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Eliminating the R word from daily speech

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conundrum
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03 Jan 2013, 7:18 pm

Declension wrote:
I've heard people say that jokingly using the word "ret*d" doesn't have to have an offensive edge to it - after all, isn't it just a word with multiple meanings? I've also heard people say the same thing about the word "gay". On the face of it, this makes perfect sense.

On the other hand, in my experience, people who use words like "gay" and "ret*d" jokingly are not very nice people. And I don't think that's a coincidence.


This.

If the film IDIOCRACY is to be believed (I know, I know, it shouldn't be taken that seriously), eventually people may just not know any better. 8O That is a far worse scenario, I think.

(Of course, then, no one would care, either....)


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Jitro
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03 Jan 2013, 7:42 pm

"fire retardant"



conundrum
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03 Jan 2013, 7:56 pm

Jitro wrote:
"fire retardant"


Good point.


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03 Jan 2013, 7:58 pm

conundrum wrote:
Good point.


I actually thought about that when compiling my last post in this thread, but forgot to include it. See also: "flame retardant".

One could also use the phrase "ret*d ejaculation", which means that a person's ejaculation is delayed.



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03 Jan 2013, 8:44 pm

Verdandi wrote:
Weiss_Yohji wrote:
It's not the word that matters. It's the CONTEXT! George Carlin said so.

Jitro: Ah, the euphemism treadmill. "Concentration camp" also started as a euphemism. It doesn't matter how much you infringe on free speech. People will express themselves. They will not be stopped.

Free speech means being free to say the things NOBODY wants to hear. Don't like it? Move to some barbaric un-free country like England, North Korea, Russia, China, or Turkey where they step on free speech. Just because we're ASD doesn't mean we're too weak to live in a free society. It doesn't mean we have to be babied and coddled. You uncivilized liberal trash who want to destroy freedom of speech are on the wrong side of history. Do the world a favor and either adopt libertarian values or be deported.


"Either support free speech by agreeing with my opinions, or leave the country!" Also, very illogical and self-contradictory. How you commanded all the "liberal trash" to adopt your political orientation or be deported does not sound like a defense of free speech at all. In fact, it seems you are only in favor of speech that you want to hear.

Free speech means saying things you don't want to hear. Don't like it? Not much you can do about it except rail against people for daring to hold opinions you don't like. However, you're not defending free speech. Be honest about it. You're defending the notion of political conformity, the idea that there are correct political ideas and incorrect political ideas. In short, you've defined having libertarian values as being the only politically correct option and said that those who refuse should expect to be deported. Congratulations, you have discovered and promoted precisely the kind of political correctness that you claim to decry.

Perhaps, if you hate that people hold opinions you do not like and want them to shut up, it is you who lives in the wrong place.


+1.

And I've served in the U.S. military for 8 years "defending freedom."

I'll object to offensive words as much as I darn well please.


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Verdandi
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03 Jan 2013, 9:07 pm

XFilesGeek wrote:
+1.

And I've served in the U.S. military for 8 years "defending freedom."

I'll object to offensive words as much as I darn well please.


Exactly. Freedom of speech means having the right to disagree. It really surprises me that I so frequently see people saying that no one has a right to object to being offended because of "free speech" (also, with the assumption that one is actually "offended" rather than perhaps objecting for other reasons than personal offense), but doesn't seem to get that free speech means having the right to speak up and say "what you just said is not cool."

I personally cannot stop people from saying anything, and I wouldn't want such a power. But I would at least like my opinions be taken more seriously than "you're just being politically correct and should be deported because you hold political beliefs I hate." I have certainly never called for the deportation of people who say things I do not like.

I know some people like to say "you do not have the right to not be offended." I just do not see why they think they have the right to say anything they want without any consequence whatsoever. Freedom of speech does not guarantee freedom from consequences for that speech. And that goes in every direction.

Also, Tequila - I wish I had something to add to your response. You summed this up really well.



thewhitrbbit
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03 Jan 2013, 9:57 pm

What will I call my brake retarders?



Tequila
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04 Jan 2013, 7:33 am

Verdandi wrote:
Also, Tequila - I wish I had something to add to your response. You summed this up really well.


One other thing: I don't even particularly mind it when people call me ret*d. In fact, I think it's excellent; it gives me a massive heads-up on who to avoid.



