Do you find the word "retard(ed)" offensive?

[Lovely2CU]

Prompted by

Jennifer Aniston causes outrage after calling herself 'a retard' live on U.S. television

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbi...ls-retard-Live-Regis-Kelly.html#ixzz0xAB8uzB8

It's not a word we seem to use here. The word "spastic" used to be widely used...now I hated that term.

 

[goofy!]

I voted "other".

If it is used in the proper medical context I have absolutely no problem with it.

As a parent with a daughter with Down syndrome, when I hear the word ******** used in a negative connotation to describe a group of perfectly normal people as stupid, then yes it bothers me. I can't but help feel like they are using my daughter's disability to mock other people.

That said, it does not bother me enough to say something (except to my own kids) or do anything about it. It is more of a minor irritation.

That said, Special Olympics is working with the national Down Syndrome Association and other organizations that represent people with special needs to launch a national campaign to erase the word from our vocabulary.

Spread The Word to End The Word campaign:
http://www.r-word.org/

 

[MushyMushy]

It's a word I won't use because I know if it hurtful and offensive to others, but it doesn't personally offend me.

My dad used to always call my sister and me "rejects from the retard factory." Yeah, my parents were quite charming. But it was always popular when I was growing up to call things ********. The taboo of that word really hasn't seemed to reach my area.

 

[bicker]

I agree. Words gain meaning beyond that imparted to them in the dictionary by their common usage, and often that excess baggage are connotations of offense that invalidate usage of the word for any other purpose. As long as there is another word to use, then there is no unselfish reason to not use the less offensive word.

 

[C.Ann]

Used in a way to belittle, hurt, or make fun of another person, yes - I do find it offensive..

 

[mamacatnv]

I voted other - when used properly and in the correct context I have no issue. Honestly I am tired of "special needs" its too broad and really doesn't get to what the problem could be. If a child is ******** to say they are special needs IMO doesn't give them the recognition they deserve.

 

[luvmy3]

I voted other, but I should have voted no because personally I do not find it offensive, but like a pp said I wouldn't use it because I know it can be offensive.

 

[LuluLovesDisney]

I do find it offensive when used in place of "stupid" or to describe a Special Education student or person with a mental disability. When used as a verb (to stay back, slow or delay) it is not offensive.

 

[wdwfan16]

I did not vote. It does not matter what I think whether it is offensive or not. Only a person who the word is associated with, such as a parent's, opinion that matters. I know people in the previous sentence and they find it offensive so I don't use the word.

 

[daughtersrus]

Like others have said, if it's used as an insult I find it offensive. My DD is mentally and physically ******** but it's because of a genetic disease, not something that she did/didn't do.

 

[MissyDVC]

yes, when used in a derogatory way, I find it very offensive.

 

[Jennasis]

No surprise, I'm sure, but I find it offensive, and am always correcting my family when they toss it around in front of me.

My sister and her boyfriend were waiting on line to get into a club last week. The line was very slow moving. The BF said something to the effect of "This line is ******* ********" and suddenly the bouncer at the door grabbed him and beat the BF unconscious (he had to be taken to the ER in an ambulence). While I have not gotten an update from my sister, it is believed that the bouncer has an intellectually disabled child.

Her boyfriend (a NYPD officer) is recovering. CT scans show no permanent damage, thank God.

I am appalled and outraged at the behavior of the bouncer and hope that he suffers the fullest punishment allowed by law. All of this over a word? Sure, I find the word offensive and unacceptable (outside of it's intended medical connotation), but to beat someone unconscious over it?

No.

 

[FireDancer]

I don't find any words offensive. They only have the power you choose to give them, so I choose not to give them the power to offend me.

 

[A_Princess'_Daddy]

Unless it's used in the clinical context, I find it highly offensive. As the father of a beautiful boy with some special needs, I just cannot see any reason to use the word. Used out of context, it's no different than any other slur, all of which I find offensive.

Unfortunately, it is pervasive in the language of many people. I have a colleague who uses it at least five or six times a day, and despite speaking to her about it, she continues to use it. Every time, it's like a punch to my gut.

 

[minniebeth]

I do find it offensive now because I know it is offensive to others~
I grew up on the word being a big and seemingly acceptable slang word in our vocabulary to mean "stupid". I even remember teachers in jr. high responding to students' answers as "that's a ******** answer".

