Retarded

Ok so ..
I take great offence to this word .
I know many of us use it in everyday talk but I find it really offensive when referring to other human beings .
I know its a real word and I know its meaning , but is it really necessary to call other people retarded?
Think of the parents of the child who is physically and mentally disabled. Imagine having your child called a retard .

It just really bothers me . Directed to a 'normal' person or not . I think its an un-necessary word in our language.

My immediate thought when I saw your topic was "oh my gosh, I hate that word!!!" and I was planning on telling you that, lol!
I also take offense to it. I dont like it at all!

I feel the same way about "gay" and any other word that people use out of context.

It's become so well used it almost makes it seemingly "okay", but in reality it's not. I mean I hear everyone use that word, even I use it. It's just in my vocabulary now, kinda sad though when you really think about it.

I agree ABSOLUATELY..
I hate the word Mongoloid... for Downs Syndrome...

I just think that if that was my child, how would I feel.
I have chn at my school, who have toiletting problems, actual medical problems and some staff refuse to clean them up when they have accidents. All i say is well if it was my child with this problem, I would like to think someone would care enough to help my child out....

I think ppl can be so cruel..We lead by example and if we accept pple using degrading "tags" and names for conditions...

I also prefer not to use the term suffering from, who says they are suffering from a mental disability, ... they may be perfectly happy the way they are,
sometimes a person is not a sufferer, but a survivor... ie cancer....Just a thought

Quoting ~CrankyMrsPreggyPants~:“ Ok so .. I take great offence to this word . I know many of us use it in everyday talk but I find it ... [snip!] ... retard . It just really bothers me . Directed to a 'normal' person or not . I think its an un-necessary word in our language.”

I agree with you completely, and I must admit I have been somewhat of a hypocrite. I have used the word jokingly with my brother/husband etc.. and I know that doesn't make it ok. It really hurts to hear people say it in a mean way so I don't see how using the word jokingly makes it right. A best friend of mine has down syndrome and we grew up together. (Our moms are best friends) I would always get upset and defensive when people would tease him and call him that. I feel really bad that I have used the word. I think it is extremely derogatory and I get really upset when I hear people use it. I'm glad you posted this. It made me realize that using it joking around or not, doesn't make me any better than the people who use it offensivly.

I don't like words that really offend any other person, but we all use it... I don't like whoever made them up and put them in our mouths. I don't like when others make fun of others or are rude to eachother, either... Some things will never change. Which is really sad. But, I totally agree with you. Words like retard, idiot, fag and stuff that really do mean something about REAL people whether directed to ones who are not are unnecassary.

It's so sad to hear people say things like that. It makes them sound totally heartless. It's like they're not even considering what it means, they're just saying it to hear themselves talk. Referring to other people in that way is just a no-no where I'm from. Thank God!!!
And I agree, I saw your post and was like HOLD ON... lol

Its so common most dont think of its meaning anymore.. its sad

I've always used the word renob, it came off of a tv show years ago(boner backwards) and twit. I don't tend to swear, but you know I'm mad when I use them 

i know what you mean.... its been a long battle trying to rid the word crazy from my vocab because my mom is mentally ill and saying that around her makes her sad, i can see it. its really hard to stop saying something that youve said your entire life .... as for the retarded word, i do not use it, nor do i use ugly or stupid. those are bad words in this house. they do not apply to anyone.

I dont have a problem with the word. I use it alot.

People have made it into a bad/offensiveword by useing it as a put down someone thats mentally handicapped..

My aunt is mentally handicap and my grandfather has never liked the word "retard". Out of respect for him we never use that word. That and the fact that just because someone may be acting stupid, the word, retard shouldn't be used to describe their actions. Retard does mean you are stupid, it means you have a learning dissability. It pisses me off when people use it out of context to cut others down! I know I'm no saint when it comes to the word but I try not to say it and if someone says it around me out of contextI've always made it a point to let them know I don't apprieciate it. I totally agree!

I cant stand it when people use the word, but what also really gets me is when you are out in public with someone that has a diablity, and all you get is stares. No one helps you open doors or anything. I hate that more than anything! Before I got married last October and moved to NC, I babysat for a 4 year old with severe brain damage...he had a stroke sometime between conception and about 6 weeks along in his mother...she did nothing wrong during her pregnancy...it just happened. It caused his brain to stop developing, so now he can not eat, talk, can barely hear, cannnot support himself, bascially is incapable of ever doing anything all by himself. I use to take him out to baseball games and let him out in the sun when his mother needed time with his older brother and people would give me some awful looks and stares and just point and laugh. This is not a laughing matter.

I grew up using and hearing the casual or derogatory use of the word retarded my whole life. I'm completely desensitized to it. The people I grew up with (in a suburb of New Orleans) tended to use harsh biting language unapologetically. Also, my sister has down syndrome.

I can understand why some would get offended, but I don't. {shrug}

In the last 10 years of living away from my hometown, I've had to re-train myself to be sensitive to certain words such as the n word. But retard/retarded...I can't make myself feel it is a big deal.

Depending on the use and intent of the word, I may get put off...for example, if someone really is handicapped, and someone calls the person a retard. That is just intentionally cruel.