(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

[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. :-)