Words

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I've never seen the word 'ret*d' used as much as I have on this site. Is it an accepted word to describe disability in the USA and Canada? I realise a lot of the way we use language in the UK is overly politically correct, but every time I see it on here it makes me cringe.

Mental retardation is a diagnosis...

If politeness/sensitivity to others is 'politically correct' then go political correctness!

Mockery is one thing insult is another.

peace j

Well, it's not a word I've heard used in the UK in a disability context. Is it the equivalent to learning disability or intellectual disability?

Besides, people aren't generally using it in a diagnostic way. It seems to be being used as an insult, or referred to as having been used as an insult, which you wouldn't get in the UK. I guess its just a cultural thing.

Here in the US, the word "ret*d" is a lot like the word "gay" - it's supposed to be used to describe the way someone is, but it frequently gets thrown around as an insult.

I do agree that it sounds politically incorrect, and I try to use other words to describe mentally disabled people.

It makes me cringe too. But a lot of these words are a part of the euphemism treadmill:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphemism# ... _treadmill

Another reason to hate treadmills...

I was going to mention the euphemism treadmill myself.

Though I feel I am insensitive to this word, because everyone uses it here where I live, even older people. However, I refrain from using it myself, because I hate when people tell me that a word is just a word. If it offends someone, I don't use it.

I suppose it's similar to the word 'spastic', which was an accepted work for people with cerebral palsy, we even had the main charity called The sp****cs' Society. But the word fell out of favour, the charity renamed itself, and now the word is just used as an insult.

Gay is an odd one isn't it. Did used to mean happy and frivolous, became a word for homosexual, now is an insult. I can't work out if it is an insult because people are calling each other homosexual, and that has become an insult, or if it has a completely different meaning now. I'm not young enough to get that one. Either way, I don't like it. But that's probably just my problem.

I agree about the use of euphamisms. I guess its more cultural than anything. I know language evolves all the time, but it doesn't seem to be evolving in a particularly nice way, if you know what I mean.

There's an episode of South Park where the kids call this obnoxious group of bikers with really loud motorcycles gay. The homosexuals get all offended, but the kids explain something like, "You're not gay. We like you."

I love South Park, although I don't always understand it. It seems to be an incredibly moral show, that many people think is an incredibly immoral show. I saw that episode, although I can't remember it very well, but I know I enjoyed it.

Another odd thing is the way certain groups use words that others use against them as an insult. I'm bisexual, and I used to spend a lot of time in gay clubs when I was younger. People would often use terms like fag or queer to describe themselves, and it was supposed to be empowering, taking the insult away from the people who would use it against them. You get a similar thing in some hip-hop/rap songs. I've never really understood that idea. If a word is actually developed as an insult, how can using it against yourself empower you? I think that's completely beyond me.

Who cares? The word is adequate to describe some conditions (it turns up in medical dictionaries, the word literally means "slow/ed"). Any bad connotations on the word are inherited from usage. First idiot, then moron, ret*d, handicapped, special needs, special, a constant language change to try avoid the word turning into an insult. But, if they ever read Shakespeare they would know "a rose by any other name..."

I agree. But I still care.

Yes but Scope did not actually consult people with cerebral pallsy on what they felt regarding the re-branding of the term. They actually preferred to refer to themselves still as sp****cs because they felt that to change the name in order to avoid the social stigma associated with the misuse of the term was giving into those that used the word abusively.

ret*d is used in the United States. They refer to people of the same trade as me as intellectual retardation nurses over there. Over here I'm a learning disability nurse. To me a society is best judged by how it cares for the most vulnerable. And well judging by the US track record on disability I can't say it has much to be proud off in this field.

Just pick your favourite word from the bunch, and don't use something patronising like "special". Handicapped, Psychotic, ret*d are the words I use, as the are phonetically nice, although co notationally awkward. Still, its a language speakers duty to try and ensure sure the better words survive, by shaking the bad connotations from them.

I've only used variations od thr R-Word once on WP and I did it out of anger. I haven't used it before or after that time. I didn't use it as an insult, though.

ret*d has lost most of its original meaning is mainly used to mean 'you did something stupid', at least in America.