 Lexica says: The pain from an insult like this lasts a lot longer than the pain from a physical injury. Great find. But are we really making a slur when we use the word retarded? When someone does something stupid or dumb they actually have done something stupid, dumb or retarded. Is retarded the same as fagot? Or is it more like gay, as in "that's so gay"? As a gay guy (and fagot) I usually don't find the term "that's so gay" all that offensive. It is not directed directly at me as a person. I don't know of any situations when the term fagot is being used other than directed at a person directly as an insult. Using the above analysis, it is offensive when you call someone a retard, but it is less offensive when you call one of their actions retarded (Webster gives the following defini... Moron is an actual description of a persoanlity. If you call someone a moron you are classifying them as the lowest order of intelligence. Retarded is a condition that is relative to learning ability as in slow learning. Doesn't make them a moron but does indicate you might have to repeat instructions a few times. Ignorant means lack of knowledge. Doesn't indicate slow learning (Retarded) or inferior intelligence (Moron) but does indicate there is an absence of information. This reminds me of an occasion a few years ago when MENCAP (A major UK charity for people with learning disabilities) complained about an advertising campaign being run by The Royal National Institute for the Deaf (RNID). The campaign had the tagline "I may be deaf, but I'm not stupid" I have worked with people with learning disabilities all my adult life and the use of language and labels is always a minefield. My basic rule is that we should always emphasise that who we are talking about are people with a condition/impairment but are not defined by that condition. So "A girl with Down's syndrome" is OK, but "A Down's girl" is not; "people with hearing impairments" - OK, "The Deaf" - not OK; etc.. I think people would be well served to be more precise with their language. If you feel something is stupid or annoying then say why instead of saying "that's so gay". The same can be said by used the word retarded to express something else. Put yourself in someone else's place where both those words become a synonym for something stupid. Tolerance is a life-long condition. Excellent. My brother in law is mentally retarded and my wife used to be a special education teacher who taught kids with physical and mental handicaps. I agree completely that sneering at someone for being a "retard" is a potentially heartbreaking put-down to those who suffer from mental retardation. We wouldn't so use it if it weren't offensive. People are mean — Comment removed by clipper — tanner0069 said:You, my "friend", are insensitive and unkind. And now you're disemvowelled. Get a freaking clue. On a clip about how the term "retard" is offensive and insulting, don't go using the term "retard" to mean anything other than "to make slower" and think you're going to get away with it. Ironic racism is still racism. Ironic sexism is still sexism. And ironic ableism is still ableism. Go spread hate and condescension somewhere else — it's not welcome here. |
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