the word "retard"

[nabraxas]

it gets used alot on the internet & upsets alot ov people.

but the word "idiot" doesn't upset anyone & hardly seems that derogatory.

however:

In 19th and early 20th century medicine and psychology, an "idiot" was a person with a very severe mental retardation.

Individuals with the lowest mental age level (less than three years) were identified as idiots; imbeciles had a mental age of three to seven years, and morons had a mental age of seven to ten years.^[9]

The term "idiot" was used to refer to people having an IQ below 30.^[10][11] IQ, or intelligence quotient, was originally determined by dividing a person's mental age, as determined by standardized tests, by their actual age. The concept of mental age has fallen into disfavor, though, and IQ is now determined on the basis of statistical distributions.^[12]

In current medical classification, these people are now said to have "profound mental retardation."^[8]

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiot

so "idiot" is actually quite a "bad" thing to call someone & it's still politically correct..YAY!

the world seems full ov idiots because there's one born every minute.

[Seldom]

Most people are fools, most authority is malignant, God does not exist, and everything is wrong. - Ted Nelson

[gilligan]

I'm a retard. On occasions a fucktard.

I have no issues with the word, in fact, 'tard is one of my favourite terms of endearment with my crew, but I know there are people who have issues with it as it describes a 'condition'.

[Rabelais]

I am a Gen-X. In primary school in the late 80's, use of the words retard, spastic, spaz, palsy, benny, benny-bus were commonly used between friends and foes alike - derogatory and in jest. I forgot about those words, mainly because I hardly ever heard anyone use them anymore, either in a demeaning or formal way. Especially "spastic"...I remember people in shopping centres collecting money for the Australian Spastics Associaton in the 80's...I can't imagine that word being used anymore in a formal context in Australia.

Then I think those words came back by reminicing Gen-Xers...I'm thinking of the band 'The Spazzies'...David Duchovny's character in Californication calling people retards etc. I don't hear many kids or teenagers using it, mainly people in their 30's who like to challenge current political propriety, or have a friend acting the jolly fool and calling them out as a "fuck'n spaz".

Observations is all.

[gilligan]

Fukn spaz! Now that's a flashback! Lol

[nabraxas]

apparently there's an interwebs campaign to try & stop peeps using the "r" word:

The “r” Word

 

Some people have mental retardation (intellectual disabilities). While mental retardation is not a bad word, when used to describe someone or something you think is bad or stupid it becomes another thoughtless hurtful word. People with intellectual and developmental disabilities are not bad. Their condition is not bad. The prejudice and discrimination to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities is BAD…and WRONG! Please stop using the word ‘retard’. It hurts individuals and families of those with disabilities.

 

 

 

The “r” Word Hurts Us All

 

 

 

http://therword.org/

[nabraxas]

Joseph "Joey" Deacon was born with severe cerebral palsy, a neurological condition that left him with a muscular "spastic pattern" that particularly affected his arms and legs. Deacon's condition resulted in a tendency for muscular Tonus^{[disambiguation needed]} in the form of flexion of arms and extension of legs. This prevented fine motor control in hand and arm movements and, although Deacon could walk with assistance, he used a wheelchair for most of his life. Deacon's speech was also unintelligible to most of the people around him due to cerebral palsy.

In 1981, the last year of his life, Joey Deacon was featured on the children's magazine programme Blue Peter for the International Year of the Disabled. He was presented as an example of a man who achieved a lot in spite of his disabilities. Despite the sensitive way in which Blue Peter covered his life, the impact was not as intended. The sights and sounds of Deacon's distinctive speech and movements had a lasting impact on young viewers, who quickly learnt to imitate them. His name and mannerisms quickly became a label of ridicule in school playgrounds across the country.^[4]

 

ahh yes, as a 12 year old we called everyone a "Joey" & imitated his speech & movements.

30 odd years later & i can remember this guys name w/no problem.

