How do you feel about the word ret*d?

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I just think that people who use the word are being sort of caricatured as mean, careless, or immature NTs or stuff like that. And I'm sure a lot of people who use that word are careless and mean. But even though a lot of people use it, most are overall well-meaning people. Do you really look down that way on a good majority of the Earth's population?

As a verb it's fine.

As an insult (e.g. That's so ret*d) I don't like it. It's using a disability as an insult, which I take issue with.

As an insult towards intellectually disabled people, it's absolutely despicable.

As a technical term to describe a disability, it still bothers me but not as much. I suppose it should be up to the individual intellectually disabled person to decide how they would like to be referred to.

any instance where "ret*d" is used to mean "impede, slow, or block" with regards to an inanimate object is fine by me, and i think that's what TheAP is hinting at.

i don't even know what that's referring to.

does "unhinged" have any mental/behavioral health connotations, or backgorund? there's a couple people i know who otherwise fit that description cleanly.

I find it offensive.

I don't like it, in any context. I don't exactly get offended but I feel like the word has been used in so many ugly ways throughout the years that there's no way it could sound neutral anymore.

If somebody calls me that, I get in fightin' mode.

While you could argue that this is the result of desensitization, I personally don't care enough to complain about its use, or even see anything necessarily objectionable about it. Is it possibly an insensitive way to express strong feelings that one could find other ways of letting out? I guess. However, I find that life is a lot easier when you don't take harsh words to heart. Not saying that everyone is that stone-hearted or even should be that way, but a little stoicism goes a long way. If someone insults you, prove them wrong with your actions, at the very least by punching back. Where I live, if someone calls you a ret*d, chances are there's already a fight, so might as well defend yourself. And whether or not actually mentally challenged people are offended by its use, well, it's not my place to get offended on the behalf of others.

I have to check too many people on that note including my own parents. Although we already know that ignorance knows no age at this point.