I do try to redirect the word into something more appropriate when I hear someone (even adults!) using it.

 

[bookgirl]

I was a special ed teacher and no it does not bother me.

I did not put sometimes, because the only time I don't like it is when the kids call each other that, but it's not the term I don't like it's the fact that they are putting each other down, as in I'd be just as irritated that they called someone stupid or lame as I would that they called someone ********.

 

[We_Love_Disney]

People get so offended by terms.

The way the term regarding a female dog is thrown around, I would think more dogs would be offended.

 

[mster425]

I voted "other" in the poll. I used to use that word but don't now that I understand that it hurts people I care about.

This is from the Denver Post:

Using the word "retard" to describe me hurts

By John Franklin Stephens
September 1, 2008


A lot of people are talking about the movie "Tropic Thunder." One of the reasons that it is being talked about is that the characters use the term "retard" over and over. They use it the same way that kids do all the time, to jokingly insult one another.



The people who made the movie, DreamWorks and Paramount, and many of the critics who have reviewed it, say that the term is being used by characters who are dumb and shallow themselves.



You see, we are supposed to get the joke that it is only the dumb and shallow people who use a term that means dumb and shallow. My dad tells me that this is called "irony."



So, what's the big deal?



Let me try to explain.



I am a 26-year-old man with Down Syndrome. I am very lucky. Even though I was born with this intellectual disability, I do pretty well and have a good life. I live and work in the community. I count as friends the people I went to school with and the people I meet in my job.



Every day I get closer to living a life like yours.



I am a Global Messenger for Special Olympics and make speeches to people all over the country. I once spoke to over 10,000 people at the Richmond Coliseum. I realize that I am a voice for other people with intellectual disabilities who cannot easily speak for themselves. I thank God that he gave me this chance to be someone's voice.



The hardest thing about having an intellectual disability is the loneliness. We process information slower than everyone else. So even normal conversation is a constant battle for us not to lose touch with what the rest of you are saying. Most of the time the words and thoughts just go too fast for us to keep up, and when we finally say something it seems out of place.



We are aware when all the rest of you stop and just look at us. We are aware when you look at us and just say, "unh huh," and then move on, talking to each other. You mean no harm, but you have no idea how alone we feel even when we are with you.



That is why I love being a Global Messenger. I work for days telling my dad what I want to talk about and he tries to write it down for me. Then we do it over and over until we have something that says what I mean. We wrote this letter the same way.



So, what's wrong with "retard"? I can only tell you what it means to me and people like me when we hear it. It means that the rest of you are excluding us from your group. We are something that is not like you and something that none of you would ever want to be. We are something outside the "in" group. We are someone that is not your kind.



I want you to know that it hurts to be left out here, alone. Nothing scares me as much as feeling all alone in a world that moves so much faster than I do.



You don't mean to make me feel that way. In fact, like I say in some of my speeches, "I have always depended on the kindness of strangers," and it works out OK most of the time. Still, it hurts and scares me when I am the only person with intellectual disabilities on the bus and young people start making "retard" jokes or references.



Please put yourself on that bus and fill the bus with people who are different from you. Imagine that they start making jokes using a term that describes you. It hurts and it is scary.



Last, I get the joke — the irony — that only dumb and shallow people are using a term that means dumb and shallow. The problem is, it is only funny if you think a "retard" is someone dumb and shallow. I am not those things, but every time the term is used it tells young people that it is OK to think of me that way and to keep me on the outside.



That is why using "retard" is a big deal to people like me.



John Franklin Stephens is a Special Olympics Virginia athlete and Global Messenger who lives in Fairfax, Va.

This piece is still live on the Denver Post website here: http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_10351963

 

[BEloveDisney]

As it as used as a medical diagnosis no. As it is used as an insult or description of something that is stupid. Yes,

 

[tvguy]

When someone calls themself anything.......how can it be offensive?

The flip side, almost any word can be offense depending on the tone of how it's used when directed at SOMEONE else.

"You tuna!" "Lover" "Soda Jerk"."Pudding Head".."Spam for brains".and the list goes on, can all be offense to some depending how they are used.