Edited November 12, 2012 by nabraxas

[paradox]

it has a very specific meaning & is commonly used in reference to engine timing etc..

i reckon if you're offended by someone calling you a word then you most probably are a retard, cause if someones truly trying to hurt you by calling you a word then they are most probably retards themselves, so why would you take anything they say seriously what so ever unless you were a retard yourself?

anyway, if you're offended when someone calls you a retard, aren't you kind of admitting that you are indeed a retard?

although, perhas if you have a loved one who has a specific mental problem & someone calls them a retard i can see how that could piss you off.. it's an out dated term in reference to mental disorders, it's extremely general & has been highjacked by school kids for decades as a derogatory term so now has new meaning, as simply a derogatory term..

clearly i'm confused.. but i do use the word. it's always used sarcastically & i would never use it to the face of someone who was 'retarded.' or to anyone i didn't know well & who understood my sense of humor.. if i did that it would by default most definitely make me a retard.

but lets be honest, i think it's fair to say the vast majority of humanity has retarded brain function to an extreme degree..

[Max Cady]

farking spadge!

[quarterflesh]

R Tard

[shortly]

& here i was thinking the term was evolving? I frequently get called an E-tard

[Bigred]

Remember the sped bus i remember going to school in the 80's and the sped bus would pull up, man it was full of psycho's I remember when i missed my bus and had to ride the sped bus the smell as soon as the door opened the droole on the seats it was like something out of

Steven King. The funny thing was the teachers used to call it the sped bus because it stood for special education and every time

my teacher said it i would piss my self laughing. it was the best of times it was the worst of times

Edited November 13, 2012 by bigred82

[qualia]

we used to use "minda" a lot, in reference to the institution which works with people with disabilities. this was accompanied by sticking the toungue between the bottom lip and lower teeth, and making a "hhnnnnn" sound.

spastic was another favorite, was also used as something mad and fun, "that flying fox ride was spastic!" etc.

[Amazonian]

My kids and i have a thing where when one of us is being silly, we say "Good one Rita" (rita= retarded).

I would never make fun of a person who has disabilities. I am sad for them, and their carers.

I am thankful everyday to be, and to have (somewhat) normal children.

[Psylo]

i reckon if you're offended by someone calling you a word then you most probably are a retard

 

Exactly. Grow some balls, retards.

Regards,

Psylo R. Tard

[bogfrog]

I sort of thought that the word had moved away from being used to exclusively describe people who have physical or mental impairments to describe the wide spread stupidity of all humans.

You dont hear many careworkers or people with impairments using the word retard, and i doubt they would ever go to any effort to claim it back like what happened with 'queer' and 'gay'...

Let society keep it I say, we all act like total retards from time to time.

[whitewind]

I used to hang out with the special education kids at school; apart from the stoners, they were the only ones who were interesting enough (read fun, crazy, wild). Some of them weren't that stupid, they just didn't give a fuck. It was a breath of fresh air in a world of anxiety and one-upmanship that I really hated. I think the term retarded refers to mental incapability, not physical disability, to those who seem a bit confused between the two, but it's rather outdated as there are many different forms of retardation, and there are many people who are very good at some mental abilities but very lacking in others, which makes them retarded in some ways but brilliant in others - people with autism, for example. Generally it's not PC to say retarded any more because it was used as a term of offense, which is why most of these words lose currency.

[Belching]

Earlier this year, there was an open letter by a Paralympian to Ann Coulter, about her use of the word 'retard'. It's pretty powerful reading, and expresses my opinion far better than I could.

http://specialolympicsblog.wordpress.com/2012/10/23/an-open-letter-to-ann-coulter/

[nabraxas]

^ i was looking for that letter to post earlier in the thread but couldn't find it, i'd forgotten it was to that pitiful excuse for a human being Ann-"women shouldn't be allowed to vote"-Coulter

thanks for posting.

[Rabelais]

Where dopes the term benny come from?

 

Not sure of the origin. There was that slow character Benny from the British show Crossroads that was on during the time...may have been appropriated from there, that's my best guess.

[Bigred]

What about Bevans i said to my girlfriend in school i was a bevan she didnt have a clue to young but i still think today im still

a bit of a bevan

http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&sqi=2&ved=0CB0QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.urbandictionary.com%2Fdefine.php%3Fterm%3DBevan&ei=ulmkULXCJseXiAfyvYBw&usg=AFQjCNFTYKOMZGSRCj0guKtw1qfEHaqwwQ