There’s a clear campaign against the mentally ill with the global rise of fascism. Lots of it shows up in anti homeless rhetoric, but you can see it in the MAHA and anti vaccination movements.
There’s no reason to use the word “r-tarded” to describe someone. As someone who’s worked with the intellectually challenged, it’s an insult to them to compare them with people who are willfully ignorant.
This creates another problem.
“Don’t say ‘retard,’ it’s offensive.” “Okay, I’ll say ‘xxx’ instead.”
One week later:
“Don’t say ‘xxx,’ it’s offensive.”
God knows how many senseless words are going to have to be made just to say one thing. Just say retard. If people don’t like it, they can get mad or ignore it. One way or another, life is moving on.
I agree. The word retarded was adopted because it was technically correct and less offensive than others words that had been used previously. It didn’t feel offensive in the 70s.