Personally, I believe that the word "retard" should not fall under disrespect. I feel this way because it is actually demeaning to retarded people to do so. Here's why: by saying retard or retarded is an insult, you are implying that you are better than us simply because we are retarded and you are not. Myself, and I'm sure other members of the retard community, do not appreciate this because it invalidates our human experience and is actually quite demeaning. I believe we should lead the charge in normalizing the word retard so that myself and other retards around the globe can feel, and be treated, equal to non-retarded people. While I know that, to many non-retarded people, this may not make any sense, I believe you need to take a step into our (retarded people's) shoes so that you will be able to understand why this is the best move for our community. Thank you for your consideration! -Raqueese
Typically the only situations people use this word is in a disrespectful way. It is also only classified as disrespect when it is directed towards someone. Personally, I'm glad that this in now included as disrespect. You're still able to say the word, though only when talking about a situation.
Hey Raqueese, I can see almost no reason to make this word unlisted as a disrespectful word. If you wish to push the agenda that 'using the r-word' is normalzing it; then you are severly mistaken. If we were all to start using the n-word, would that normalize it and make it OK? No. Absoloutely not. Just because you believe you should be able to freely use a word due to you claiming to identify as such, does not make it OK to use it. There are many people who take offence to that word, and as such, it has no place on this server. Likewise, the only time I've ever seen this word used is in a disrespecful context.
My point is that it shouldn't be disrespectful to call someone a retard and we need to normalize it in a non derogatory way. As I stated above, we need to normalize it in a non-derrogatory way. The difference between "retard" and the n-word is that the n-word was created to put one race below another. "Retard" is simply a descriptor of a medical condition. The word "vegan" describes a group of people who don't eat animal products. I have seen rude, toxic people use vegan as an insult just like retard but we don't ban the word vegan do we? Also, I think your immediate shutting-down of this proposal to better the mental health of people with retardation shows that you are simply close-minded to change, and potentially ableist. I would advise you to better your character by taking the time to understand that in order to be anti-ableist you need to listen to the advice and perspective of those who do experience this medical condition rather than re-enforce the ableist culture that has been reinforced by generations of ableists. Finally, I would like to say that saying "Raqueese is a retard" should be seen as a neutral descriptor in the same way that "Raqueese has brown hair" is seen.
We are not removing the word as a disrespect word. 99% of the time people use it is in a derogatory term. If you wish to use this word, you can do so at your own discression in a private party, or on a different chat applicaiton. As it stands now, we will not be removing the word as a disrespect term as it is used almost exclusivly in the sense where one user will degrade another user with those words. Thread locked.
