Should the US government stop using the term "retarded"?
by 
keithold thanks all baggers
ANSWERS: 16
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I don't see why they should +2
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I think EVERYBODY should stop using any expression that is offensive or demeaning. You don't do it to ethnic minorities, so I don't understand how the espression 'retard' is still used to describe people with a mental disability.
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For who?
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As long as the person is mentally retarded then they should call them that but people that have brain injury or have a disability should be referred to as such. +3
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Why? It is a technical term describing and intellegence level. Just like moron. Political correctness is a farce as far as I am concerned.
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I don't see that it would make much difference. To simply replace it with a different term is not really much of a change.
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Why? The word retarded means hindered or stopped It means someone who is mentally retarded has had damage to the brain that has caused normal mental capacities to be hindered or stopped. A flame retardant is a chemical that prevents. hinders or stops fire from igniting or happening. Tell it like it is. It's much easier to say "My aunt is retarded" Than it is to say "My aunt suffered brain damage as a child which hindered her brain from properly growing so now she has the mind of a six year old." She's retarded. There's no way to sugar coat the fact and calling her mentally challenged doesn't help anyone.
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I think that's going a bit too far. People should just know better.
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what possible benefit would come from this? a new word develops to replace the word retarded? that solves NOTHING and gives politicians longer verbage to write when they should focus on consolidating and weeding the legal code. I have a hell of a lot more respect for a retard who accepts the lable without "issues" than I do for a nobel prize winning rocket scientist dwarf/midget who demands people call him/her an "LP". political correctness has done nothing but hinder communication and accuracy and made our populations a bunch of hypersensitive crybabies. they made classes for the dumber kids and called it "special ed" and now "special" is used more often as an insult than compliment... it used to imply good qualities. be like most ADHDers and accept who you are and the lables which accurately apply... I find that OCDers seem to have no shame in their lable as well.
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In America, the land of the free? No, they should not be restricted in what they can say, if anything they should be encouraged to say more, not talk more, actually say more.
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I'm all for it yes. The word can come off as harsh or hurtful to the disabled or mentally ill. There are other sayings and words to choose from, that's my opinion at least.
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A better idea is to stop describing the mentally handicapped this way.
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If it is confined to the use of the people who are properly called retarded, then no. I know a lot of people misuse the word and it can be hurtful to families with retarded members, but do we really need to somersault into another politically correct term that does little to enhance communication. Chastise those who use it hurtfully, as you do those who use 'gay' hurtfully, but for god's sake let's have a language.
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Are they using it to describe other members of the government? In that case, no, it is a term which fits. However, if they are using it to describe those who have a wide range of mental disabilities, then it is not really appropriate. To describe someone with measles as having flu is equally daft.
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It's a rather abrasive phrase. I choose not to use it because it's not very polite and there are much kinder ways of putting it.
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People, smart and dumb, see right through euphanisms. I have no problem (though I might chuckle, at times [but not in this instance]) if "dressing up" a term makes people "feel" better about the world. But, just try and have a car sales'person' tell me that their "previously-owned" auto, is not in fact a "used car". ;)
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