The origin of the term is a French word that means "slow" or "impeded", which is how some view those people. And even the French word gets pushback. Here in bilingual Canada, the French word was included in a soft drink bottle top collection and people wrongly assumed they meant the slur.
The only way I would refer to any variation of it is by talking about flame retardant clothes, since that actually a reflection of the French meaning.
Que c'est à propos. Muchas gracias por la lección. If people were only more aware of the real meanings behind words, that might make them aware of how easily words transition from merely descriptive to perjorative. So it's on us all to help people navigate linguistic terrain with an eye toward keeping to the high ground and avoiding the deep ugly chasms of insulting others.
I remember the horrible use of the word as a child in the 70s. How interesting that when I lived in Ontario, I don't remember the word's use, ever. Moving to Texas in 1978? It was everywhere, and persisted through high school (1987).
If I examine my mental process, when I hear "retarded" I first think of retarding the spark, when cars had distributors and timing. But it immediately drops to the pejorative sense. Haven't quite wiped that out.
I was called retarded quite a bit. The only epithets topping it were "queer/queerbait" and "fag/faggot". None of them hurt me that much, as I almost instantly recognized the people using those words had no idea what they meant.
Oh! Just remembered an incident. Fifth or sixth grade, early 80s. We waited for the bus in a stifling gym. This kid kept yelling "hey retard/you're retarded" at me. It was annoying, but to the point I found a sympathetic teacher and asked her to please explain to this kid what retarded meant. She pulled the kid aside, and I could hear her carefully, if a little forcefully, explaining to this boy what he was really saying. They were still talking when my bus came. Maybe that was a turning point, as nobody called me that again.
That's amazing the teacher took that kid aside. I'm sure they all knew what it meant in the sense that the kids on the short bus in our schools were "MRs" - and they also knew calling another kid that meant they could be subject to getting punched out. I think I'm more violent than you, Dex. If kids would have called me that, I would have punched them.
Oddly I never used that word in high school or to refer to a person who seemed to be slow. If they were a social misfit, I'd likely befriend them, because I wasn't at all comfortable among most southeast Texas social groups .To me, using that word on the non-misfits was more fitting. 😂
As a young adult I often used the word retarded to refer to some behavior that seemed backward, but always in regard to someone much higher in the social hierarchy than me, to basically classify some act as clueless, imho. 😊 But as pushback against the word being used because of it's ubiquitous use as a perjorative, I realized that was the right attitude and that I didn't want my kids picking up that bad habit, among many others, of course. 🚬🍺
It's obvious to most humans with a conscience that insults are the weapons of the fascistically inclined. And to close with a response to your point regarding those who use cruel put-downs to make a point : the only argument you win with insults is one with yourself and your very small circle of sad and angry friends. You completely turn off anyone else who's listening. ✌️
Since so many English words are derived from other languages, it's up to us to understand the origin of the terms and how they can be used properly, if at all.
The resurgence of violence and outright hate doesn't bode well. It's typical of societies coming apart, which has been the right's/facist project for over 40 years, or 50 if you count the likes of John Birchers and Libertarians.
I also think about the evolutionary/wildlife biology concept of "excess males". There are a LOT of violent, immature, emotionally stunted males out there that really have no hope of attracting any woman that herself wasn't already horribly abused. In the wild, such males get angry, fight among themselves, and disable/kill a significant number. With us modern humans, I think a lot of this comes from abuse. There is so, so much abuse, sexual and otherwise. Having no defense against your creepy uncle breeds a lot of confusion, self-loathing, and transference of these things into bigotry and hatred.
Also reminds me of an lawyer anecdote I just learned. If the law is on your side, hammer the law. If the facts are on your side, hammer the facts. If neither are on your side, hammer the table. Many of these people are sociopaths, or want the approval of sociopaths, so they hammer the table, pseudo-science, or the law, if and only if it's been corrupted by sociopaths.
The origin of the term is a French word that means "slow" or "impeded", which is how some view those people. And even the French word gets pushback. Here in bilingual Canada, the French word was included in a soft drink bottle top collection and people wrongly assumed they meant the slur.
