# I Pit people who use the word "retarded" **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 2, 2011, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-use-the-word-retarded/566091 "2011-01-02T00:02:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-use-the-word-retarded/566091/1 "2011-01-02T00:02:32Z")
I posted a thread about my sadness at seeing Dick Clark’s failing health. After we got back on track after being derailed by a discussion disabled people’s right to be in public, someone said Dick looked “retarded”, causing another diversion of the thread. I’m being painted as hypersensitive for being offended by the word’s use. IMO, the word is no different than “cripple”, “faggot”, or “nigger”. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-use-the-word-retarded/566091/2 "2011-01-02T00:03:16Z")
> [@etv78](#): > > I posted a thread about my sadness at seeing Dick Clark’s failing health. After we got back on track after being derailed by a discussion disabled people’s right to be in public, someone said Dick looked “retarded”, causing another diversion of the thread. I’m being painted as hypersensitive for being offended by the word’s use. IMO, the word is no different than “cripple”, “faggot”, or “nigger”. Dude, you’re going totally mental, calm down. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-use-the-word-retarded/566091/3 "2011-01-02T00:08:27Z")
What’s wrong with cripple? ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-use-the-word-retarded/566091/4 "2011-01-02T00:12:08Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > What’s wrong with cripple? It’s lame. Ha! OP, you are a fucking moron, and you seriously need to get a life. ---
**Author:** ![rolandgunslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cdc98d/32.png) [@rolandgunslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rolandgunslinger)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-use-the-word-retarded/566091/5 "2011-01-02T00:13:29Z")
This pitting is retarded… ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-use-the-word-retarded/566091/6 "2011-01-02T00:13:38Z")
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV), Mental retardation (MR) is characterized “by significantly subaverage intellectual functioning (an IQ of approximately 70 or below) with onset before age 18 years and concurrent deficits or impairments in adaptive functioning” (American Psychiatric Association, 1994, p. 37). Subcategories differentiated by IQ scores include (DSM-IV, p. 40) ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-use-the-word-retarded/566091/7 "2011-01-02T00:15:36Z")
The poster didn’t call Dick Clark retarded. He said he sounded retarded. Which he does, bless him. Should the poster have said Dick Clark sounds Palin-American? Seriously, what word was he supposed to use? ---
**Author:** ![rolandgunslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cdc98d/32.png) [@rolandgunslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rolandgunslinger)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-use-the-word-retarded/566091/8 "2011-01-02T00:17:20Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > What’s wrong with cripple? “Holy crip you’re a crapple!” ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-use-the-word-retarded/566091/9 "2011-01-02T00:17:32Z")
You are being super sensitive, because mental retardation is an actual condition. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-use-the-word-retarded/566091/10 "2011-01-02T00:19:10Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > The poster didn’t call Dick Clark retarded. He said he sounded retarded. Which he does, bless him. Should the poster have said Dick Clark sounds Palin-American? > > Seriously, what word was he supposed to use? Speaking of Palin, is it acceptable to call her vagina a _tard-cannon_? I’m thinking no, but I’d like the OP’s assessment. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-use-the-word-retarded/566091/11 "2011-01-02T00:31:02Z")
I have no problem not using the term for actual people with mental disabilities, but I do think it’s silly not to be able to use it at all. Then again, I don’t really have a problem with “gay” either. I only don’t use it because I was never with the crowd that did. I was with the crowd that used retarded and lame. And I’d say that retarded is different, since it’s being used to mean what it actually means (i.e. stupid). Both lame and gay have their meanings modified to be disparaging. That said, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with **etv78** saying he doesn’t like the word. But pitting people over it is a bit silly. ---
**Author:** ![iamnotbatman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/858c86/32.png) [@iamnotbatman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamnotbatman)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-use-the-word-retarded/566091/12 "2011-01-02T01:03:25Z")
Retarded is just a fucking descriptive word. It doesn’t carry with it any implied hate of those who are mentally handicapped. The OP, for example, might happen to be 'tarded. If so, I have nothing but compassion for him. ---
