Who is affected by the word retarded?

Question by brian sazo: Who is affected by the word retarded?
Its demeaning to every one but I don’t know how. can some one help me describing.

Best answer:

Answer by epicicity2012
Among medical professionals, the word has a fairly precise meaning and is not used in a ‘judgmental’ sense. Mental or physical retardations can be caused by various things, usually having something to do with mutations within the person’s DNA.

The word ‘retarded’ has, as you are aware, made its way into ‘society’ as an insulting word. I guess it is a way of saying “You can’t do anything right. You’re retarded!” or even it’s just an insult because someone doesn’t like you and hence wants to make you angry somehow. It’s very easy for bullies and other controlling types to use this intimidation technique “You (blanking) retard!”

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(I actually have a best friend who sometimes says this about herself! I really dislike it when she does that. She has a college degree, is a beautiful young woman, and an excellent writer of both fiction and nonfiction. Yet she sometimes *voluntarily chooses* to call herself ‘retarded’! I doubt that I will ever understand why she does that.)

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It’s a ‘label’, i.e. a stereotype. It’s a word that people who can’t think use to make themselves feel better about their own crappy life.

For example, I happen to be physically disabled at the age of 48 due to some rare genetic neurological condition that ‘hit’ me at the age of 40. It affects my motor skills like walking gait, balance, and speech. Hence I have to use a walker device.

I am glad to no longer live in my prior apartment building, but guess what my neighbor used to call me? A cripple.

I’m *not* crippled! I just need a walker device to keep my balance and prevent falls. I can still walk!

And guess what this guy was?

A crack cocaine addict.

It makes him feel better about his crappy life to put demeaning labels on others to make himself feel ‘superior’. He did that a lot. He insulted many people with various words and simple labels. It’s all a mental act of trying to feel better when one knows that one’s own life sucks. They don’t even know why they are doing it … but I see through it now. Calling people ‘retarded’ or ‘crippled’ is just them trying to feel better or more superior to others, even though (and probably because) they are not happy with their own lives or the choices they make.

What day is it? May 9th. Well, the crack addict guy who called me a ‘cripple’ (among other things) is probably sitting in his apartment broke and miserable right now because he spent his entire social security check which he received on the 1st on drugs. (He goes broke within a few days every single month because of that drug.) I’m sitting here in my literally brand-new apartment, having a glass of wine at 2 AM, and I have money in the bank and food in the fridge, etc. (He has called me a ‘drunk’ before as well. I do enjoy alcohol, but I’m not a ‘fall-down drunk’.) Do you see how this works? He can call *me* a ‘drunk’ and a ‘cripple’, but what would happen if I said the truth about him to his face? “You are a crack addict.” He would get angry and want to punch me. So who is the real ‘retard’ or ‘cripple’, given that scenario?

These ‘demeaning’ comments like ‘retarded’ and ‘cripple’ are merely some peoples’ way of deflecting their mind away from their *own* situation.

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