How do you feel about the word ret*d?

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People unfortunately are very cruel and take advantage of social stigma toward autism to attribute behaviour/conduct that is not true.

Ah. I think we are referring to 2 diff things. Now your words make sense to me...thanks for explaining again.

I have never heard of the terms "spak" or "spec" before.

"ret*d" is a nasty term. That being said, I understand that it's widespread and people who use it (like people who use "autistic" as an insult) aren't necessarily bad people.

I care more about how people treat us than the words they use. I know a lot of SJW types at school who have all the trappings of "Autism Allies" and wouldn't dream of using words like ret*d, but are still condescending to us at best. I know people who have used those terms who later went on to ask me out (though I declined for separate reasons).

Point I'm making is that I care more about how much you value me than what terms you use.

Terms like retardation, moron, imbecile and idiot all once had legitimate uses in serious discussions, while the terms were all broader than current medical terminology, so was the general understanding of intellectual disabilities, developmental disabilities, mental health and related topics so it's no surprise the terminology was broader - you need to understand red before you can understand the difference between crimson, scarlet and vermillion.

Those terms inspired insults that continue to be used as insults, but people also use contemporary medical terminology as inspiration for insults, and they'll continue to do so in the future. The attitude remains the same even in the noises the animal makes to express it change.

That's probably the healthiest attitude to have. If people are hostile or disrespectful, it doesn't matter what euphemism they use because that phrase will end up tainted by their attitude too, in time.

ret*d is a verb: "The pain will ret*d his progress in physical therapy".

It's also a french word, meaning late: "en ret*d".

I have no problem with the word used properly, like any other word.

When it's used as a noun or an insult, I find it offensive.

It’s hardly ever used, these days, except as a noun-insult.

Occasionally I see it as a verb—as in “This ret*ds its progress.”

it's basicly just Latin for slowed down or modern Italian "retardando"

Ok so if I'm a structural or environmental engineer and I'm talking "boffin" about a "flood retarding basin" to my colleagues then yes...ok that's legit

If I have the choice of saying "slowed progress" or "ret*d progress" I would probably choose the former. I would prefer to use a less inflammatory word to describe the same thing.

I care about both...its not rocket science to remove the r-word from your vocabluary

I agree. If I tell you not to use it, and you continue to, I'll be upset.

I'm saying that I'd rather a respectful, openminded person who uses the word without really thinking than a judgmental jerk who knows how to act "PC" but doesn't actually treat us well.

agreed

It's not, but I won't and if you don't like it that'll be your problem and not mine - especially if at the moment I'm using it in a self-referential way.

I guess folks don't like their 1st amendment rights compromised

Reminds me of the racist "N word" used frequently in music and movies by black people.

The word has different meanings depending on who's using it against or about who.

Its often used to reffer to a slave like existance, regardless of skin colour.

When a white person uses it its quite rightly very offensive.

Given many autistic people are unable to live independently and get bossed around by NT's a slave like existance is not far from the truth, although i wouldnt use the N word.

Words migrate anyway if you ban the word ret*d people will simply use autistic to mean the same thing. "Stop being so autistic!" Ive heard mentioned just like the word gay is sometimes used to say something is rubbish here in the UK.

It is all about context.
I discuss the “ret*d” stereotype of autism. I find this an acceptable usage because the word is being used as an insult and used intentionally to not sugarcoat how bad the stereotype is. Similarly I find this acceptable usage of a slur “John Doe was fired after an old tweet surfaced where he used “n****r”. Saying he used “the N-Word” would be literally false. Saying he used ”a slur” is wishy washy.


“Autistic” has been used as an pejorative for a few years now so it is probably only a matter of time until using “autistic” is verboten. The replacement word will become an insult and the cycle will go on. Why should we let bullies dictate what we call ourselves?

Last edited by ASPartOfMe on 23 Jan 2020, 1:55 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Remember, I'm from Canada. I have Charter Rights, but not 1st Amendment rights. How are those rights protected in Australia? I assume there's something analogous to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.