.
1875 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) III. 376 The most gifted minds, when they are ill-educated, become the worst.
1892 I. Zangwill Big Bow Myst. 92 It's a grand thing to be gifted, Tom.
absol.
1828 T. Carlyle Crit. & Misc. Ess. (1857) I. 231 Men felt and knew that here also was one of the Gifted!
1850 F. W. Robertson Serm. 3rd Ser. ix. 114 The gifted of their species.
But yeah, problematic. Here in Scotland we aren't supposed to use the g-word; we have to say "more able" instead. But this is a bit daft (more able than whom?)
I suppose it was at some point liked because it can be read as emphasising that someone who is gifted is not better, or harder working (necessarily), or more deserving than someone else; they have been lucky enough to be given a gift. Unfortunately gifts produce envy.
