Is the word "retardation" offensive to you?

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It's not about ignoring them. Many of us who have social difficulties are painfully aware of the fact. We don't need it further drilling into our heads by ignorant people. It's like calling a fat person "fat bastard" all the time. You don't do it. I have AS and I'm fat. Does that make me a legitimate target for people? If you say yes, shoot yourself in the face.

I don't like being called a "ret*d" I think the word is aful and nobody should be called it even those who struggle in life. Calling an aspie a ret*d is the most stupid thing anyone could do, I mean aspies
are the worlds best inventers and designers. If anyone called me a ret*d i'd give them a broken nose. lol...

he wasn't trying to be mean...

but before i figured that out, yes... he point blank said i was ret*d... it was something like asking a general question about AS people and he just kinda umbrella-ed me and other AS people as ret*ds...

right then... i was pissed and yes-- offended..

maybe it shouldn't offend me personally cause i do have a high IQ?

it was after that that i figured he wasn't trying to be rude... ie-i asked him why he used that word specifically... out of so many other words he could have chosen...

so i stopped being personally offended there... but i kept being VERY annoyed with him cause he persisted that no one would take offense to being called ret*d cause it was a PC/proffessional term his mom used all the time (to the faces of her special ed class she worked with)

it's just the context of how he used it... and i just tried telling him that IF he goes around and uses it like he just had... then he's gonna piss of a lot of people... because they won't know he's not trying to be rude.

i just think that of ALL the technical words to chose from.... "ret*d" should not be the first one to pop to your mind when trying to generally label someone... and i sincerely doubt that anyone of a professional nature would use that word (as he claimed his mom did) especially at an elementary school.. especially in the presence of other little children who would DEFINITELY misuse/abuse the term later... at the special ed kid's expense.

i, myself, am always afraid of what will pop out of my mouth cause i know that sometimes my humor (or whatever) is off... so i probably would NEVER even attempt to use such a vibrant word... cause i wouldn't want anyone to even think i was trying to be rude.

it's like tequila said i guess... now he knows i don't like being called ret*d.... he better not do it again!

Its not really the word that has become a problem,words are just made up of harmless letters-its how it is now used.
Once an innocent term,now an over used insult.

That is exactly what I was going to say.

If someone called me a ret*d (to my face or otherwise) and meant it to be offensive, then I would 'have words' with them. If it's used in the right context, it doesn't bother me.

I absolutely HATE it when people call me a ret*d. I've lost my temper before because of this and screamed at them and slapped them, regardless of gender, race or sexuality. I'm already a quick-tempered guy so I pretty much lose it when people insult my intelligence. I've been invited to anger management classes but I doubt most people there can relate to Asperger's and autistic meltdowns.

I don't think it's offensive when used as a medical term. But, when my son tells me that kids on the bus call him a "ret*d" I want to put him into a bubble to protect him from everyone (that, plus beat the crap out of those little bastards).

I was often called a 'spastic' or 'spaz' (basically the UK equivalent of ret*d) when I was in school, because of my differences. Once, I was given the nickname 'Spud', which I thought was an uninsulting nickname, until these people showed me a poster, and the acronym os SPUD was something like 'SPorts Unit for the Disabled', which really upset me.

Retardation no, but "ret*d" definitely yes, a word more specifically aimed to insult or bully the intellectually disabled or even people just appear that way of the surface such as mild cerebral palsy in some people and Aspergers in others and in fact far far more intelligent the bully how resorts to using that word.

Last edited by paulsinnerchild on 02 Jan 2007, 7:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.

ACTUALLY, spastic and spaz are used in the US ALSO! They mean about the same thing.

Steve

I take no offense because it's true,My social deficiencies ret*d my personal life.If someone uses the word wrong (as in an insult) I just feel bad for them because they are stupid.

ret*d:

1. to make slow; delay the development or progress of (an action, process, etc.); hinder or impede.

2. to be delayed.

3. a slowing down, diminution, or hindrance, as in a machine.

EXACTLY how I feel! Luckily, I have never had this variant used to my face, that I can recall.

Steve

well.. the guy was trying to be technical but he WAS misusing the word.

i told him that i have taught science in elementary schools (teaching postion for grad work) and that we had special ed children in the class with the other kids and that i would never refer to any of them as ret*ds.

he then asked me, "Why not? What kind of ret*ds did you have in your classes? (was he JOKING?)" I was like WTF man? You can't just look at someone and tell whether they are ret*d or not...

he defended himself in saying that he specifically means to apply "ret*d" to their specific disability.... which is okay... as people have used in examples: AS ppl have ret*d social skills... but then he just turns around and calls them ret*ds BECAUSE OF their disability.

that is wrong... and that is my point..

Yeah, it is funny. Most people that are stupid in some area are smarter in others. That is certainly true of AS people. Do you have ANY idea how many NT people that are apparantly smart are TECHNOPHOBES? There are a LOT of them! Should we call THEM ret*ds? On my last interview, the interviewer was astounded at the fact I answered EVERY question. He told me most DON'T and most take longer on those they do. Should I call THEM ret*ds? What of the 99.98%+ that really FAILED my simple interviews?

Maybe you should ask him some obscure questions, and see what he says! Heck, a roommate once asked me to name all the different temperature scales I knew. I STILL don't really know WHY. In my answer, I STARTED with KELVIN, figuring that was one of the most obscure. He stopped me at that point. I guess he figured I knew any other.

Anyway, if HE can't answer such simple questions, maybe he should call HIMSELF a ret*d!

Steve

"Retardation" is a medical word? Nah. Are you sure?

ret*d - yeah, that used to be used about humans. The big problem with that word is that it doesn't describe anything that really exists. I have a cousin who will never learn to read, for example. But she can do elder care like a wise, efficient, angel - which for me - high IQ etc - is impossible.

I'm saying that even if the word were permitted, the condition it attempts to describe doesn't exist. It's right up there with 'normal' - probably used by the same people, too.

ret*d doesn't really bother me, but when I was growing up, it was still a pretty accepted term.

Related words I do get bothered by. For example, I asked a co-worker to please stop referring to people as "RE-RE". I can't really say why I wasn't bothered by ret*d, but "Re-Re" I really didn't like.