(no subject)

[dreamer_easy]

It irks me when people use the words "retarded" and "spastic" as insults or jokes. It's so commonplace that I'm sure there's no malice involved, only thoughtlessness - the kids throwing them around may have no idea what they actually mean. Or meant. Long disused except as children's insults, the words have become somewhat detached from their original meanings.

In fact, I thought perhaps I was being a bit hypocritical - didn't words like "moron" and "idiot", which I use quite happily, once have technical medical definitions? A quick rummage at askoxford.com revealed I was mistaken. "Moron" and "idiot", from the Greek, mean "stupid person" and "ignoramus" respectively.

The word "cretin", though, was actually once used to mean someone with congenital hypothyroidism: from Swiss French, it means "Christian". The dictionary suggests that this was meant to remind people that the intellectually disabled were fellow human beings.

Comments

[frock.livejournal.com]

I use 'retarded' occasionally online, and it's thoughtlessness, definitely. When I realise what I've said I often go back and edit because I know it's offensive, even to me, but I still think it. On the other hand I'd never even think 'spastic' into a sentence, let alone actually use it. It's odd how they're both used in the same way, they were both used as commonly as 'loser'/'idiot'/'wanker' by people at school, and yet one is still completely taboo for me.

And now I wonder if 'insane' is similar. I often say I'm insanely happy, or god that's insane. It's not in a derogatory way, and it's got little to do with what 'insane' actually means, but still.

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

[kateorman.livejournal.com]

askoxford.com:

— ORIGIN Greek idiotes ‘layman, ignorant person’, from idios ‘own’.

the common, childish insult-word of today that makes me furious when i hear it used as an all-purpose slur is "gay".

Testify, sister. In fact, I have this image squirrelled away for occasional online knuckle-rapping:

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

[kateorman.livejournal.com]

Sure you can - it's a panel from "Dykes to Watch Out For".

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

[matthewwolff.livejournal.com]

Ditto for me?

[kateorman.livejournal.com]

Bien sur, I don't own the thing. :-)

[rainbowjehan.livejournal.com]

It irks me when people use the words "retarded" and "spastic" as insults or jokes. It's so commonplace that I'm sure there's no malice involved, only thoughtlessness - the kids throwing them around may have no idea what they actually mean. Or meant. Long disused except as children's insults, the words have become somewhat detached from their original meanings.

I know that's probably true, but it makes me twitch when people do it. There's a girl my age who goes to my church, and every time she does it I get this little teeny sick feeling, the way I do when I see trees edited for telephone wires to go through. Sometimes I actually try to say something about it, but I don't like people being upset with me. >_>

[judiang.livejournal.com]

Actually "moron", "idiot", and "imbecile" were terms of art in 19th century psychology that described three degrees of mental retardation.

[kateorman.livejournal.com]

I've been trying to track down more about that usage - the words weren't coined for that purpose but they were used for a while.

[antikythera.livejournal.com]

Is 'retarded' the same, then? Something that is retarded has been slowed down or impeded. A person who is called retarded is called that because they're developmentally 'delayed'.

When I was a kid, it was certainly a term used by the medical/psychological establishment. My school had special classes set aside for what it termed the TMR and EMR kids, or the trainable/educable mentally retarded.

[kateorman.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm referring to "moron" and "idiot".

[antikythera.livejournal.com]

I know, I just mean that it's another word that already existed but was adopted by the medical establishment for this purpose.

[alawston.livejournal.com]

I first encountered the word 'retarded' in really bad books, I remember seeing the phrase 'retarded Spring' to refer to a long winter. Then it popped up in French "Je regrette d'arriver en retard, Madame." so it just never seemed to be a word with particularly bad connotations.

I still can't get that worked up about it, possibly because I've worked with children and have had a fresh reminder of the charming words they use when they WANT to be offensive to the intellectually disabled - I'd rather be called a retard than a flid, window-licker or special (pronounced SHPESH-ULLLLLLL)

[hergrace.livejournal.com]

Interestingly enough, a dear fellow at our church who has (I think) MD likes to shock people by referring to himself as spastic (or a spazz). Of course, that's the original meaning of the word. He actually has very good use of his limbs for someone with MD and has only recently had to resort to a motorized chair. (it doesn't hurt that he's very nice looking as well.)

My 10-yr-old is probably one of the few kids in his school to use the term "gay" appropriately. I suppose it helps when you have many, many gay acquaintances at school plus two men in a committed, loving relationship next door.

I'm proud of that boy. :-)

[murasaki-1966.livejournal.com]

I'd be proud of him if he was my son.

[angriest.livejournal.com]

I am married to a woman who suffers from mild-to-moderate spasticity (depending on how her MS is going that day) and she keeps trying to promote "spaz" as a personal badge of honour, the same way you hear African Americans use "nigger" or homosexuals use "fag". Not sure it's a good thing in any of the three cases.

[angriest.livejournal.com]

And, of course, said wife would be the lie-xin Dave mentions below.

[matthewwolff.livejournal.com]

When a word has been used to cause such pain to a group of people, it is really empowering to be able to hijack that word as a sort of badge of honor. ;)

[violetisblue.livejournal.com]

Thanks for this. It's dehumanizing and, from personal experience, many kids know full damned well what they're saying when they use it. I really loathe it. (Er, the epithet, obviously, not your post.)

[strangedave.livejournal.com]

At one stage moron had a technical definition, but it was a specific level of stupidity expressed in terms of IQ points.

lie_xinis technically spastic, and refers to herself that way quite often.

[leoniedelt.livejournal.com]

Yes, cretinoids have a very specific set of physical features from a non-functioning thyroid gland. Used to be well described in medical books at the turn of the century, as it was commonplace then, before the invention of dessicated thyroid.

http://www.thyroidresearch.com/viewArticle.php?&Category=picturechild&txt_search=&per_page=10&Submit_x=34&Submit_y=11&index=1&ids=2253,2254,2255,2256,2257,2206,2138,2176,2111,2112&articleno=2254

Its very sad, as cretinism still happens in the world, but it is entirely treatable and no one's body should be left to grow like that...

My thoughts on yaoi

[big-n-happy.livejournal.com]

The next paragraph is dodgy.

I've used the word as an insult in the past, but never neutrally. Because I was brought up to think "retarded" is a bad word (90s kid) I think of it more as a generalised insult than a descriptor for the mentally disabled. This despite the relevance of retardation as a term.

Of course, if you phase the word out, ignorant and/or malicious kids (guilty as charged) latch onto the new word. Which is where you start to realise it's not exactly a coincedence the Slang Gods tend to pick the disadvantaged.

So, yeah. Especially since perjorative "gay" has always messed with me regardless of context and intent.

Re: My thoughts on yaoi

[kateorman.livejournal.com]

Weird fact: pretty much every synonym for "woman" in English eventually shifts its meaning to "prostitute".

Re: My thoughts on yaoi

[(Anonymous)]

More subjectively, is there really a male equivalent to 'cunt'?

Re: My thoughts on yaoi

[gooofy.livejournal.com]

Except for "queen" (which has a different history than "quean") and I think "wife".

[purrdence.livejournal.com]

the kids throwing them around may have no idea what they actually mean.

'rape' is an insult these days too - 'oh mizz! Tell her to stop raping me!' (Correct English would be "Mrs Heald, Tell her to sop pushing me!"). The kids think it's funny when I get angry.

[th-esaurus.livejournal.com]

Sorry...I know this is a pitiful excuse, but I just like the sound of the word 'retarded' ): I am quite aware of its meaning.