Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Not only does that term indicate his age and era he's stuck in it's hypocritical when the same ilk don't want people to use terms like 'mother'.
hahahahaha Not only does this not matter, it's just more proof that too many on the misguided left are into identity politics and not policy. It's always about policy.
I'm glad his team apologized, I'm sorry he didn't get called out on it in the moment. The apology should be a personal one, there's no excuse for using that terminology.
While the term is technically correct, it has become pejorative. At one time it was just a clinical term. I think the word "special" is heading for the same fate.
While the term is technically correct, it has become pejorative. At one time it was just a clinical term. I think the word "special" is heading for the same fate.
If his party wasn't currently pushing their desired terminology, words etc this could've been written off and would've faded away. But his talk was ment for the public being on a podcast and setting aside the subject matter he should've known better.
The word retarded didn't start as a slur. This isn't a slur, like a purposeful hateful racial slur.
This word began as a kinder word to describe people of limited intellectual ability. It was an improvement, a kindness, from the previous words, which were imbecile and idiot and moron, describing different levels of IQ and ability. These were actual terms that described a person's ability to function.
From that, the kinder word of "mentally retarded" was formed.
It was never intended at the time to be a slur, and when Schumer used it, he also didn't mean it as a slur.
If his party wasn't currently pushing their desired terminology, words etc this could've been written off and would've faded away. But his talk was ment for the public being on a podcast and setting aside the subject matter he should've known better.
Imo, it shouldn’t be written off and faded away. They call it a teaching moment.
I love the way the left decides which direction the English language goes. If they decide they don't like a word, then by god, it's instantly offensive.
Not only does that term indicate his age and era he's stuck in it's hypocritical when the same ilk don't want people to use terms like 'mother'.
I have never had a problem with the term "retarded", as the word simply means slow or delayed. My brother was what we ALL referred to as slightly mentally retarded, and as far as we were concerned, that was simply stating a fact.
What I did object to, however, was that a popular slur at the time (60's) was to call someone a "retard". That I did object to -- and I also objected (and still do) to anyone making fun of people with obviously below average intelligence.
THAT was the main reason I could not stand Trump as a person and one of the main reasons I consider him to be a despicable human being.
P.S. I just looked it up, and the online dictionaries DO now say that this is an outdated and offensive term and some make no mention of the word simply meaning "slow" or "delayed" as it applies to anything. However, I just looked up the word in my 2007 edition of the Webster's New Explorer College Dictionary (my go-to dictionary when playing Scrabble), and according to that, "retard" means "to slow up preventing progress - HINDER, and "retarded" means slow or limited in intellectual or emotional development or academic progress." There is absolutely NO mention of the word being offensive or outdated. (And, again, this was published in 2007, just 14 years ago, not 40 years ago.)
So, in short, I think this is one more example of changing a word's essential meaning just to supposedly be more politically correct or "woke" -- just one more worthless change, imo, out of probably hundreds by now.
Last edited by katharsis; 06-15-2021 at 08:12 AM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