Jitro
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04 Jan 2013, 10:42 am

"(blank) ret*ds growth"



Weiss_Yohji
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07 Jan 2013, 12:14 am

Declension wrote:
I've heard people say that jokingly using the word "ret*d" doesn't have to have an offensive edge to it - after all, isn't it just a word with multiple meanings? I've also heard people say the same thing about the word "gay". On the face of it, this makes perfect sense.


Gay = homosexual
Ghey = stupid, idiotic, fail, etc.

Two different words, both pronounced the same way.



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07 Jan 2013, 12:15 am

Tequila wrote:
Verdandi wrote:
Also, Tequila - I wish I had something to add to your response. You summed this up really well.


One other thing: I don't even particularly mind it when people call me ret*d. In fact, I think it's excellent; it gives me a massive heads-up on who to avoid.


Good point, and hard to disagree with.

I do not seek to silence hate. I would rather know who the haters are so I can respond accordingly.



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07 Jan 2013, 12:17 am

Dillogic wrote:
I'm socially ret*d, and so are you if you have Asperger's.


EXACTLY!

Here, "ret*d" means BEHAVIOR. Mentally ret*d (i.e., Down syndrome)? Not quite. Socially ret*d? Yes.



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07 Jan 2013, 12:24 am

hblu1992 wrote:
Its a word.If your friend does something stupid you call him a F*****g ret*d.If you do something stupid your friend calls you a ret*d.Its a thing.
I feel like the only reason that the parents of kids with mental retardation dont like the word is because its connotation reminds them that their kids aren't as functional and they feel like saying the the words demeans them and dehumanizes them.To me its a campaign of good feelings versus a real conversation on how to deal with people with mental retardation.:roll:

to me the whole thing is a waste of time.Think about this: Does it matter if someone calls you "autistic" or calls you "an individual with an autism spectrum disorder"?It doesnt change the reality, just the feeling.


Nothing can make a mentally ret*d person equal to me in any way. They have capabilities I don't have; I've got capabilities they don't have. No feel-good cause can ever change that.



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07 Jan 2013, 12:25 am

Weiss_Yohji wrote:
Declension wrote:
I've heard people say that jokingly using the word "ret*d" doesn't have to have an offensive edge to it - after all, isn't it just a word with multiple meanings? I've also heard people say the same thing about the word "gay". On the face of it, this makes perfect sense.


Gay = homosexual
Ghey = stupid, idiotic, fail, etc.

Two different words, both pronounced the same way.


I've never seen someone type "ghey" except in the usual "lets corrupt the spelling of things just because th1s are teh interwebz". Using "gay" as an adjective to describe negative things is just as sh***y as using "ret*d" for all of the same reasons in the whole of the rest of the thread. Does spelling "ret*d" "rheytard" suddenly make it a different word with a different meaning? No.



Weiss_Yohji
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07 Jan 2013, 12:54 am

invisiblesilent wrote:
Weiss_Yohji wrote:
Declension wrote:
I've heard people say that jokingly using the word "ret*d" doesn't have to have an offensive edge to it - after all, isn't it just a word with multiple meanings? I've also heard people say the same thing about the word "gay". On the face of it, this makes perfect sense.


Gay = homosexual
Ghey = stupid, idiotic, fail, etc.

Two different words, both pronounced the same way.


I've never seen someone type "ghey" except in the usual "lets corrupt the spelling of things just because th1s are teh interwebz". Using "gay" as an adjective to describe negative things is just as sh***y as using "ret*d" for all of the same reasons in the whole of the rest of the thread. Does spelling "ret*d" "rheytard" suddenly make it a different word with a different meaning? No.


"Gay" originally meant "happy". It was also slang for a hooker.

Now the word "fa***t"--it's meant a bundle of sticks, a low-wage worker, an old person, a burdensome person/thing, a meatball, a gay person, a cigarette, and an ignorant a**hole. Words change their meanings over time.



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07 Jan 2013, 1:16 am

That is such an old and tired argument I can hardly be bothered to address it. There are plenty of other perfectly acceptable words to use to describe things in a negative way without using that word - the main meaning of which is now a homosexual person/the state of being homosexual. Continuing to use gay as a pejorative when you KNOW there are plenty of people who will legitimately be offended by that usage is selfish and arrogant. I'm not gonna say you can't use it but it says a great deal about you (and enables considerate, nice people to avoid you) if you can't be arsed to just use a different word (note: I'm straight, I just dislike inconsiderate people).

Because I'm bored I drew a little graph:

Image