- Joined
- Mar 7, 2024
Francis has pulled a brave move trying to justify the usage of "retard" (imagine having to moralfag over it instead of just saying it).
L / A
A thread on the 'r-slur' given it's discussion in recent times (
)
TW: slur usage
Currently a decent majority of this platform in both neurodivergent and LGBT spaces opinion is that usage of the the r slur is unacceptable and should be treated as severely as racial and homophobic slurs.
In my personal opinion, this is an incredibly ignorant outlook.
Usage of the word 'retard' can be hurtful, and will be hurtful to plenty of people who'd rather not be talked down to. But in history, the negative connotations of the r slur are not comparable to other much more malicious words that have dark and awful histories.
With the usage of said word, the topic of reclaiming is often brought up, where the targeted groups that are labeled with said word use it casually for either comedic or derogatory purposes.
Is this a problem? well, it depends on a few factors. the general consensus from what I've seen is yes, its a problem and no one should use the slur in any context. This outlook is idealistic in nature and demeans neurodivergent folk who often use it to either cope or admittedly just screw around, which shouldn't be an alien concept.
My main issue in all of this is taking a word that from what records show, is the closest thing to a slur losing all meaning. Is this not...a good thing? the negative connotation of slurs is just that, a connotation, a suggestion based on societal factors and bad history. Retard is possibly one of the most saturated and overused derogative words in modern history.
I am not in the space to conduct mass scale surveys, but look back in your personal past. Besides some rando on twitter, has anyone used the r slur to demean you in a particularly ableist way. Is it as common as the shit spewed against other minority groups daily?
Well, in mine, thats not the case. And I quite literally say this as a victim of intellectually-based discrimination. I went to Elwyn Davidson School in PA for most of my school career, stretching from early grade school to 7th grade. Basically a glorified daycare where I experienced neglect, faulty education, and even physical harm.
And that word? Almost never used.
My point isnt to discredit the severity of the r slur or """normalize""" it, but to bring to light its genuine, real life severity in regards to other words used by so many nasty people both in the real world
and this site.
It's a bad word, but not as awful as some others.
Is this an excuse to throw it around? Not exactly, but reclaiming the word as a neurodivergent individual should NOT be used as ammo for arguments as everyone, and i mean EVERYONE who has gone through the processes of diagnosis and bullying have earned their right.
In short, retard is a word with some history. Yet its a word that is the closest we have to one less slur in this world
Please do not misconstrue this thread, and if you have any questions or rebuttals, please talk them out with me in the replies cus I'm interested in hearing it.
Thanks for reading to the end and have a nice night wherever you are.
all comms should probably be done by the end of this week so look forward to that
L / A
A thread on the 'r-slur' given it's discussion in recent times (
)TW: slur usage
Currently a decent majority of this platform in both neurodivergent and LGBT spaces opinion is that usage of the the r slur is unacceptable and should be treated as severely as racial and homophobic slurs.
In my personal opinion, this is an incredibly ignorant outlook.
Usage of the word 'retard' can be hurtful, and will be hurtful to plenty of people who'd rather not be talked down to. But in history, the negative connotations of the r slur are not comparable to other much more malicious words that have dark and awful histories.
With the usage of said word, the topic of reclaiming is often brought up, where the targeted groups that are labeled with said word use it casually for either comedic or derogatory purposes.
Is this a problem? well, it depends on a few factors. the general consensus from what I've seen is yes, its a problem and no one should use the slur in any context. This outlook is idealistic in nature and demeans neurodivergent folk who often use it to either cope or admittedly just screw around, which shouldn't be an alien concept.
My main issue in all of this is taking a word that from what records show, is the closest thing to a slur losing all meaning. Is this not...a good thing? the negative connotation of slurs is just that, a connotation, a suggestion based on societal factors and bad history. Retard is possibly one of the most saturated and overused derogative words in modern history.
I am not in the space to conduct mass scale surveys, but look back in your personal past. Besides some rando on twitter, has anyone used the r slur to demean you in a particularly ableist way. Is it as common as the shit spewed against other minority groups daily?
Well, in mine, thats not the case. And I quite literally say this as a victim of intellectually-based discrimination. I went to Elwyn Davidson School in PA for most of my school career, stretching from early grade school to 7th grade. Basically a glorified daycare where I experienced neglect, faulty education, and even physical harm.
And that word? Almost never used.
My point isnt to discredit the severity of the r slur or """normalize""" it, but to bring to light its genuine, real life severity in regards to other words used by so many nasty people both in the real world
and this site.It's a bad word, but not as awful as some others.
Is this an excuse to throw it around? Not exactly, but reclaiming the word as a neurodivergent individual should NOT be used as ammo for arguments as everyone, and i mean EVERYONE who has gone through the processes of diagnosis and bullying have earned their right.
In short, retard is a word with some history. Yet its a word that is the closest we have to one less slur in this world
Please do not misconstrue this thread, and if you have any questions or rebuttals, please talk them out with me in the replies cus I'm interested in hearing it.
Thanks for reading to the end and have a nice night wherever you are.
all comms should probably be done by the end of this week so look forward to that
