Even nigger?
I think pre-internet, no one would bat an eye over the term.Is this a USA thing? I don't ever remember it being a big insult when we were growing up. I don't generally use it, sort of like faggot in CS1.6, or fayg0t. Tend to use the classics like cockwomble, nobhead, shithead or thundercunt.
I don't say it...as quite frankly, it makes the person in question sound like one to even use such a slow reactive word.
I work, or worked, in Special Education for most of my adult life.
The “R-word Campaign” is always a focus every year and made me more aware of the hurt this word can others.
I never say it as an adjective. Once in the last few years I used it, at home, as a verb in a conversation about how growing up today is different than growing up when I was kid, I said something like “social media, cell phones, the internet age has been retarded and mutated the maturation process of our youth.”
You guys in the UK seriously have the best sounding insults.We in the UK have much more offensive words like Spaz, Mong or Thick as Pig Shit.
Retard/ed is merely a scientific word for slow to react, such as Fire Retardant.
I don't say it...as quite frankly, it makes the person in question sound like one to even use such a slow reactive word.
There is no tangible logic to the actual words and how they are taken.Can you elaborate more on the hurt it causes others? A lot of posters in here say they'd never call someone who is actually, technically retarded.. retarded, that they'd only use it to describe someone "acting" that way.
I would imagine lumping in people acting stupid/out of sort/etc with people who can't help it wouldn't be particularly well received, but is there other reasons why it's so hurtful?
I've seen the word used less and less over time, but today I was driving and saw a kid riding his skateboard looking at his phone and he went straight into a hedge and I thought "retard", out of nowhere.
Got me thinking what the GAF has to say about it's use. What say you?
EDIT: Also, I wanted to put a poll in, but couldn't figure out how, am I retarded?
We in the UK have much more offensive words like Spaz, Mong or Thick as Pig Shit.
Retard/ed is merely a scientific word for slow to react, such as Fire Retardant.
I don't say it...as quite frankly, it makes the person in question sound like one to even use such a slow reactive word.
This. Before retards, there were idiots, morons and imbeciles. All had the same meaning, all were replaced with new words because of negative connotations.If you get rid of it the next word on the euphemism treadmill will just take it's place.
Urban Dictionary: Euphemism Treadmill
A euphemism is a term or a phrase used by individuals to refer to a controversial topic as overwhelmingly inoffensive as possible, as opposed to being politically incorrect (aka "enthusiastically offensive"). Unfortunately, the overuse of a euphemism will eventually devolve its meaning to the...www.urbandictionary.com
I don't judge a person's entire character based upon one word they might utter under various circumstances.
"Retard", "retarded", i.e. the only reason we don't use such words in common use is because the PC police have ordained it's unacceptable. A bit like saying "Jesus fucking Christ" in 12th century Holy Roman Empire was also super bad. Some of us have enough perspective to not care about the current-year diktats forcing strange verbal norms upon the people for whatever "population control" reasons.
You guys in the UK seriously have the best sounding insults.
Like if someone said I was thick as pig shit, I would probably laugh with them at myself.
We use mong here too. Like when someone does something really stupid while driving, I may say to my wife “lol did you see that mong cunt?”