I find it baffling sometimes that a person who is intelligent or claims to be intelligent chooses to use that word to describe someone who they think is either stupid or being stupid or daft.
The word "retard" is now defined as:
"A mentally handicapped person (often used as a general term of abuse)."Actually what it should only be is a description for a mentally handicapped person, however the use of it has become so common that it is now deemed acceptable as a term of abuse. The English language is vast, there are so many words that could be used but instead Mr Holmes, like many others have chosen to use "the R word."
I would say that to use such a word in such a context is inappropriate to say the least, and that an apology is necessary in cases like this. Furthermore I think it's absurd that people think it is acceptable to use such a word in such a way. It shouldn't be deemed acceptable socially.
A great campaigner on this issue is the actor John C. McGinley, star of the show "Scrubs." His son has down syndrome and because of the frequent misuse of the word "retard" he has become an avid campaigner to stop the word being used in such a way.
He said it a lot better than I ever could. Here is another one:
If someone wants to avoid controversy and if they generally want to avoid coming across as an insensitive tool that is unable to be use words that aren't insulting and disrespectful, they should probably try to avoid using words like "retard" or "retarded" when describing something they think is stupid.
Don't you think?
Sources:
http://www.metro.co.uk/tv/877980-eamonn-holmes-apologises-after-calling-jonathan-wilkes-retarded
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2046718/Eamonn-Holmes-apologises-calling-Jonathan-Wilkes-retarded-This-Morning.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
1 comment:
Retards should be exposed at birth.
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