The Unwanted and Unneeded Return of the R-Word

I saw how NPR had a segment discussing, "The worrisome return of the R-Word," late last month. It is a good listen and only 14 minutes long. The general idea is how the word, "Retarded," started out in medical settings, became an insult/slur, faded away, and unfortunately clawed its way back into some of the cultural dialogue (and is nowadays often used to insult those with differing political views or say unkind things about politicians). Unlike slurs that are more specific to race, gender, sexual orientation, or religion, the general thrust of insults that suggest disability is that someone is somehow less-than and incompetent--as if those with a disability are too. You've doubtlessly seen folks claiming, "I'm not insulting the disabled, I'm just calling out regular people who are being stupid," but that's equivalent to claiming you didn't start a forest fire but are happy to throw kindling on it.

I never saw the appeal of using, "Retarded," as a slur when I was a child in the 1990's, even though it was at that time quite the common insult for some to utilize. It seemed like in the process of trying to hurt one person's feelings, you were being mean to those with an intellectual disability who did nothing wrong to you. It was never in my vocabulary and even as I've gotten older and will sometimes swear when upset you're more likely to hear me utter, "Shit," or tell someone they're an "Asshole," than to ever throw out an R-word or any other kind of slur related to a demographic. If you keep a word out of your vocabulary, there is little chance you'll purposely or accidentally use it. I quite dislike this word seeming to creep back into dialogues and arguments, be they in-person or via the internet. You could say I'm being oversensitive and whining, but I don't see why anyone desires to even hint at someone being disabled as a kind of insult. It makes little logical sense, is hurtful, and diminishes the struggles faced by those with a real disability, as well as what they are capable of despite any challenges they face. Basically, use your creativity when hurling insults instead of resorting to such a lazy and thoughtless word. Put some work into your put-downs, people!