THE R WORD

THE R WORD

Okay, I know this may be an awkward conversation, but we should have. And well, it's a long time coming, but we have to tackle the R word as best as we can. Yeah, you know what I'm talking about.  Regeneration. No, I'm not talking about the controversial Doctor Who process where a million man babies complain about the swapping gender of a two hearted alien.

I'm talking about the word Retard. 

Oh fuck. I went there. I said it. BAM!  Can't unring that bell. It happened. I typed it. So now I guess it's time to figure out why it's a taboo word these days. Yes, In one small article from a satire blog with occasional serious topics tackles one of the most dividing and triggering words of the modern day.

Let's get to the bottom of it - why is it okay or not okay to say that something is retarded or call someone a retard when they are being a stupid fat head. I can't figure it out exactly myself, but I don't want to upset anyone... well, more so than I already have by typing the above text already.

Again, can't unring that bell. But the way I understand it, it's that it's just not okay anymore if someone who can hear you saying it has a retarded friend or relative. Otherwise, Maybe okay?  Okay, maybe it's probably not OK, but I say it a lot so I don't know, I don't have the strength of my convictions at all on this subject matter.

I mean, at least I didn't go about asking if it's okay to laugh at the commercials for the special olymp.... oh fuck, I'm not even going to go there. Let's just call this whole blog post a wash. I'm sure this will prevent me from viable jobs in the future. Future self me, I'm sorry. Future self employers, this isn't really a proper representation of myself. I'm just going through some things. It's really retarded on how bad my luck has been lately... Oh fuck, I did it again.

At least I didn't suggest betting on them.

Welp, I'm going to hell.

Look, I generally don't have the confidence in my own abilities to arbitrate this sort of shit of a mine field of an issue, but it's a bit of a question on how far we will go as a society. Maybe if we just soften the sting of it a little and be a bit more inclusive and caring when dishing out such words, like, what if we just tried saying Retard-Americans or People of Retardation? I mean, that has to have some sort of sensitivity towards it that folks can't fault you for trying to tackle it, right?

I'm just not sure how retard is any less offensive or insulting than saying someone is an idiot or a buffoon. Shit, the best comparison I have to offer is Mongoloid.

I'm just trying to do my best to figure out why retard is so powerful and why you're not supposed to call someone acting like a retard in public, a retard. But I mean, it just gets yelled out a lot on Xbox live, that and how much my mother sleeps around, so maybe I'm just confused. 

I'm pretty sure that when I'm older, I'll basically be the old person who is insulting people's sensibilities because I'll be saying words like retard long after it is politically correct or socially acceptable to say. It would be like when you talk to an older person now and they say something like Chinaman or black man.. I just see it as I come from a long line of retards and I'm extremely proud of it. Like hell am I going to disenfranchise myself like that.

From what I can tell, Moron, Imbecile, idiot all had a specific clinical meaning for awhile, I don't think they use those anymore in Doctor talk, but you can see where I'm getting to, That even when they changed the word to retard, from there, it branches off into a dozen different alternatives, "cognitively impaired", "developmentally delayed" "exceptional", "english". etc. etc. You get what I'm saying, so saying a blanket Retard as an insult, I guess is the biggest issue. That it's being used as an insult.

Perhaps it's just a case that retard may be one of those words that you either have to reign it in or just go full tits up ahead on. Just have to make sure you use it with just enough gravitas and I mean, realize that if you're using it in extremely high volumes in a crowded restaurant, no matter who you're with, you're probably still going to get some looks for saying it.

Can I just end this discussion with the fact that the word was used in the major motion picture Godzilla featuring Ferris Bueller, so perhaps we should stop being so retarded about this whole situation. What? 1998 words aren't good for us anymore? IT WAS ONLY TWENTY YEARS AGO, YOU RETAR....