When I saw the title of this thread, I challenged my husband as to how many responses it would be until someone called the OP retarded. He said first one, I said third - I was righter. 
This made me snort out loud. 
If you liked that, you’ll love idiocracy
The thing is, for there to be any justification for taking offense, you pretty much have to pick one of the following. Either A) “retarded” is an adjective describing persons afflicted with the disorder of mental retardation*, and its use as a general insult is offensive because it implies that retarded people are bad, or B) “retarded” has become first and foremost a general insult, and applying it to those afflicted with mental retardation is offensive because it’s insulting to them in the same way it would be to anyone else.
If it’s the former, then saying “Joe is in Special Needs classes because he’s retarded” isn’t offensive, because that’s the definition of the word. If it’s the latter, then something like “being a Cowboys fan is retarded” isn’t offensive (well, except to Cowboys fans, but they don’t count), because the word is a general insult and doesn’t refer to a specific group of individuals. You can’t go both ways, and there is no rational justification for taking offense at every single usage of the word.
*As for this:
…the fuck? Last I checked, there was no certification requirement for use of language. My cousin is anemic; can I say that in the medical sense, or do I have to use it only as a synonym for “unenergetic”?
Or option C) The use of the word “retarded” is offensive because a better, less derogatory term has come into use.
(cough) pussy (cough)
Apologies for the above remark if you are in fact an actual vagina.
ETA: or a kitty cat
ETA2: wait a second, do I need to apologize if you are a vagina or a kitty cat? I don’t think so. I take back the apology.
I absolutely hooted with laughter at this. Palin-American – that’s pure genius right there.
Well done.
Jesus man, do you have sand in your retarded?
Actually, I am very sensitive about this whole issue. I own a retarded pussy with a crippled asshole, and it frequently gets sand up inside its asshole. I am very upset right now, and I hope that in the future you don’t make hurtful comments like that.
This thread is totally developmentally delayed.
Dead on! There is a difference between the term retarded and the insult “retard”
Retarded just means SLOW. I’ll usually say he/she is MR. Developmentally delayed seems to be too euphaninmisticky, and special needs is too general.
Some people are too hypersensative. The orgional post was to a comment where someone said that Dick Clark sounded retarded.
So, it’s offensive because there exists a term that is less offensive than it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen single-sentence circular reasoning before. Nicely done.
But it does matter. Context always matters. If someone had said, “The growth of my cancer was retarded by the chemotherapy,” would the OP be justified in flipping out over it? Of course not, because in that context, “retarded” isn’t an insult. Noting that Dick Clark’s speech impediment makes him sound like he’s mentally disabled is not an insult, it’s an observation about the way his illness has effected his physical abilities. Getting upset over the use of the word in that context is, indeed, hypersensitive.
Of course he has the “right” to find it offensive. He has the right to be offended by whatever the hell he wants to be offended by. This isn’t a “rights” issue, and it’s ridiculous to even bring the term into this discussion.
And again, that has nothing to do with this thread, because the usage of “retarded” that set off the OP was not an insult.
And this is just fucking stupid. Yes, it is bad to be blind. It’s bad to be deaf. It’s bad to not be able to walk. And it’s bad to be retarded. Being these things doesn’t make you a bad person, obviously, but they are drawbacks. They are disabilities. They are qualities that, almost universally, are not wanted by the people who have them. That people who are blind, deaf, lame, or retarded shouldn’t be discriminated against because of their disabilities, goes without saying. They shouldn’t be excluded from society, or barred from doing things that they can do, just because there are other things they can’t do. But trying to pretend that there’s no qualitative difference between having arms, and not having arms, is asinine.
Wish I could take credit for it but I read it elsewhere.
And what term would be satisfactory? Dick Clark sounds mentally challenged? Dick Clark sounds special? Dick Clark sounds developmentally delayed?
Whatever word or words used to denote someone with severely stunted intelligence is an insult because no one wants to be retarded/delayed/special. No matter how many times we replace the word. You can start calling retarded people “Golden sparkly geniuses” and in no time at all it will be used as an insult. There’s nothing you or any other Language Police (I’m looking at you, Fish) can do about it.
No, its just a thing you are. (hurr hurr hurr)
Seriously, you are retarded.
They’re not disabilities. They’re life challenges.
I’d pit people who pit people who use perfectly useful words that have lately been designated as rude for no good reason that I’ve ever heard of, except that’s kinda mentally disabled.
Stealing.
Don’t worry bro, there’s plenty of tards out there living really kickass lives. My first wife was retarded and she’s a pilot.
Aaannnnndddd… now the term of art insult in grade schools is “challenged”. So what term will you new come up with as the inoffensive and hence “correct” was to describe a person of less than normal intelligence.
Sounds like some people here need to get off the short bus.