Sometimes the wisest remarks come from the mind of a child. While South Park will use poop humor to garnish a cheap laugh a lot of their social commentary as of late is spot on. Heck, look at the reviews Matt and Trey got for the Book of Mormon. They have been branching out as of late.
In professional circles and the social services program areas, "mental r****dation" is now known as "intellectual disability." As someone else mentioned, as we evolve and learn, it is appropriate to use more acceptable terms. It happens all the time, i.e. shell shocked>battle fatigue>post tramautic stress What people find most offensive is the use of the term "r****d" or "r****ded" as a pejorative. Using the unfortunate circumstance of one person as an insult to another is offensive and has nothing to do with political correctness.
I have an aunt who is "mentally disabled." Growing up, the term my family used was "mentally r****ded." On one occasion the Austin State School put her on the wrong bus and she ended up in Houston when my family was meeting in Corpus for the holidays. The School gave a description to the Houston Police and days went by without finding her. Someone called my grandmother and asked for a better detailed description and my grandmother. After reading the description to her, my grandmother quipped "Didn't they tell you she was mentally r****ded?" Apparently the Austin State School didn't do that, in order to "protect her rights." "Intellectually disabled" could mean a lot of things...my aunt has the emotional and mental capabilities of a six-year-old. It's not exactly hard to pick her out in a crowd. The Houston police found her an hour after that after a wedding chapel called to complain of a "r****ded woman" asking them how she could marry Warren Moon (not kidding). Say what you want, she was a die-hard Oilers fan. Anyway...I still use the word "r****ded" and don't see a problem with it as long as it's used correctly.
I had two mentally handicapped aunts, and r****ded is not offensive to me. r****d on the other hand I do think is offensive.
I said no, but that is because it isn't offensive to me. I understand it is offensive to some in this day and age. I think the words change to accommodate due to general misusage and bad intent. It's difficult, in that those that never abuse such words (cmon, pouhe, everyone? All the time? Forever? not in my world, man) don't want to give it to those that would misuse it for spite or insult. They see no reason to stop using a word they never misused. The problem is, once so many people misuse it, the connotations of insult can't be avoided to some... and it is best to go with the flow of social norms. Is that soft? debatable, but gotta keep the petty small minded people on their toes (read: the assholes, not the intellectually challenged). It's a small price to pay. It's the intent and meaning that is either offensive or not... but thats in one's own mind. When presenting words and ideas to others or especially a crowd, sensitivities should enter into play if one is to keep from inadvertently being insulting even when their intent is not. Likewise, when terms that were once accepted become socially less acceptable, one must consider the intent of someone who continues to use them, and even consider context of who they are and why they are using said term... if a fair shake is to be given. In other words, just because someone didn't get on the politically correct train, doesn't mean necessarily they are using said words with malice or intent to insult. Sometimes you gotta call them as you see them.
Before they used "r****ded", physicians used the binet scale -> "imbecile" (Mild) "moron" (moderate) and "idiot" (severe).
What if I said I wanted to r****d the flow of drugs into this country? Would that be offensive? A word is a word, you put whatever context on it you want.
Unfortunately, the writers behind the show are not innocent children or dolphins pushing idea balls. The two main brains behind South Park are two adult caucasian hippies, whose egos have long grew too large for their creation or the channel it airs on. Letting South Park acting as your moral compass is just laughable.
Of course context is key. I should have emphasized the woman I was talking to thought there was nothing wrong with using when talking about people who are mentally handicapped. Example, when talking about a special ed class, you would say the program is for 'r****ded' children in front of their parents. The woman said that should be okay and that parents are overly sensitive if they feel hurt. To be PC, you wouldn't say that directly to someone with mental disabilities. Anti-PC people would.
There's no benefit or harm to you, but the word might affect someone else. So why the obsession over it? Dropping a word out of your every day vocabulary won't make your salary go down or destroy your marriage.
As a teacher, yes it is offensive if you're referring to students/kids. I understand it being used in a different context though. Namely for Donald Trump and Rush.
