What do WWers think about...

InksWell

the use of the word "retard"? Ok, or a flameworthy? Do you use it in your RL? I was just going to post a funny picture as a response to Arb's post below, but the "r" word was in the caption and it made me wonder what your response would have been.

I know Bmom hates when I get all argumentative, don't worry, I don't have an opinion on this. I just wondered what you think.

arbolita

I choose not to use it in my regular speech, and I really judge people who can't come up with an alternate word to say that something is stupid, but it doesn't offend me or get me riled up the way it does some people.

zsazsa-stl

I would frown upon it.    But I frown upon lots of words.

6fsn

I do not like that word and it does raise my eyebrow some.

DG1

I think the use of the word is unnecessary at best.  It does make me think less of the person using the word, though it typically comes from people I didn't think all that highly of in the first place.

TheDuckis

I will tell you a story. My older brother is Autistic. He's high functioning and very intelligent, but has the social skills of a small child. My parents chose to enroll him in normal schools because of his intelligence. He was teased mercilessly, and when his classmates got sick of teasing him, they turned to me, I guess because I was Autistic by association.

I was asked, on a regular basis, "Is your brother retarded or something?" Through. High. School. I can understand small children being ignorant of such things, but for high school kids it's cruelty, plain and simple.

So yeah, the word offends me, and like arb I judge people for not being able to think and express their thoughts in more creative ways. So I automatically have a lower opinion of people who use it.

That said, I don't often say anything to people who use it. If asked I'll give my opinion, but otherwise I just quietly judge.

redheadtmk

I try no to use it but sometimes it comes out. It doesn't bother me when others use it. Words only  have as much power as you give them (for most words) and getting upset by it is a choice.

baconsmom

...I don't like arguments? <scratches head>

I use it. Possibly because I've never used it to refer to a person, and never saw someone with any sort of mental challenge either being teased or being called "retarded". So to me, it's never referred to people, and thus wasn't insulting.

I was an adult before I realized there are assh*les out there who make fun of people with autism, or Down's, or whatever. Maybe it was a charmed life, but I can't get all chuffed about "retarded".

sister2groom

Most of the people I've seen use it are too dumb to know that "retard" means "slow" (like flame-retardant) and genuinely think that it is derived frome "mental retardation" and so use it deliberately knowing those connotations. So those people I have a problem with. And I usually take "that's retarded" as synomous with "that's moronic" which is obviously referring mental retardation.

But getting offended about the use of the word in it's literal sense, again,as in fire-retardant, would be ridiculous.