# The politically correct campaign against the word "retarded" **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 13, 2015, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-politically-correct-campaign-against-the-word-retarded/712564 "2015-02-13T13:30:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2015, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-politically-correct-campaign-against-the-word-retarded/712564/41 "2015-02-14T05:32:29Z")
I grew up with the word retarded. And retards. It was not a compliment. I personally use the word “fucktard” more than I should, and I try to not use the word. It still comes out sometimes. I have a 10 year old daughter on the autism spectrum. She is not retarded. I hope she never gets called retarded. Hell, I don’t know how I would react if she gets called retarded in my presence. So, I get people still using the word retard as an expression and not personally directed at developmentally disabled folks. But I wish they wouldn’t and I try hard myself to break a habit ingrained over too many decades. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2015, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-politically-correct-campaign-against-the-word-retarded/712564/42 "2015-02-14T05:44:11Z")
Back in the day, I used to do my own car engine tune-ups. (Some of you can see already where this is going . . . ) If the spark plugs didn’t fire at exactly the right time, the timing had to be adjusted. The timing either had to be advanced or . . . electrically challenged? ETA: > [@Aeschines](#): > > BUT, eliminating the word “retarded” from our vocabulary doesn’t even begin to address this issue. **“Idiot” and “moron” were once considered appropriate terms for the mentally disabled but became pejoratives** (probably in the same way that “retarded” has. Or that’s the history I’ve read; not sure if it’s correct). So those words should be eliminated too because the basic intention behind their use is the same as “retarded.” And the same can be said of “stupid,” “dumb,” etc., for that matter. . . . and “imbecile” too. They all became perjoratives. You can probably blame The Three Stooges for that. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2015, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-politically-correct-campaign-against-the-word-retarded/712564/43 "2015-02-14T11:15:18Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > My brother, for a brief while, would sneer at something stupid and say, “That is so fucking developmentally delayed!” > > Which, y’know, expresses frustration with the euphemism treadmill, and also kind of misses the point. The point being that it’s legit to say that some things are too stupid to live, but when you do so by comparing them to folks with Down’s Syndrome, the comparison is entirely unfair to folks with Down’s Syndrome. > > “Idiot” and “imbecile” have not, to the best of my knowledge, been used as clinical terms for anyone in half a century. They’re safe to use, because there’s no analogy being drawn in anyone’s mind to people with actual mental disabilities. “Retarded” was part of federal law as recently as 2015, and while it’s made its way out the door, it’s still pretty fresh in people’s minds; using the term brings the analogy to the forefront. Give it a half-century, and I suspect “retarded” won’t be any more problematic than “idiotic.” Well put. But it will be replaced by some other term that some will find irresistible to use. I don’t get why this is so difficult to understand or why some so staunchly defend their usage. Don’t use a term that targets a subset of our society most in need of our protection as a frame of reference for ridicule. Because it’s assholish. Because it dehumanizes innocent people. Some other term will get the job done. The fact that “imbecile” once carried the same baggage is irrelevant, now, because it no longer does. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2015, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-politically-correct-campaign-against-the-word-retarded/712564/44 "2015-02-14T13:49:14Z")
> [@Doyle](#): > > I find it offensive as does the Special Olympics. “Special”'s headed down the same path so someday it will be as offensive as “The Retarded Olympics” sounds right now. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2015, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-politically-correct-campaign-against-the-word-retarded/712564/45 "2015-02-14T14:17:04Z")
[quote=“WOOKINPANUB, post:20, topic:712564”] […] People say stupid things. Sometimes out of cruelty and sometimes out of sheer ignorance. I didn’t say I applaud use of the term, I just don’t feel the need to try and control other peoples’ vocabulary. […]] It can be helpful to point out that a term on the euphemism treadmill has become hurtful, because some people using it are ignorant of its hurtfulness and don’t mean to hurt anybody. Trying to prevent anybody from hurting others when they mean to is a different story. But we aren’t necessarily trying to accomplish that much. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2015, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-politically-correct-campaign-against-the-word-retarded/712564/46 "2015-02-14T14:58:47Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > “Special”'s headed down the same path so someday it will be as offensive as “The Retarded Olympics” sounds right now. And when that happens, you’d be well-advised not to use “special” as an insult. Honestly, that’s a good idea now: if someone is expressing a particularly stupid idea, is it cricket to drag kids with mental disabilities into the equation? I think about the insult formulation, “I’d compare you to X, but that would be unfair to X.” In this case, that’s genuinely true. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2015, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-politically-correct-campaign-against-the-word-retarded/712564/47 "2015-02-14T23:14:49Z")