**Author:** ![Nightfall1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@Nightfall1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightfall1)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-use-the-word-retarded/566091/13 "2011-01-02T01:05:51Z")
I’m 57 years old. In my teens and twenties it was perfectly ok to say someone was mentally retarded. My neighbor had a retarded child. A friend of mine asked what school the child went to. I told him their daughter was mentally retarded and went to THE SCHOOL OF HOPE which was a school for retarded children. He wasn’t shocked by what I said, the parents weren’t shocked. That was the proper term to use. I think the term went out of use because of people using the word retard as a cut down to people they didn’t like. As in “You’re SUCH a retard” “YOU retard”. I’m sure the term mentally challenged will go out of use in a decade or so and be replaced by something else. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-use-the-word-retarded/566091/14 "2011-01-02T01:09:48Z")
AFAIK, faggot and nigger were never technical terms. See, for example: [http://www.google.com/search?q=retarded+the+spark&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari](http://www.google.com/search?q=retarded+the+spark&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari) for retarded usage. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-use-the-word-retarded/566091/15 "2011-01-02T01:21:29Z")
Not using the word won’t make the medical condition go away. If it would, I’d be right there with ya. Frankly, sometimes people are retarded. And sometimes people who aren’t retarded look/speak/act as if they are. Yes, I think you’re hypersensitive. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-use-the-word-retarded/566091/16 "2011-01-02T01:28:35Z")
The OP is moronic. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-use-the-word-retarded/566091/17 "2011-01-02T01:38:41Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > The OP is moronic. _snicker_ Well done, sir. ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-use-the-word-retarded/566091/18 "2011-01-02T01:44:35Z")
> [@Nightfall1](#): > > I’m 57 years old. In my teens and twenties it was perfectly ok to say someone was mentally retarded. My neighbor had a retarded child. A friend of mine asked what school the child went to. I told him their daughter was mentally retarded and went to THE SCHOOL OF HOPE which was a school for retarded children. He wasn’t shocked by what I said, the parents weren’t shocked. That was the proper term to use. > I think the term went out of use because of people using the word retard as a cut down to people they didn’t like. As in “You’re SUCH a retard” “YOU retard”. > I’m sure the term mentally challenged will go out of use in a decade or so and be replaced by something else. Is _mentally challenged_ what people are calling it these days? That’s a horrible phrase. I used to work with the MR population, although we were supposed to call it “developmentally delayed”. Which, OK, I get that ‘retarded’ became a pejorative term and let’s get away from that and all…but delayed makes it sound as though these folks will eventually catch up, and in strict IQ terms, no, they will not. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-use-the-word-retarded/566091/19 "2011-01-02T01:46:05Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > The OP is moronic. [Also idiotic, cretinous, and imbecilic.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_retardation#History_of_the_terminology) ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-use-the-word-retarded/566091/20 "2011-01-02T02:29:56Z")
I try not to use “retarded” because I know it makes a lot of people tense up. And as someone who was teased with “retard” growing up, it sometimes makes me tense up. But sometimes it’s just something to say. Like, sometimes I’ll talk about myself doing something crazy, and instead of saying “crazy”, I’ll say “like some kind of retarded.” It just funnier that way. Also, it’s been a long time since I’ve heard slow people being referred to as “retarded.” Mentally-challenged and developmentally-delayed, yes. Sometimes I’ve even heard “learning-disabled”, which I always thought referred to people with dyslexia but were otherwise “normal”. So “retard” is quickly going the same way as “moron”, “imbecile”, and “cretin” did, and being replaced with longer, more politically correct words. The word “special” is also used insultingly. When I worked at Six Flags, my nickname was “the Specialist” (I found it funny back then and still laugh at it). As long as you don’t do it in the company of someone who is “special”, I don’t really see the harm. The same with “retarded.” And no, “retard” is not the same thing as “faggot” or “nigger.” Just like “cunt” is worse than “bitch” and “motherfucker” is worse than “poopyhead.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-use-the-word-retarded/566091.md?page=2)