The only way I would refer to any variation of it is by talking about flame retardant clothes, since that actually a reflection of the French meaning.
Right - slowing something down. There is nothing wrong with that. The other? BAD!
Que c'est à propos. Muchas gracias por la lección. If people were only more aware of the real meanings behind words, that might make them aware of how easily words transition from merely descriptive to perjorative. So it's on us all to help people navigate linguistic terrain with an eye toward keeping to the high ground and avoiding the deep ugly chasms of insulting others.
I remember the horrible use of the word as a child in the 70s. How interesting that when I lived in Ontario, I don't remember the word's use, ever. Moving to Texas in 1978? It was everywhere, and persisted through high school (1987).
If I examine my mental process, when I hear "retarded" I first think of retarding the spark, when cars had distributors and timing. But it immediately drops to the pejorative sense. Haven't quite wiped that out.
I was called retarded quite a bit. The only epithets topping it were "queer/queerbait" and "fag/faggot". None of them hurt me that much, as I almost instantly recognized the people using those words had no idea what they meant.
Oh! Just remembered an incident. Fifth or sixth grade, early 80s. We waited for the bus in a stifling gym. This kid kept yelling "hey retard/you're retarded" at me. It was annoying, but to the point I found a sympathetic teacher and asked her to please explain to this kid what retarded meant. She pulled the kid aside, and I could hear her carefully, if a little forcefully, explaining to this boy what he was really saying. They were still talking when my bus came. Maybe that was a turning point, as nobody called me that again.
That's amazing the teacher took that kid aside. I'm sure they all knew what it meant in the sense that the kids on the short bus in our schools were "MRs" - and they also knew calling another kid that meant they could be subject to getting punched out. I think I'm more violent than you, Dex. If kids would have called me that, I would have punched them.
Oddly I never used that word in high school or to refer to a person who seemed to be slow. If they were a social misfit, I'd likely befriend them, because I wasn't at all comfortable among most southeast Texas social groups .To me, using that word on the non-misfits was more fitting. 😂
As a young adult I often used the word retarded to refer to some behavior that seemed backward, but always in regard to someone much higher in the social hierarchy than me, to basically classify some act as clueless, imho. 😊 But as pushback against the word being used because of it's ubiquitous use as a perjorative, I realized that was the right attitude and that I didn't want my kids picking up that bad habit, among many others, of course. 🚬🍺
It's obvious to most humans with a conscience that insults are the weapons of the fascistically inclined. And to close with a response to your point regarding those who use cruel put-downs to make a point : the only argument you win with insults is one with yourself and your very small circle of sad and angry friends. You completely turn off anyone else who's listening. ✌️
True words, Gera - it reflects so much on those who use them.
Since so many English words are derived from other languages, it's up to us to understand the origin of the terms and how they can be used properly, if at all.
The resurgence of violence and outright hate doesn't bode well. It's typical of societies coming apart, which has been the right's/facist project for over 40 years, or 50 if you count the likes of John Birchers and Libertarians.
I also think about the evolutionary/wildlife biology concept of "excess males". There are a LOT of violent, immature, emotionally stunted males out there that really have no hope of attracting any woman that herself wasn't already horribly abused. In the wild, such males get angry, fight among themselves, and disable/kill a significant number. With us modern humans, I think a lot of this comes from abuse. There is so, so much abuse, sexual and otherwise. Having no defense against your creepy uncle breeds a lot of confusion, self-loathing, and transference of these things into bigotry and hatred.
Also reminds me of an lawyer anecdote I just learned. If the law is on your side, hammer the law. If the facts are on your side, hammer the facts. If neither are on your side, hammer the table. Many of these people are sociopaths, or want the approval of sociopaths, so they hammer the table, pseudo-science, or the law, if and only if it's been corrupted by sociopaths.
I hope you're not right, Dex. Maybe wars are what gets rid of this type of man. I don't know - I hate that idea. But you could be right.