Special Olympics fights use of word 'retard'

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It's not supposed to be positive, it's supposed to be diagnostic. "Retarded" means slowed or delayed. When my son was 15 months old, he was developmentally delayed, but he could have also been called developmentally retarded. It's just people's own person connections to the word.

(On a side note, did you know that canola oil is made from the rapeseed? But people didn't like the idea of eating rape oil. So they changed the name.)

But say 20 years from now, when all the slow kids are called delayed, and suddenly everyone is making fun of people on the playground by saying "Haha, you're delayed!" What word are we going to have to use then?

The simple fact is, no one wants to be thought of as being mentally slow, challenged, delayed or retarded simply because of what it means to be those things, not because of the word. I know it's not right and it's probably not PC but it's the stigma of being dumb that's the problem with the word "retarded", not the word itself. If we could actually make being mentally retarded mean something positive, then perhaps it would change.

I think it's an awful, awful word and I'd be happy to see it gone.

I voted "huh" because I've never used it and never will.

I'd far rather be called retarded than an ass burger

when I was in sped school, we used retard the same way black people use n****r, as a term of endearment. I honestly have no problem with the word itself, it's the intention of the people saying it that makes the difference. If someone wants to insult you, if they don't use "retard", that doesn't mean they're not going to accomplish their goal. Get rid of retard, and how many more words are going to spring up in it's place? Compared to some of the things I've been called by NTs over the years, retard is actually somewhat pleasant.

Am come under the MR spectrum [mild] and do not find the word retard offensive,in terms of people,it just means being slower at learning and taking in things,but am also take drugs with the word retard in [tegretol retard,called so as it's the slow release version],and then there is 'fire retardant' to slow fires down,do not think the word should be seen as unuseable just because of how it can be used.

if are an MRer or are an assumed MRer,it is easy to be treated as a lesser person,but the same ignorants who treat self as a lesser person do exactly the same when have got the multiple learning disability tag [or any other label have been given as alternative,if any],people need to rise above their use and remember there's a lot more words out there that have been abused for many years like crip/cripple,spaz/spastic,nutter,care in the community etc-lots of people use those terms on themselves to fight back against those who use it in a nasty way against them.

This insults mechanics, we advance or retard spark timing, disable has a whole other meaning.

I may be a tard about some things, but I willl get it my way, disabled means you will never get it, and I hope that is just them being retarded.

So the National Association for Retarded Citizens wants to speak for me? To whom, Autism Speaks.

We of The National Association for Associations that speak for people who are not allowed to join the Association, reject this.

Retarded means slower, but will get there. Progress was retarded through the verbal minefield.

Disabled mean intentionally stopped. Resistance was disabled by use of explosives.

Now what about Special Olympics. What does "Special" mean?

Is this an Olympics for people also called "Gifted" ?

No, Is Special the opposite of Gifted?

Is this like regular size becoming small, and the old regular SuperSize?

How much was the Ad Agency paid?

How much have donations fallen off since 2007 that lead to this re-branding?

Was the web site also upgraded in a package deal?

How has expanding your Franchise worked out?

Your recent inclusion of the dead, disabled humans, greatly expands the people you speak for.

While the dead are a large demographic, they are also hard to collect from, being Deadbeats.

Perhaps if they were called "Life Challenged"?

It's political correctness gone too far. Im not going to stop using the word.

I've never used that word, and I don't plan to start using it. I think that the word in itself, coming from people who think about people with disabilities in derogatory way, comes acrossed to my ears as being very obnoxious. I feel and think that word is very outdated. It's just as bad to refer to someone who you think as defective, as a spastic freak. That's just another way of saying retarded in my books.

I put no, because I honestly don't care, if someone would call me a retard i'd say 'oh well you're neurotypical, you have no authoritah in this situation' obviously joking

Also Ass Burger makes me laugh so much, like some people say I have Asparagus Syndrome, which also makes me laugh, as soon as you let the words get to you, thats when you are what the words mean

I don't really care people use it all the time at school, it's ok if it's not used to insult actually retarded people. Even retarded poeple call themselves "retard" in the slang sense, what about that retarded policeman on youtube?

People have actually thought the DS guy doesn't know what he is doing but he has his own channel as well and he can act and has his own sense of humor and he once made a video with his brother about that word. It was about stop letting as*holes take your word and it's time for you to take that word because because it's their word. I think that video was directed at people with MR though and it was telling them to take their word back and don't let as*holes take it from them who use it as an insult.

Retarding the ignition, retarded thinking. People seem to think it means someone who is "mentally challenged or similar" and forget its true meaning. I will continue to use the word as it should

sinsboldly, I choose not to call others by such a word for, I've often been refered to as such therefore, I'd rather relate unto others as human beings not lab mice in an experment of human cruelty.. just my own interpretation that's all for, I'd not wish to cause any hostility amongst others here..


ProfessorX

This same thread has been posted several times and each time I've said the same thing