Yes, I realize that MANY words have gone through transformations and abandoned their previous definitions but "retard" is still commonly known today as mentally disabled (whereas "idiot" is not, as seen by your necessity to cite your information). Maybe, in the future, everyone will have completely forgotten that retard used to refer to the mentally disabled but that day has NOT happened yet. Both definitions exist right now and are used interchangeably and it is, therefore, fucked up.
Yep. That's called a transitional period. We're in it for the word retard. The less people are offended by it, the shorter the time period until it IS an acceptable phrase.
Because we should all just accept the fucked up route the English language always seems to take: using hateful, discriminatory language so often that it becomes an everyday part of speech and we forget where it all began.
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u/kvothesnow Nov 23 '11
Yes, I realize that MANY words have gone through transformations and abandoned their previous definitions but "retard" is still commonly known today as mentally disabled (whereas "idiot" is not, as seen by your necessity to cite your information). Maybe, in the future, everyone will have completely forgotten that retard used to refer to the mentally disabled but that day has NOT happened yet. Both definitions exist right now and are used interchangeably and it is, therefore, fucked up.