Don't say that's retarded, it hurts special kids feelings NOT ABOUT CALLING SPECIAL KIDS RETARDED

[Daveman]

I don't give a shit about these things. Generally I don't mean it as an insult (or more specifically I don't mean for anybody to be insulted by it). People don't understand the nature of the English language, that you can say something with a literal meaning in a dictionary and NOT mean that thing.

I don't care if I offend people accidentally, I don't mean to so they can get over it, if they can't get over it then fuck them and I'm glad I offended them because they deserve it.

I see. So even though I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoarthritis in both my feet, knees, right elbow, left jaw, and two fingers and that most days doing the simplest of things can put me in a lot of pain that I should not feel offended if someone refers to me as a cripple because they did it accidentally?

I'm not sure you understand the premise of my argument here. It's about calling people retarded who aren't actually retarded and actual retarded people getting offended by the use of the word retarded as an insult (I like repetition ). So if you are actually disabled I'm not sure the situation applies. I'm generally talking about like if I was to say I'm a cripple because I stubbed my toe or something and you were there and got offended by me using that word. In that case you're reading a whole load more into something that I said than is necessary.

That said, you are free to feel offended by that, hell I'm offended by people eating baked beans near me. Just don't expect me to lose any sleep over some offhand statement I make upsetting you.

If I were to use "cripple" to directly insult you, as I think you were describing, then obviously I would want you to be offended, that's sort of the point of an insult.

Not entirely sure how somebody could accidentally call you a cripple though so... I'm lost on that one.

 

[Vault101]

spastic used to be a completly valid word...

which I find strange

 

[KeyMaster45]

"Retard" or "retarded" simply doesn't roll off the tongue as easily when I wish to insult someone for doing something incredibly stupid; same thing with special. I have always preferred "dumb ass"; it has so much more of a kick to it. The word "dumb" slips out like Indiana Jones cracking his whip and stressing "ass" just long enough let's the person just feel the burn on their pride. The master of this will always be, however, Red Forman.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

"Retarded" just means slowed down or held/pushed back. "Mentally retarded" refers to people with low IQs.

 

[Torrasque]

I call people who do stupid things, retards. If you do a stupid thing, you are retarded.
In no way does that attribute to people who have physical or mental handicaps. A person who has a mental handicap is not retarded, they just have a mental handicap.

...

What?

Retard is commonly used to mean a person who is mentally handicapped. That's the sole reason why it's an insult.

I don't use it to describe people who are mentally handicapped, so I don't see the insult. I get that it can be used as an insult, but I don't use it as an insult.
What I am talking about, is the word itself is not an insult. Yes, ANY word can be used as an insult--I can call you a broomstick and mean it as an insult--but I don't link being retarded with being mentally handicapped.

Do you get what I mean? Stupid =/= mentally handicapped.

 

[JimB]

I don't use [the word "retard"] to describe people who are mentally handicapped, so I don't see the insult.

Do you think the majority of people who use the word "retard" are referring to people with developmental disabilities?

 

[Thaluikhain]

What?

Retard is commonly used to mean a person who is mentally handicapped. That's the sole reason why it's an insult.

I don't use it to describe people who are mentally handicapped, so I don't see the insult. I get that it can be used as an insult, but I don't use it as an insult.
What I am talking about, is the word itself is not an insult. Yes, ANY word can be used as an insult--I can call you a broomstick and mean it as an insult--but I don't link being retarded with being mentally handicapped.

Do you get what I mean? Stupid =/= mentally handicapped.[/quote]

Yeah, that might maybe work if every time you use it, you have a disclaimer saying you don't mean to refer to the mentally handicapped the way most people using it as an insult do.

 

[Torrasque]

I don't use [the word "retard"] to describe people who are mentally handicapped, so I don't see the insult.

Do you think the majority of people who use the word "retard" are referring to people with developmental disabilities?

Nope, they're referring to people who do stupid things, which is how I use it.

I don't use it to describe people who are mentally handicapped, so I don't see the insult. I get that it can be used as an insult, but I don't use it as an insult.
What I am talking about, is the word itself is not an insult. Yes, ANY word can be used as an insult--I can call you a broomstick and mean it as an insult--but I don't link being retarded with being mentally handicapped.

Do you get what I mean? Stupid =/= mentally handicapped.

Yeah, that might maybe work if every time you use it, you have a disclaimer saying you don't mean to refer to the mentally handicapped the way most people using it as an insult do.

The problem isn't in my usage of the word, but other people's understanding of the word.
When I say, "that person was a retard", what is the first thing you think of? For me, I think of someone that lacks intelligence or lacks sense. Its very easy to confuse that with someone who is mentally handicapped, but they are two different things.

Its kind of like the difference between someone who doesn't have a glass of water and someone who threw their glass of water on the ground.
If they both say, "I'm thirsty", I'll feel bad for the person who doesn't have a glass of water because of their misfortune. I won't feel sorry for the person who threw their glass of water on the ground because their misfortune is their own fault.

 

[JimB]

I don't use [the word "retard"] to describe people who are mentally handicapped, so I don't see the insult.

Do you think the majority of people who use the word "retard" are referring to people with developmental disabilities?

Nope, they're referring to people who do stupid things, which is how I use it.

Okay, that's a start. Now, what are you basing your assertion on?

 

[Thaluikhain]

The problem isn't in my usage of the word, but other people's understanding of the word.
When I say, "that person was a retard", what is the first thing you think of? For me, I think of someone that lacks intelligence or lacks sense. Its very easy to confuse that with someone who is mentally handicapped, but they are two different things.

