Still is a medical term, for example, a retarded dose is one where the drug is released at a slowed pace.
Same usage as retarded timing in engines by delaying the spark. Then there’s all the chemical retarders for delaying reactions, like in mixing concrete or epoxy.
If you know music, you know ritard on tempo control.
If you get offended by “the R word” don’t ever become a pilot because the cockpit will exclaim “Retard! Retard! Retard!” on landing when you’ve neglected the throttle and it needs to be shortened.
Because of exactly what it means, it’s super common and useful. Ignorant people’s minds just go straight to a slur, probably because they used to use it as one.
On general social media? It’s gonna be 99.999% of the time and will be still when “intellectual disability” becomes taboo… Literally how the term ‘euphemism treadmill’ came about.
First of all, the word “colored” has multiple meanings. “I colored in the draweing” is not offensive. “I gave the paper to the colored” is offensive because this is a different meaning. “Colored” used to be the preferred term for black people in the US - hence “NAACP” still contains “colored”. But walk up to a black person and call them “colored” and see how that goes for you. Just because a word is not offensive in one meaning or context doesn’t mean it’s not offensive in another.
Second of all, some of your examples are not only a different meaning, but a different word. “Retard” as a noun is one thing, and is pronounced “REE-tard”. When an aircraft is landing, it is the verb, which is “re-TARD”. In general, in English, when a word serves as a noun or a verb, the strssed syllable changes. That can help you understand that it’s a different word, or meaning of a word.
When you use “retard” to mean “someone stupid”, the meaning you are using IS THE SAME MEANING as “mental retardation”. That is where that comes from. So like it or not, you are using that epithet. In the same way that if you were to say you “jewed” someone out of some money, or “gyped” someone, those also are epithets, with thet former being antisemitic and the latter being… I don’t remember which word applies to being bigoted against Romani, commonly called gypsies.
I’m afraid the ignorant mind - meaning that you didn’t know - is you. I hope this education helps. Your mind is clearly not stupid, don’t misread what I said. “Ignorance” is not a bad thing, it is a simple truth until you learn something. I’m ignorant of nuclear physics. But I’m not ignorant of where the word “retard” (in the epithet sense) comes from. And hopefully now you aren’t.
So you have a choice: Continue to use a harmful word when there are so many other choices available that are not harmful, or shut your mind and continue to use a harmful word.
Perhaps read first. If you had, you’d see I’ve already indirectly raised your points for you before. So I don’t know who your argument is aimed it. But, sure, call me ignorant and agree with me.
The discussion is about not striking out a word because of ignorance of anything but a slur.
To use your own example, we don’t refer to “colored” as “the C word”, so I don’t know you even brought it up. We don’t villianise words because sometimes ignorant people use them as a slur. Even the dictionary addresses this.
Still is a medical term, for example, a retarded dose is one where the drug is released at a slowed pace.
Same usage as retarded timing in engines by delaying the spark. Then there’s all the chemical retarders for delaying reactions, like in mixing concrete or epoxy.
If you know music, you know ritard on tempo control.
If you get offended by “the R word” don’t ever become a pilot because the cockpit will exclaim “Retard! Retard! Retard!” on landing when you’ve neglected the throttle and it needs to be shortened.
Because of exactly what it means, it’s super common and useful. Ignorant people’s minds just go straight to a slur, probably because they used to use it as one.
Except that in this case it is deffo just the slur one.
On general social media? It’s gonna be 99.999% of the time and will be still when “intellectual disability” becomes taboo… Literally how the term ‘euphemism treadmill’ came about.
I mean the use case we are talking about right now in this thread.
No.
First of all, the word “colored” has multiple meanings. “I colored in the draweing” is not offensive. “I gave the paper to the colored” is offensive because this is a different meaning. “Colored” used to be the preferred term for black people in the US - hence “NAACP” still contains “colored”. But walk up to a black person and call them “colored” and see how that goes for you. Just because a word is not offensive in one meaning or context doesn’t mean it’s not offensive in another.
Second of all, some of your examples are not only a different meaning, but a different word. “Retard” as a noun is one thing, and is pronounced “REE-tard”. When an aircraft is landing, it is the verb, which is “re-TARD”. In general, in English, when a word serves as a noun or a verb, the strssed syllable changes. That can help you understand that it’s a different word, or meaning of a word.
When you use “retard” to mean “someone stupid”, the meaning you are using IS THE SAME MEANING as “mental retardation”. That is where that comes from. So like it or not, you are using that epithet. In the same way that if you were to say you “jewed” someone out of some money, or “gyped” someone, those also are epithets, with thet former being antisemitic and the latter being… I don’t remember which word applies to being bigoted against Romani, commonly called gypsies.
I’m afraid the ignorant mind - meaning that you didn’t know - is you. I hope this education helps. Your mind is clearly not stupid, don’t misread what I said. “Ignorance” is not a bad thing, it is a simple truth until you learn something. I’m ignorant of nuclear physics. But I’m not ignorant of where the word “retard” (in the epithet sense) comes from. And hopefully now you aren’t.
So you have a choice: Continue to use a harmful word when there are so many other choices available that are not harmful, or shut your mind and continue to use a harmful word.
Perhaps read first. If you had, you’d see I’ve already indirectly raised your points for you before. So I don’t know who your argument is aimed it. But, sure, call me ignorant and agree with me.
The discussion is about not striking out a word because of ignorance of anything but a slur.
To use your own example, we don’t refer to “colored” as “the C word”, so I don’t know you even brought it up. We don’t villianise words because sometimes ignorant people use them as a slur. Even the dictionary addresses this.