Insults are meant to be offensive. That’s kinda the point. Near as I can tell the only PC insults left are asshole, asshat, and so on. Most everyone has a butt. Ableist = retarded, stupid, moron, idiot, spaz, Downie, glue eater Misogynist = bitch, pussy, cunt, harpy Misandrist = dick Racist = insert your favorites, there’s a whole rainbow of possibilities Heteronormative = gay, fag, dyke, cocksucker Patriarchal = bastard Anti-Southern = redneck, hick, inbred, motherfucker ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2015, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-politically-correct-campaign-against-the-word-retarded/712564/48 "2015-02-15T02:42:31Z")
> [@marshmallow](#): > > Ableist = retarded, stupid, moron, idiot, spaz, Downie, glue eater Window licker. Everyone leaves out window licker. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2015, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-politically-correct-campaign-against-the-word-retarded/712564/49 "2015-02-15T03:01:02Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Back in the day, I used to do my own car engine tune-ups. (Some of you can see already where this is going . . . ) > > If the spark plugs didn’t fire at exactly the right time, the timing had to be adjusted. The timing either had to be advanced or . . . electrically challenged? Thank OG in the technical reports I write I don’t have to say the ignition is firing electrically challenged. ---
**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:** [February 15, 2015, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-politically-correct-campaign-against-the-word-retarded/712564/50 "2015-02-15T03:06:15Z")
It seems to me that the euphemism treadmill can only work if the words fit our basic ideas of insults. And one thing about insults is that they are generally short and either unique or easily inflected so as to be unique (like the aforementioned “special,” which is really short for “special needs”). Have you ever heard African American used as an insult? I only have as a joke. It just doesn’t lend itself well. And both parts, African and American, are not unique enough to become insults on their own. As for “retarded,” I used to reserve it for particularly bad situations, but then I realized that “moronic” always fits, carries the same tone, and is not currently taboo. I’m still searching for one for “spastic.” . “Fidgety” is close, but not quite right, as it implies hyperactivity, which is not quite it. Fortunately, I didn’t use it often at all. ---
**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:** [February 15, 2015, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-politically-correct-campaign-against-the-word-retarded/712564/51 "2015-02-15T03:11:40Z")
> [@marshmallow](#): > > Insults are meant to be offensive. That’s kinda the point. Yes, but they are supposed to offensive in a certain way\* and to the right people. Retarded is one of those words that is offensive to those with certain mental disorders, but is usually used against others. So you’re insulting the wrong person. Kinda like using “gay” to mean bad. Yes, it’s offensive to call the mentally disabled “retarded,” but that’s because it’s offensive to insult someone for their disability. That’s a different issue that is insult-related instead of word related. At most, using a more offensive words just makes the offense worse. Also, I assume you were joking with a lot of that list. Motherfucker is not anti-Southern. And most of your ableist ones are not ableist. The euphemism treadmill also means older terms get less offensive. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2015, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-politically-correct-campaign-against-the-word-retarded/712564/52 "2015-02-15T03:45:37Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > “Special”'s headed down the same path so someday it will be as offensive as “The Retarded Olympics” sounds right now. I think you miss that “retarded” does not have a positive meaning but comes with only negative connotations Whereas, “special” generally positive connotations. And even when used in a negative way such as “well isn’t that special” doesn’t have the same negative connotation as “retarded” does. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-politically-correct-campaign-against-the-word-retarded/712564/53 "2015-02-16T05:15:15Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Also, I assume you were joking with a lot of that list. Motherfucker is not anti-Southern. If you want, move motherfucker to the patriarchal or misogynistic category. It’s definitely not PC, whatever it is. > [@](#): > > And most of your ableist ones are not ableist. The euphemism treadmill also means older terms get less offensive. When you call someone an idiot you’re saying they’re bad because they have a lower IQ. This is offensive to those with lower IQs, or those who have developmental disorders. That’s ableism. Add autistic there too. That’s really popular nowadays. It’s also unlike “gay” or “retarded” where some might argue it’s not a literal description of the target but a different way to insult the person in a general sense. When people call someone else autistic they often try to stay accurate to the disorder. Could add some more categories. Body shaming: Ugly, fat, smelly, mouth breather (or maybe that’s albeist, guess it depends on why) Ancient racism/classist: Philistine, pleb Mental health shaming: Crazy, nuts, freak, fucked up in the head ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-politically-correct-campaign-against-the-word-retarded/712564/54 "2015-02-16T06:09:00Z")