Its very easy to confuse because that's how the vast majority of people use the word. If you're using an elephant of your own, you can't blame other people for misunderstanding you.

And by elephant, I meant vocabulary.

 

[Soluncreed]

I'm the kind of person who doesn't particularly like others telling me what I can and cannot say. So if I want to say retarded, I will, just as I would say fuck, ******, and ****. However, I have the understanding of what context to use them in. In that context, the connotation of the word changes even if the denotation remains the same.

 

[Naleh]

I am pleasantly surprised by the proportion of people who aren't horribly insulting in this thread (or at least on the first page, because I'm too lazy to read on). I'd like it to be a lot better, but still, it is better than I was expecting.

For the record, my older brother has severe autism, and I find disability-related pejoratives (including "retard", "special", and "spaz", although it's more about the meaning than the chosen word) offensive. If you say something like that, I will usually politely point it out (not always: I'm human, sometimes I'll be too frustrated); if you won't apologise and try to change your behaviour, then I'll sever any friendship with you and do my best to avoid you in future. I'll treat you similarly -- though with less suddenness because it's not as personal to me -- for comments that reveal sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, and so on. Refusing to accommodate others is the same as actively hating them, and hateful people aren't worth my time.

 

[Remus]

Retard is about the most tame word that I use when I really want to insult someone. I can be much more creative if given the opportunity. Therefore you will not hear or see me using the word "retard" as an insult. In reference to videos, music, and such that try to "raise awareness", it's all political correctness for the sake of political correctness. Ever seen the movie "Ringer" with Johnny Knoxville? It pokes all kinds of fun at mentally handicapped but in the end they don't really care. That's half the point of the movie, showing how much better we can be if we just let crap slide and move on. It's always a third party that thinks it has something to prove by creating videos like this, not the apparent victims themselves. No. Those people just stare on in disbelief at the arrogance of these people in thinking how they can represent something they know little to nothing about. It's a word, like any other, and it only hurts if you let it.

 

[ninjaRiv]

Language evolves. Not many people use retard to refer to special needs people. Problem is, it started out as an insult so any change it has coming will be hard. I honestly think it'll be less of an issue in a few years.

I don't even think people use it to mean special needs anymore, do they? I think it's along the same lines as "idiot" now. Or on its way.

 

[ChristopherT]

learn what words mean. To say "retarded" has no connection to the mentally challenged only proves you do not know what the word means. Words have definitions, so we have an understanding of what one is try to express, and in the high speed new age of the internet it helps even more so.

Words change over time, but it takes time, and for the time being you are using the word wrong. Maybe in ten years or so the word retard will have little-to no connection to the mentally challenged, then you can call us all retards for not "getting" it. Words can be loose, words can be fun, but if you use a word that has a specific meaning, and someone takes you for your "word" it's not their fault for you using it wrong.

 

[Torrasque]

I don't use [the word "retard"] to describe people who are mentally handicapped, so I don't see the insult.

Do you think the majority of people who use the word "retard" are referring to people with developmental disabilities?

Nope, they're referring to people who do stupid things, which is how I use it.

Okay, that's a start. Now, what are you basing your assertion on?

I see where you're going with this, and no, I didn't gain my definition of retard(ed) from mass consensus, so I will not change my definition from mass consensus either.

 

[JemothSkarii]

Jeez, I've heard them all and I'm not even mentally handicapped.
Just quiet.
I have a habit of mumbling, so a lot of people sometimes start treating me like I'm slow.
Do I care?
No, because people are retarded (Ooo, edgy)

I go by the saying 'You can't please everyone' in fact, it pisses me off when people try to do something. I'll hold back the words I use amongst my older family members, but that is all.
I remember my ex told me ages ago that apparently Texas made calling someone retarded illegal.
I doubt that it's true, but holy shit if it is. I also used to be best friends with a gay guy, I could not use gay, ******, retarded, or even MENTION AIDS in front of him...My god it was a pain in the ass to be around him.

Like someone said earlier, I'm sick of people being treated like crystal sets, words are there for a reason, they all have uses, some aren't even used anymore (Like Revengeance). Hell, some of my friends call me 'Cripple' as a nickname. I've had poeple call me it as an insult. All of this PC stuff is just...ludicrous.

 

[Treblaine]

Retarded is actually a useful word in the english language. Unless you add "mentally" before the term, it inherently has nothing to do with intelligence.

And "Mental Retardation" is a term that has gone the way of "moron" and "imbecile" as a term of no relevance to science or medicine or education. The term is "Learning disability" or "learning difficulty".

But... it really depends what people's intents actually are and also, more importantly, whether people are LOOKING to take offence.

 

[JimB]

I see where you're going with this, and no, I didn't gain my definition of retard(ed) from mass consensus, so I will not change my definition from mass consensus either.

So...you're deliberately using the word in a way other than the way people understand it, and you're expecting them to know you don't mean what they do?

 

[DarthFennec]

I don't commonly say "retarded", as there's usually a word that better conveys my meaning. Although I use it sometimes. When I do, I almost always use it to refer to an extremely poorly-made decision that affects a lot of people (mostly including me) in a big, negative way. I don't think I've ever used it to refer to an actual person ... not that I make a point of that or anything, it just doesn't happen for some reason.

I think the definition that's developed in my vocabulary is rather fitting, though. The actual definition of "retarded" is related to something being underdeveloped or less advanced, and that description certainly applies to poorly-thought-out or hastily-made decisions. In any case, nobody's ever called me out on it, or given any sign that they care at all. I suppose if someone ever does, I might stop using it, but otherwise, I really see no point. It's just a word, and as long as the intended meaning is clear it doesn't matter what words you use.