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retard offensive
Sue Sylvester is the worst, and even she doesn't say it! | Source: blog.babble.com
Fair warning: the next time I hear someone describe something annoying, upsetting, or otherwise negative as a “retard” or “retarded”, I’m going to lose my shizz.
The terms “retarded” and “retard” are offensive, yet for some reason, these word keeps popping up in people’s daily dialogue as a substitute for “pathetic”, “weak”, or “stupid”. They’re used to describe ex-boyfriends, enemies, infuriating situations and uninformed arguments.
And guess what: they shouldn’t be. Here’s why.
1. Because mental retardation (or, in more contemporary parlance, developmental disability) doesn’t have some kind of moral value: it’s a disability. So unless you’d describe something stupid by saying “that’s so cancerous”, or talk trash about your exboyfriend by saying “he’s such an amputee” – basically, unless you’d neg on the deaf, the diseased, and the missing-of-limb to make a point about how much you hate your science homework – then don’t use mental disability as a synonym for stupidity.
Saying "retard" makes you look like trash. | Source: whatmyworldslike.com
2. Because you never know who you’re hurting. Once upon a time, I couldn’t help noticing the way that one of my good friends would flinch every time someone said, “That’s retarded.” It was like she’d been slapped. Turned out, her beloved little brother had been born with Down Syndrome – and every time someone described something worthless as “retarded”, they were describing someone she loved as worthless. Could someone you care about be wounded by your words? Are you sure you want to risk finding out?
3. And finally, because what “retarded” actually means, per dictionary definition, is “delayed”. Which means that the only thing “retarded” about using that word as a negative is your empathy and emotional maturity.
And that if you keep using the word like that, there’s not going to be anything retarded, in the strict definition of the word, about the connection between my fist and your face.
Do you say the “R” word and brush it off as just a bad habit? Do you get upset when people say those words around you? Tell me about it in the comments!
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retard offensive
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i’ll admit it, i regularly call my friends “retards” when they act stupid, but as my grade 8 teacher put it, “it all depends on where you’re from and how the word is used.”
like i know that in the USA, “retarded” is an actual term for someone who (as we say here in canada) is mentally disabled. so for us in canada, the definition of “retard”, is a stupid person, it’s just the way our culture works and that’s not our fault.
Ok, don’t hate me for this!!!
gURL, I totally agree with you. I MUST admit. I have used retarded to describe things that are either unfair, “stupid”, etc. I just…grew up with it!! I thought about it and decided not to use it, but it’s sort of like a habit…
But, I thought this “article” was going to be mature. Not “And that if you keep using the word like that, there’s not going to be anything retarded, in the strict definition of the word, about the connection between my fist and your face.” …I thought you loved us. :c
Seriously? I just read an article that said to peacefully resolve problems with people you don’t agree with. Also, there are SOOOO many things that people say that are offensive (B*tch, N*gger [ or N*gga] Wh*re) even in songs!
And I don’t see a “using ” Gay ” as stupid is offensive” on here!! :\
I personally don’t like when people say something is “Retarded” because I have a sister who IS mentally retarded and I volunteer with Special Olympics and plan to one day become a Special Ed Teacher. When I was in Middle school and people said it I use to call them out and tell them why they were wrong but now that I’m in high school the only people I call out are teachers and my friends. Last year my choir teacher said something was retarded and I called her out in class and now that word is banned in our classroom, as it is in a lot of other rooms.
As much as I want to call everyone out every time it’s just a losing battle. Some people don’t care if it’s hurtful because “that’s not how they’re using it” and the rest of the people are just to stubborn to change their ways, especially when I’m just a student like them and therefore have no control over them. It’s like the word “gay”, no one cares.
All there is to do is wait until they wise up and realize that it’s just not okay.
Actually i don’t get offended when people say the word around me at all. In fact i even say the word sometimes myself, i’m sure it does offend some people, but it’s not like i would ever go up to a disabled person and call them retarted. So i feel like if i’m not offending them directly they shouldn’t have a problem with me saying it, out of all of the offensive words there are today, i feel like this one is the very last one to be worried about. Especially when nobody is directing it to anyone who is truly disabled. If that were the fact, then of course it would be a problem but it’s not.
