Is the word "retardation" offensive to you?

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There are lots of these kinds of words out there, words that refer to a group that people look down upon, that have their meanings transferred via slang usage to all kinds of things that people look down upon; 'ret*d' is just one. It is in the best interest of those who are in fact mentally ret*d to be called something else, though due to their condition, they will in most cases have to rely on others as their spokespersons. Even changing what they are called might not help. At my highschool, "Special Ed" (for Special Education) was an insult, and so was "LD" (for Learning Disabled). The former class was for those who were mentally ret*d or, yes, low functioning autistics, and perhaps those who had other conditions, and the latter class was for those who had difficulty learning, regardless of IQ. I have some doubt that simply changing what they are called will solve the problem...it's a mindset that has to be changed.

i usually don't hang out with many people... but they had just given me a lift from the airport as i was returning from the east coast from the holidays...

my friend wasn't trying to be offensive... like i said, he was trying to convey something of his mom's career but i think he was "putting words in her mouth"... ie- making up the vocab as best he could. so i didn't really jump down his throat about it exactly... just tried to make him aware of how others might feel about his vocab. (ironic, no? lol)

it just made me mad... cause he wouldn't even listen to me and insisted that it was perfectly PC to use that term so glibbly.

i just told him fine... and to try using that term to other "ret*ds' " faces (ie- ret*ds other than me) and see how they react

Does the word "Retardation" offend you?

I don't know. Should it?

Mentally Retarted people find the word "Retarted" very offensive, so it shouldn't be used. Black people don't like being called "Negro" at least in the states they don't. So I don't use it....PERIOD. We still have the United Negro College fund, but because the word has been used in such offensive terms, the word "Negro" isn't used. Same with the word "retarted" it's been used very offensivly, so now, it used as an insult, and so it shouldn't be used at all. I work with children who some have the mental retardation label. Have if anyone points at them and says, "retarted"....it won't be good. Cause I won't be nice.

i almost commited sucide because this kid kept calling me a ret*d.

it doesnt offene me when somen else or I say about something
example: "man...that movie was ret*d" that doesnt bother me to the least bit.

it doesnt offend me when it's like a joke saying about a stupid acting person
example: "that was ret*d" like saying something they did was stupid

but if the person is actually mentally slow or has another problem then i dont use it to their face. But if i have to discribe that person to another i would use that word.

It offends me if it is applied to me or to other people with Aspergers.

It depends on how he used the word. Did he say "Well, you're ret*d" or did he say something like "You have some social retardation." "ret*d" can be a perfectly non-offensive word, depending on the context. Let's say I was talking about a cat who had been starved as a kitten and as a result never grew very big. I might say that "The malnutrition ret*d her growth so she's not going to get any bigger" and that isn't an offensive use of the word.

Even mentally slow isn't really a valid time someone should be called ret*ded. You do that, but not to their face? Heck, you basically said YOU were slow with CAPD. Not stupid, just slow.

And hey, you seem like a nice girl. You have a lot ahead of you. You seem intelligent. And YOU said "i almost commited sucide because this kid kept calling me a ret*d."!




Remember when I said ret*d was a "big word"? NOW your using it in that context. Some people just don't understand that.

Steve

Also (I forgot about this when I made my first post), before we found out about my Asperger's my husband used to call me "a social ret*d" or "socially ret*d." At that time, he blamed it on the fact that I went to private school instead of public school, and he thought that everyone who went to private school was "socially ret*d" like me. He didn't mean it to be mean though, it was just a statement about my personality and skills. And an accurate one at that.

I think I mentioned it here. I have often said I am a social idiot/moron. I act gracious, am affable(terms I have heard coworkers, customers, etc... say about me!), etc...! Yet I call myself a social idiot because I just don't know how to really go out and get friends, approach women, etc...

Steve

It does depend on the context.

I'm only offended at it if it is supposed to be a crude way of talking about my AS, or someone uses it seriously to describe someone with AS.

If it's just in general then I don't care.

If someone says,'That's so ret*d!', I get offended because I know some people who are mentally ret*d, and they're really nice. I also don't like it when people call me a ret*d because of my AS.
I ALSO hate it when people say,'You're a fag', or, 'That show was gay', or something like that. My old Math teacher would punish people when they said stuff like that. I liked him.

I have used the term socially ret*d to describe myself before. I think retardation is different than calling someone a ret*d - most of the time that is used as an insult. When someone is using a term to taunt you that is not the same as someone misusing a word that has become more obscure. When I was a kid though it was not so much another kid suggesting that I was ret*d but an adult that was much more insulting. I remember one insult in particular because it kind of confirmed that everyone noticed how weird I was and it was not just other kids being mean.

Depends on how its being used. If soemone called me it because of my difficulties, I'd probably be hurt. Being shy, troubles reading between the lines, etc doesn't mean I'm ret*d.


I don't care for the phrase or for the name of the disability. Two different meanings.

People with AS are socially ret*d, so if you are offended at having the word 'ret*d' directed at you then you're doing yourself a disservice. You have to acknowledge your weaknesses to do something about them, not ignore them.

I don't care if it's directed at me - because in some ways it's true.
If it is directed at someone else because they did something silly without meaning to, then I won't like it.