Archived copies of the article: ghostarchive.org archive.today web.archive.org
About the only way we’re going to actually have a democracy is if they consistently lose elections. That’s going to mean volunteering, donating, and actually turning out to vote
I think we can all realize that this man is stating that these people are slowing the progress of society and attempting to retard it’s progress not disparaging the less capable en mass. I really think you should look into the etymology of some of your other suggestions.
This is the “and swastikas are used in Hinduism” argument. Anyone who works with people whose actual medical diagnosis is “mental retardation” will tell you that using that word to insult others is more an insult to the disabled, and should be discarded.
“These retards” doesn’t mean “these slowing the progress of society persons.” You know that. This is a reactionary excuse for a negative behavior easily altered with minor effort.
Moron: in psychology and psychiatry to denote mild intellectual disability. The term was closely tied with the American eugenics movement
Idiot: in legal and psychiatric contexts for some kinds of profound intellectual disability where the mental age is two years or less, and the person cannot guard themself against common physical dangers.
Imbecile: in psychiatrist contexts is used to denote a category of people with moderate to severe intellectual disability.
Are you really taking the high road here by using outdated terminology that’s more demeaning that the more modern replacement.
We have, right now, in our care, men and women in their 40s, 50s, 60s and above whose real honest-to-God documentation states that their disability is “severe mental retardation.” Is the language outdated by our current standard? Yes, but our system will not be taking them in for reevaluation when there isn’t any benefit to be had to either those people or their caregivers.
We will not have alternative terminology for people who will never be reevaluated. Mental retardation is their diagnosis, and you’re the mean little prick trying to justify using a diagnosis as an insult when it costs you literally nothing to pick a different invective. You’re trying to seem so intelligent- use better, more creative language instead. Or don’t. I’m not your mother.
But you’ll likely continue to face pushback for this until either our older population (the real people with this real diagnosis) all die, and the word does become completely outdated, or until you lobby for legislation to have each and every person with this diagnosis reclassified based on current medical knowledge, regardless of it’s benefit, just so you can use their disability as a swear.