I definitely agree. As you’ve stated in this article, saying that dreadful word is all the rage in today’s society and it drives me to tears sometimes when people say it because it makes me think of my autistic brother. I’ve even heard teachers use it! Believe me I’ve spoken up about this but apparently logic cannot compete against trends
i’m sick of people being so pretentious on this matter!
do you lose your shizz when someone says idiot, moron or imbecile?
if not, why not? i bet you even use them yourself, here is the outdated classification system of mental retardation
IQ Range Classification
50-69 Moron
20-49 Imbecile
below 20 Idiot
or is OK to call someone/thing retarded only if you specify the degree of retardation?
next time you want to pretend to be a sensitive person, at least include all of the slurs
I thought they changed the name of the disorder but I guess they changed it back. Either way, I can’t really think of erasing the word just like other terms that insult certain kinds of people. Unless someone is referring to the actual group the word refers to, I don’t think of it as derogatory. I believe that you should be offended by the person, not the word.
It’s become one of those words whose definition has changed due to usage. Like ‘dreadlocks’, it originally was used to insult people but now people use it for other reasons.
Still, I do understand the anger. My brother made fun of Becky for having Down’s Syndrome (not using the word ‘retarded’ but trying to use ‘down’ as an insult) while I was watching Glee. I’ve grown farther apart from him since he started acting like that, and we used to be very close. It makes me livid. I don’t like hanging out with people like that. I don’t use the term at all because I don’t make it my job to insult people or complain about things. I also know so many other words to describe things.
I used to say that things were retarded around middle school. In high school, I met a girl named Rebecca, who is one of my best friends now. The first time I said it in high school, she called me out for it. She said, “Don’t use that word. My sister has down syndrome.” I really admired her for doing so. She stood up for what she believed in, which is incredibly hard to do, especially as a freshman in high school. After she said that, I actually thought about it a lot. That time I used the word “retarded” was my last. Ever since then, I realized that carelessly insulting those with mental disabilities isn’t cool, no matter who is saying it, or if you mean it or not. Just say stupid. It is not that challenging.
REPLY
I used to say that things were retarded around middle school. In high school, I met a girl named Rebecca, who is one of my best friends now. The first time I said it in high school, she called me out on it. She said, “Don’t use that word. My sister has down syndrome.” I admired her for doing so. She stood up for what she believed in, which is incredibly hard to do, especially as a freshman in high school. After she said that, I actually thought about it a lot. That time I used the word “retarded” was my last. Ever since then, I realized that carelessly insulting those with mental disabilities isn’t cool, no matter who is saying it, or if you mean it or not. Just say stupid. It is not that challenging.
I hate it when people take ” retarded” so seriously. People think just cuz someone says retarded they are mean and hateful and they are making fun of mentally disabled persons. NOT TRUE. Ok? People need to just freakin’ RELAX cuz unless the person who said retarded has some against disabled they dont mean it to be offensive! Ok yeah the word retarded hurts people. So does a bunch of other words! Ok? i saw some white guy randomly call somoone a crazy ni*** nobody goes around saying . the point : WORDS ARE GUNNA HURT. another one: DONT ALWAYS TAKE THINGS SERIOUSLY CUZ SOME PEOPLE DONT GIVES A RAT’S ASS. HECK AND WHO WANTS TO EVEN RECEIVE ONE?! relax its just life. people are gunna say hurtful things…. dont be over sensitive. im sorry i have nothing against disabled ppl but we cant always be serious and take things seriously. have a little laugh cuz retarded can mean so many things else then disabled. ok? yeah it might not say in the dictionary but everybodys definition and interpretation is different. just relax.
forgot somthing * nobody freaked out when that guy said ni***. and people do when we say retarded even though were not even making fun of the disabled? not cool. just relax.
i cant even explain what would drive you to say the last sentence. that kind of was… out of order. and again everybody’s interpretation and how they feel about words are different.