The euphamism treadmill is real and it sucks. We have to stop changing what we call things just because some people use it offensively. Let people say offensive things, and we can judge them for it. If someone wants to use the word gay as a pejorative, it helps me realize that the person I’m dealing with is a cretin. The word “special” nowadays as someone else already pointed is now often used as a pejorative. In another decade or so, it may carry the same level of invective as “retarded” does now. So let’s stop finding new words to get upset about, etc. You make one word forbidden, you just invite another one to come up in its place. And gay is a good example where plenty of people use it positively, and plenty of people use it negatively, and it’s not hard to figure out which is which. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-politically-correct-campaign-against-the-word-retarded/712564/55 "2015-02-19T03:20:29Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > The euphamism treadmill is real and it sucks. > [@](#): > > …it helps me realize that the person I’m dealing with is a cretin. Did you do that [on purpose?](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cretinism) ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-politically-correct-campaign-against-the-word-retarded/712564/56 "2015-02-19T05:00:00Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > The euphamism treadmill is real and it sucks. Naw, it’s great. Without it, we wouldn’t have such a stunning array of useful words, spaced gradually on a spectrum of offensiveness. Older euphemisms like _bad_ (derived from a word meaning effeminate or homosexual) no longer carry any baggage whatsoever; if we want our speech to carry more of a punch, we can use words like _retarded_. In between we have all the other words we know and love, like _stupid_, _idiotic_, _moronic_, or indeed _cretinous_. English would be a lesser language without the treadmill. ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-politically-correct-campaign-against-the-word-retarded/712564/57 "2015-02-19T11:44:55Z")
I was just this week told that I can no longer use “lame” to mean uncool or boring or anything like that. Why? Well, from the [blog](http://disabledfeminists.com/2009/10/12/ableist-word-profile-lame/) I was linked to: > [@](#): > > “Lame” is an ableist word. It’s an ableist word because it assumes that having difficulty walking is objectively bad, and that therefore, a word which is used to describe difficulty walking can be safely used as a pejorative to mean “this is bad.” Using “lame” reinforces ableism in our culture by reminding people that disability is bad, and that it’s so bad that it can be used as a shorthand code to talk about bad things in general. My objection to this is that having difficulty walking _is_ objectively bad. No one hopes they have a spinal cord injury or need a leg amputated. No one ever sits back and says, gosh, life would be so much better if I suffered from severe fatigue from everyday levels of exertion. No one blows out the birthday candles and wishes for chronic pain. And I’m saying this as someone who has difficulty walking long distances or running any distance due to a chronic condition. If the only objection is that using language like this implies that disability is bad, then I’m one hundred percent okay with using language like this. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-politically-correct-campaign-against-the-word-retarded/712564/58 "2015-02-19T16:01:34Z")
The Black Eyed Peas changed the lyrics and title of one of their early hits: [Let’s Get Retarded](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l58NESfWDmQ) to: [Let’s Get it Started](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKqV7DB8Iwg) so they could make more money licensing the rights to the song to the NBA for the 2004 NBA playoffs. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-politically-correct-campaign-against-the-word-retarded/712564/59 "2015-02-19T17:02:37Z")
> [@NinjaChick](#): > > I was just this week told that I can no longer use “lame” to mean uncool or boring or anything like that. Why? > > Well, from the [blog](http://disabledfeminists.com/2009/10/12/ableist-word-profile-lame/) I was linked to: > > My objection to this is that having difficulty walking _is_ objectively bad. No one hopes they have a spinal cord injury or need a leg amputated. No one ever sits back and says, gosh, life would be so much better if I suffered from severe fatigue from everyday levels of exertion. No one blows out the birthday candles and wishes for chronic pain. And I’m saying this as someone who has difficulty walking long distances or running any distance due to a chronic condition. > > If the only objection is that using language like this implies that disability is bad, then I’m one hundred percent okay with using language like this. I’ve read similar stuff before, and I feel torn. On one hand, I tend to see myself aligned with stigmitized minority groups in general. If a group says something is offensive, I tend to take their word for it and act accordingly, even when I don’t “get” it. But on this issue, it’s not clear-cut. All of my life, I have dealt with a motor skills disorder. It wasn’t until I was an adult when I was given a diagnosis so I could describe myself as something besides “big ole klutz”. But it was never hidden from me. Even as a small kid I knew my clumsiness made me different, in a negative way. I suffered from the name-calling and the bullying and lack of understanding from everyone, including myself. But I also am quite “able”, both in appearance and in action. Someone who just overhears me say something is “lame”, without knowing anything else about me, would assume I was asserting my “abelist privilege”. Well, no. I know how it feels to be called “lame” because I couldn’t run as fast as the other kids on the playground or do jumping jacks or speak without sounding drunk. Haven’t I earned the privilege of “reclaiming” that word just as much as anyone else? It does grate to hear someone say they are a “little” OCD when they really mean to say they are nitpicky. I have some obsessive traits, and it’s not really a joking matter for me. But! I’m not going to assume that a person who says they are a “little” OCD doesn’t have the right to say that. A hidden disability is just that…hidden. So is “lameness.” So it’s complicated. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-politically-correct-campaign-against-the-word-retarded/712564.md?page=2)