# Can we get rid of "retard" next? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [May 20, 2022, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-get-rid-of-retard-next/964755 "2022-05-20T11:27:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-get-rid-of-retard-next/964755/102 "2022-05-20T18:08:10Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Become the language police in The Pit is definitely inviting a slippery slope. We already have the language police in the Pit for other slurs. As to the “euphemism treadmill”, these changes happen what? Once-ish a generation? I think Mr. Stanhope can adapt. ---
**Author:** ![sachertorte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sachertorte/32/3727_2.png) [@sachertorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sachertorte)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-get-rid-of-retard-next/964755/103 "2022-05-20T18:08:17Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > Does anyone genuinely associate “lame” with mobility issues? It’s one of those things that sounds like it belongs in an Edwardian novel, not a current term for mobility impairment. > > I honestly can’t recall ever hearing the term outside a veterinary context to mean anything except that a concept or action is not good in a sad, slightly pitiable or pathetic way. I’m not a word history expert, but I’m pretty sure the use of ‘lame’ as a negative adjective came from it’s use to describe lack of mobility. I mean, there are people out there that argue that using ‘gay’ as a pejorative has nothing to do with homosexuals because they don’t mean it to refer to homosexual men. ‘gay’ _just_ means: > [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > a concept or action is not good in a sad, slightly pitiable or pathetic way I don’t buy that either. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-get-rid-of-retard-next/964755/104 "2022-05-20T18:09:34Z")
I think maybe the “-tard” suffix is moving steadily toward the point where almost no one associates it with its origins, but I could be wrong. Once it’s there, we shouldn’t condemn it. It’s certainly not there yet, so I think I pretty much agree with you. In fact, I’m glad you brought it to my attention. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-get-rid-of-retard-next/964755/105 "2022-05-20T18:10:13Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > I think maybe the “-tard” suffix is moving steadily toward the point where almost no one associates it with its origins, but I could be wrong. I see no way of divorcing it from its origins. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-get-rid-of-retard-next/964755/106 "2022-05-20T18:12:23Z")
> [@sachertorte](#): > > I’m not a word history expert, but I’m pretty sure the use of ‘lame’ as a negative adjective came from it’s use to describe lack of mobility Of course. No one is disputing that. The poster meant that it hasn’t been used to mean “a HUMAN with limited mobility” since about 1910. One of my favorite examples of this is “lousy.” When is the last time anyone thought of lice (perhaps in addition to its current, extended meaning)? I’d guess maybe 1850? ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-get-rid-of-retard-next/964755/107 "2022-05-20T18:14:00Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > Can someone please show me the kids that are being hurt by this? Since you specified kids, here are some: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/6VAOVXU_Dec/maxresdefault.jpg "Rosas Law") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VAOVXU_Dec&t=22s) ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-get-rid-of-retard-next/964755/108 "2022-05-20T18:14:51Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Become the language police in The Pit is definitely inviting a slippery slope. I’ll agree that there is a slippery slope involved, but that hate and slurs are at the bottom of the slope, and that respectful discourse is at the top. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-get-rid-of-retard-next/964755/109 "2022-05-20T18:17:02Z")
> [@GreysonCarlisle](#): > > I see no way of divorcing it from its origins. That’s simply flat out wrong. Don’t be silly\*. I’ll wager that at least 10% of the words you use in any sentence had some meaning somewhere in their past that was in some sense pejorative at the time. (The exact percentage varies depending on how far back you want to go and still consider it the same “word”). Be nice\*\*. \*See what I did there? \*\*And there? ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-get-rid-of-retard-next/964755/110 "2022-05-20T18:20:25Z")
To clarify: silly: late Middle English (in the sense ‘deserving of pity or sympathy’): alteration of dialect _seely_ ‘happy’, later ‘innocent, feeble’, from a West Germanic base meaning ‘luck, happiness’. The sense ‘foolish’ developed via the stages ‘feeble’ and ‘unsophisticated, ignorant’. nice: Middle English (in the sense ‘stupid’): from Old French, from Latin _nescius_ ‘ignorant’, from _nescire_ ‘not know’. Other early senses included ‘coy, reserved’, giving rise to ‘fastidious, scrupulous’: this led both to the sense ‘fine, subtle’ (regarded by some as the ‘correct’ sense), and to the main current senses. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-get-rid-of-retard-next/964755/111 "2022-05-20T18:20:50Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > I’ll wager that at least 10% of the words you use in any sentence had some meaning somewhere in their past that was in some sense pejorative at the time. We’re talking about this particular word. Certainly, it is possible that the derivative words will ultimately divorce themselves from their source, but I doubt that will happen within the lifetime of Modern English. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-get-rid-of-retard-next/964755/112 "2022-05-20T18:21:11Z")
