

It's Time to stop using the word 'Retard' - iKenshu
https://medium.com/the-cauldron/its-time-to-stop-using-the-word-retard-7389f4fbaeed

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A_COMPUTER
It is hard to argue against this article, but I feel a lot of social capital
to accomplish these things was burned up on freaking out about terms like
flipbook, chink in armor, niggardly, master-slave IDE interface, black hole,
etc. It has now become a regular occurrence among my friends to say "that's
racist" when something even refers to race, _or sounds like it does_ for
instance.

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hashberry
As a boy, the word "retard" was part of my vocabulary. I used it to describe
concepts that were dumb or irrational. I continued to use it into adulthood
without thinking. I did not realize how offensive it was until my girlfriend
called me out on it. So now I just use the word "dumb." I hope I am not
offending any groups now.

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anthay
Surely you will be upsetting people who, for whatever reason, are unable to
speak?

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DanBC
I sometimes wonder whether Americans realise that "retard" is pretty much
hate-speech in England.

If you're the kind of person who doesn't say things like "I was Jewed on that
deal" you should probably avoid using the word "retard" unless you're talking
about watch mechanisms.

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gretful
Pretty soon all descriptive words are going to be deemed bad and banned.

Whatever happened to "sticks and stones may break my bones but words will
never hurt me"?

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dalke
Other than it being untrue? Words have definitely hurt me. Words have made me
cry. Words have made me yell out in frustration and anger. Words have also
made me smile, and laugh, and cheered me up.

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acheron
And the euphemism treadmill continues...

~~~
hashberry
idiot -> moron -> retard -> special -> mentally challenged -> person with
learning difficulties

