Is it normal i'm bothered that people are bothered by the term 'retard'?

Idiot, imbecile, moron, and mongloid were all technical terms that described different levels of retardation at one time. A mechanic will retard the timing on your car if it's too advanced so it won't damage the pistons by pre-detonating...or dieseling.

I see it all the time. Words earn negative association, so we assign different words...but the negative association never leaves.

"Used" is now "pre-owned" or (good god) "pre-enjoyed." Seriously? Call it what it is.

...the word "special" is already starting to gain negative connotations. It is what it is. Call it by name. Whatever it is...the word that we assign it doesn't soften the blow...or make it acceptable.

I LOVE calling people retarded.

The word "retard" has been used as an insult with so much recurrency that it's lost its meaning as an actual mental illness. In fact, apparently the word has been banned from formal context, much like "negro." So, as it is no longer applied to those who are actually mentally handicapped, I see less harm in using the word casually. It still should be used sparingly, or it will lose its meaning and we will once again need a stronger word when we truly mean it.

Never did the word occur to me as a descriptor of someone who has a below normal mental capacity, but the asshole who parks his car where it takes up two spots in a full lot- definitely retarded.

I find it hypocritical that the ARC (which stands for Association for RETARDED Citizens) staunchly opposes using the word "retard". I see nothing wrong with the word itself, only the hateful context that it can be used in.

I just think they are fighting battles that they know they can win. It's a sad thing that these people are not normal and will never have the capabilities to live a normal life. This is their way of feeling better about it, as frivolous and illogical as it seems.

Retard is my absolute favorite word. My cousins kid is retarded and one day they said people stare. I almost said that's retarded. They are always complaining about the word retard. My godson is mildly retarded and loves saying retard.

I myself have a mental condition (though I'm not mentally challenged) and I know people who suffer from the condition, but I find such campaigns such as "End the R word" hypocritical. After all, we are OK with saying stuff like lame (unable to walk), dumb (mute) and even saying that it's politically correct to use them as insults. But when someone says "retarded", even in a neutral context (like "retarding force"), people go bananas. If the PC crowd has their way with this, then what they are essentially saying is that people who are mentally challenged have more rights than anyone else.

It doesn't bother me if someone uses that word. I have family that's retarded and it's just a diagnosis to me. No one says malignant neoplasm, so why say mentally handicapped or whatever else when you can just say retarded? I actually don't like it when people say mentally handicapped because I feel like they're trying to pity my retard family. As long as someone doesn't say it against anyone, I'm cool with it.

Some people have brought up gay. Same thing, as long as you're not insulting anyone, I don't mind hearing it. If I'm playing a game and the other team wins, I'll say, "that's so fucking gay!". I don't say it against gay people or anything, I just say it because I'm upset over losing. Like with dammit, I'm not really damning anyone.

It depends on the intent behind the word. I don't like it when people use it as an insult. Expand your vocabulary.

It's not a word I ever use in regard to people. If I'm talking about retardation, it's usually in reference to a planet going slower or some component of a mechanical system.

I say Fucktard yes?

"Fear of the word only increases fear of the thing itself"

-Voldemort, or some shit. Whatever, it's a good point.

I try to only use words like that in jest. I myself am not easily offended but I can see where the people who are coming from are. You wouldn't walk up to a Jewish person and call them a kike, or call a black man a nigger.

I see it in the vein of being a respectful person.... if someone did something *really* fucking stupid, that's one thing. But I try not to insult people unless we're just dicking around, just because I feel like you generally get better results with interpersonal relations when you don't resort to ad hominem. :P

Well, the confusion comes because "mentally retarded" has an actual, scientific meaning (which is usually given an IQ lower than 70 points, and can be considered a mental illness) which is different to the popular culture definition (someone who does something stupid, learns slowly etc.). There are two definitions in use.

The word has two different meanings, one which is much more serious and extreme than the other. Someone who maybe does learn a bit slowly but is certainly not mentally ill won't like being told they have a full-blown mental illness.

What I find surprising is that most people I've met seem to see it the other way around. When I'm in psychology class and I describe a case in which someone is scientifically speaking mentally retarded, people are shocked and offended when I use the word "retarded" or "retard", even though it's correct. The same people who act offended are the one's who use the word all the time in a casual sense.

I think it's only insulting when it's used to describe people who are literally retarded. I prefer to use the term "slow" for those people because it sounds nicer, and they're people with feelings. Using the word "retard" or "retarded" with friends when they're acting crazy/funny isn't bad though.

It's just a word; it has no meaning beyond the thing it's meant to represent.

I think what you take offense over is the intent behind the word itself. But in my experience "retarded" is rarely used to be insulting or demeaning when directed at a retarded person.

Yes, retarded. Deal with it.

A long time ago people with mental retardation were diagnosed as idiots as well as other terms which people started using as slang insults. Because of this they changed the diagnostic name to "mental retardation" which people started using again as slang insults.
Because of this mental health professionals are changing the diagnostic term again to "Intelliectual Developmental Disorder".
I wonder if in 10 years you'll hear people saying "Thats Intelliectual Developmental Disordered" when they want to insult something.

I say it all the time. I myself am retarded. Quite alright thank you.

Me too. I won't deny it. I've used the word "retard" for so long, and now they wanna say it's offensive. Oh well. I'm still saying it!

It's so riddiculous. The poltiically correct term for that group changes faster than any reasonable person can keep up with.

To compare, how many times has the official label for any other minority changed? Black people were Negros/Colored People for a few decades, and now they are African Americans/Black people, and no one is campaigning to end these terms just because racists make bad statements involving the world "black people." The Jews were always "the Jews" despite the term sometimes being used in a VERY insulting context. The physically handicapped aren't campaigning to end the words "handicapped" or "disabled" or even "cripple."

But for the mentally disabled the term seems to change basically as soon as the general public is able to figure out what it means, and then the new term is something more vague sounding. ("Mentally retarded" became "mentally disabled," became "intellectually disabled...")

I don't have anything against mentally disabled people themselves. But the politics surrounding them are really irritating. Most mentally disabled people I've met seem pretty laid back, but their parents and white-knights can and will get offended by ANYTHING.

Retarded people: You are retarded. Deal with it. That is what you are.

Retarded people advocates: You are codependent freaks who like parasitic people to suck off you because you NEED to feel NEEDED.

Autistic, retarded, downer, mentally challenged, developmentally disabled, intellectually disabled....YOU'RE RETARDS. YOU ARE ALL SLOW IN SOME WAY. FACE IT.

It's normal for you to be annoyed that people get offended as it is normal for people to get offended. So get over it.

I think it depends whether the word is being used as an insult or not.

As someone already pointed out, the meaning of the word changes overtime and terms become offensive. Personally I think the offense is a bit silly. Why is "stupid", "moron" "idiot" and "dumb" alright to say? Why is it fine to call someone or something "insane" or "crazy"? I personally think it is completely wrong to use retard as an insult, whether that be to someone of average intelligence or someone with special needs. Insulting someone's intelligence is indirectly implying that smart people are better than people who aren't as advanced. However, when you call a microwave a retard, you are not doing that at all because you are simply stating that you find it annoying or a nuisance. I agree that it needs to stop. it's ridiculous.

Do you know anyone who is retarded?

I did not read the body of the question.
But, IMHO.
The Term " RETARD"
Is and has been for a while, Redundant!
Anybody who has themselves a child with special needs will surely agree, how much more enriching life is.... Just because God chose a certain few people, like my partner and I. For such a special and precious gift.
I am one of the luckiest fathers I know, because my son never ceases to amaze me with his different perspective on life.

It's just as offensive as "gay"