How dare you defend your son from me calling him the 'R' word?? YOU'RE FIRED!!!!

[Hyena Dandy]

But guess what: So do moron and idiot.

Etymology isn't meaning.

[Gravekeeper]

Why is it OK to use terms like "moron" and "idiot", but not the "r-word"?

It is, as Andara pointed out, the "euphemism treadmill". Terms like idiot and moron fell out of medical usage in the late 1800's early 1900s. They then slipped back into the usage of modern language without the medical angle.

From your own link:

In modern English usage, the terms "idiot" and "idiocy" describe an extreme folly or stupidity, and its symptoms (foolish or stupid utterance or deed).

Retard or retarded on the other hand is still being transitioned out by the medical community at large. It still has a connection to a medical term and thus using it as an insult is problematic. Terms like idiot and moron have long since fallen out of medical use and have gone on to simply mean, well, stupidity. But they too had a period just like the r-word where they fell out of favour due to people using them with a negative connotation connected to people with mental disabilities.

In another 100 years maybe the r-word will slip back into modern English without the connotation like idiot and moron have. But at the moment its still connected to medical terminology that is falling out of fashion.

To put it another way:

When someone calls someone an idiot; All they mean is that that person is, well, an idiot. They're being stupid or acting like a fool.

When someone calls someone a retard; It carries the secondary implication that the person isn't just an idiot, but is mentally disabled.

The words idiot or moron use to occupy the same space retard currently does because they were adopted as medical terms. This is what Andara meant by the euphemism treadmill.

[mjr]

Etymology isn't meaning.

Sure. I understand that. I'm just saying that it seems that one disparaging term has "taken hold". All three are used as insults, but one seems to be the "big one" that you can't say.

[Hyena Dandy]

Sure. I understand that. I'm just saying that it seems that one disparaging term has "taken hold". All three are used as insults, but one seems to be the "big one" that you can't say.

Well, yes, but that's kind of meaningless.

We're also at a point where THOSE terms have been unassociated for a long time. They've been abandoned, in favor of others. Retard is just now reaching the point where that negative association is dominant.

[mjr]

It is, as Andara pointed out, the "euphemism treadmill". Terms like idiot and moron fell out of medical usage in the late 1800's early 1900s. They then slipped back into the usage of modern language without the medical angle.

As far as calling someone "the r-word", I see that point.

But I don't think the word should be completely forbidden. Context is important, I think. I've heard of people getting offended at ANY usage of the word.

If I say, "I retarded the spark on my engine by five degrees", that is an acceptable usage of the word "retarded". Wouldn't you agree?

[TheHuckster]

If I say, "I retarded the spark on my engine by five degrees", that is an acceptable usage of the word "retarded". Wouldn't you agree?

Yes, but now you're going into strawman territory. Nobody on this thread, or in the article, is against usage of the term in what's obviously a different context. We're talking about those who use the term specifically as an insult to compare one to someone with a disability, which is insensitive and pejorative.

While I'm sure there are people out there who think any use of the term is wrong, I don't think anyone in the medical community are that extreme.

[mjr]

Y
While I'm sure there are people out there who think any use of the term is wrong, I don't think anyone in the medical community are that extreme.

Yeah, I understand that. I'm just saying I've seen it before. And people have lost their minds over it.

It's like the Not Always Right that I read once where Customer A had on a black shirt, and Customer B wouldn't say the word "black", because apparently that's offensive to some blacks.

[TheHuckster]

I wouldn't really hold Not Always Right to any kind of credibility. They've been known to exaggerate or fabricate stories. People who submitted stories to them tend to find they were published with a bunch of "poetic license" to make it that much more outrageous.

And truth be told, you can point to just about anything, and find at least one out of the 7 billion people on this planet who is offended by it. So, pointing out the few people who are upset that you said you retarded the spark on your engine is about as useless of an anecdote as pointing out the few people you could possibly round up if you had enough time and energy who are offended by the existence of potatoes.

It's only when someone with significant authority starts to point it out and make a beef about it that you should really perk your ears up and decide if it's justified or not.

[Estil]

As far as calling someone "the r-word", I see that point.

But I don't think the word should be completely forbidden. Context is important, I think. I've heard of people getting offended at ANY usage of the word.

If I say, "I retarded the spark on my engine by five degrees", that is an acceptable usage of the word "retarded". Wouldn't you agree?

It's not really a matter of forbidding or censoring anything (because that will only make them want to do it even more) but it's more "just because you can/do something" doesn't mean you should. Yes we have the right to free speech without worrying about going to jail for it...but as Bruce Willis demonstrated in one of the Die Hard movies (granted a terrorist was forcing him to do this but how was anyone else supposed to know that?)...walking around Harlem (or really anywhere else for that matter, especially in the modern Internet/YouTube/camera phone age) with a "I HATE N'S* sign is not a smart idea!!!

[Gravekeeper]

But I don't think the word should be completely forbidden. Context is important, I think. I've heard of people getting offended at ANY usage of the word.

Like Huckster said, no one was calling for it to be completely forbidden in the first place.

I mean cripes, I'm agreeing with Estil now so you know you're off base here. -.-

[Estil]

Gravekeeper, if you allow me to gain some more experience here and find out more about where I stand on other issues, I think you'd be very surprised with what you might agree with me on other things.

[mjr]

It's only when someone with significant authority starts to point it out and make a beef about it that you should really perk your ears up and decide if it's justified or not.

I'll buy that.

[mjr]

Like Huckster said, no one was calling for it to be completely forbidden in the first place.

I mean cripes, I'm agreeing with Estil now so you know you're off base here. -.-

Oh, sure. I get that no one is calling for it to be completely forbidden. I get where everyone's coming from. Now that I've got clarification about the words I mentioned previously, it does make sense.

[wolfie]

If I say, "I retarded the spark on my engine by five degrees", that is an acceptable usage of the word "retarded". Wouldn't you agree?

The GBU-10 Paveway is a smart bomb, but the Mk. 82 Snakeye is retarded.

[Gravekeeper]

Gravekeeper, if you allow me to gain some more experience here and find out more about where I stand on other issues, I think you'd be very surprised with what you might agree with me on other things.

That was a bit of a tongue in cheek inside joke. There's a long standing legend that if me, Greenday and Andara all agree on something then its probably a sign of the coming apocalypse. ;p