Fair enough. We’ll see. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-get-rid-of-retard-next/964755/113 "2022-05-20T18:24:10Z")
I have made that point repeatedly. Which is why we don’t need any personal insults. There is no need for a long list of what can be said if there is no personal insults. To be sure, some rants against public figures or the anonymous car repairman or something would still be there, but we’d cut out most of the problem, > [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Wow, it’s 2022 and “the smartest people on the Internet” are still using “retard” as a pejorative? I had to check the date of this thread to make sure it wasn’t 2002. And 'goat-felcher. " And so forth. > [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Would you advocate for the SDMB removing the BBQ Pit forum so no one can say mean things to another poster? No, not entirely. Some of the rants are excellent. 😛 I don’t know of any other board where you are allowed to call other posters names. > [@DavidNRockies](#): > > Many/most of these things ‘leak.’ They permeate our culture. They marginalize and dehumanize, and – incrementally – diminish the stature, status, and worth of people who are at least our equals, and – in any case – deserve to be treated as such. Exactly. > [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > It is a slur entirely on the level of “the n-word” and “the c-word”. Have we actually banned the c-word? ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-get-rid-of-retard-next/964755/114 "2022-05-20T18:28:37Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Frankly, I’d rather see a person’s character on full display rather than hidden behind euphemisms because the vocabulary police might get them. You’re not the first to make it, but this is just a horrible, horrible argument. Check your privilege, you’re not the one the slur is directed against. The agenda is not to “out” despicable people, I really couldn’t give a shit if despicable people are here but are forced to suppress their true nature. What is important is is to make this a welcoming place for everyone to participate without having their dignity as a human being slurred. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-get-rid-of-retard-next/964755/115 "2022-05-20T18:29:03Z")
Silly to think one needs permission to use a word. Anyways cunt isn’t banned in the Pit. The bringing back of the word off the restricted list was actually celebrated. Furthermore, this trend of labeling something and declaring it so is tired. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-get-rid-of-retard-next/964755/116 "2022-05-20T18:29:49Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I have made that point repeatedly. {…} Yes, yes you have… Going for a formal topic ban are ya? ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-get-rid-of-retard-next/964755/117 "2022-05-20T18:41:43Z")
In Ed’s [most recent guidance](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clarification-of-rule-against-hate-speech/964634), he said: > [@](#): > > **No slurs or racist cheap shots.** Do not post slurs or other cheap shots against minorities, including but not limited to groups characterized by race, ethnicity, religion, nationality, or gender orientation. Does that include disability, as well? ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-get-rid-of-retard-next/964755/118 "2022-05-20T18:42:09Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > What is important is is to make this a welcoming place for everyone to participate without having their dignity as a human being slurred. The existence of the Pit objectively falsifies this premise. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-get-rid-of-retard-next/964755/119 "2022-05-20T18:43:43Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > > [@Riemann](#): > > > > What is important is is to make this a welcoming place for everyone to participate without having their dignity as a human being slurred. > > The existence of the Pit objectively falsifies this premise.  Somebody got busted for faggot in the Pit [just the other day](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-bullshit-is-getting-fucking-old/964641/14). ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-get-rid-of-retard-next/964755/120 "2022-05-20T18:44:09Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > You’re not the first to make it, but this is just a horrible, horrible argument. Check your privilege, you’re not the one the slur is directed against. Good point, I think. You’ve made me rethink my including this in my reasoning. But I still don’t think it should be listed as a banned word, and I still think it occasionally can accidentally play a minor role as a “tool for outing.” But I agree that shouldn’t be an explicit reason to not ban it outright. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-get-rid-of-retard-next/964755/121 "2022-05-20T18:45:24Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > The existence of the Pit objectively falsifies this premise. How? The Pit is not exempt from rules about hate speech. There’s a huge and qualitative difference between being mad at someone and telling them to go fuck themselves and disrepecting the human dignity of an entire class of people. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-get-rid-of-retard-next/964755.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-get-rid-of-retard-next/964755.md?page=7)