Maybe I should watch the Special Olympics… I guess if you guys are right, that would answer my questions about it. Congrats to your son, MaryAnnQ. And you’re right, funnee, it does seem that most people who are considered mentally retarded have down’s syndrome, otherwise (and I’m not trolling here) they just get labled learning disabled or something like that. So I guess the people who are only mildly mentally handicapped just get mixed in with the rest of society and are considered normal, albeit somewhat slow. I guess we really only seperate the persons who have obvious physical problems.
And this question was brought on by me being at my aunts house, and there was this angelic looking little 5 year old girl who kept wanting to play pool with us, so we let her. After she left we found out her mom thought we were just the sweetest people (my cousin and I) because we treated her daughter “just like one of the other kids”. Only then did we find out she had some sort of mental handicap.
–Tim
We are the children of the Eighties. We are not the first “lost generation” nor today’s lost generation; in fact, we think we know just where we stand - or are discovering it as we speak.
‘Retards?’ I thought that was reserved for severely-able body types that haven’t a clue?
As for what looks like ‘retards’ to the PC ignorant, these are most likely victims of Down’s Syndrome. This means they have an extra[?] chromosome which causes similar physical characteristics in the face. But then any severely able body person would have known that.
PS: Ive seen some extrememly gorgeous women with Downs, or borderline Downs. Of course when I ask ‘How are you?’ she would would say ‘Would you like a bag with that?’
“Re-tard” (pronounced as a spondee) was always an insult, but “retarded” was politically correct until some time in the 60’s or 70’s.
But as to “Why don’t we see gorgeous men and women who are mentally incompetent?” – What planet are you living on? Not only are there plenty of them, they’re the new American ideal!
John W. Kennedy
“Compact is becoming contract; man only earns and pays.”
– Charles Williams
Geez, Homer…you jerk-off! Do you have any idea how your “shorthand” may have offended any number of people on this board? Do you think that ALL mentally handicapped people have pin-heads like you for relatives? NO! They have loving family members who feel the cut of that sword as surely as it was going through their own flesh. Shut the fuck up and go find something to do that would give evidence of some brain activity on your part.
The correct term for persons who were, in less enlightened times, referred to as retarded is developmentally disabled. The shorthand version of this, used all the time in the field, is DD.
Hope that helps.
“I should not take bribes and Minister Bal Bahadur KC should not do so either. But if clerks take a bribe of Rs 50-60 after a hard day’s work, it is not an issue.” ----Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, Current Prime Minister of Nepal