X-Message-Number: 20331
Date: Thu, 17 Oct 2002 21:22:46 -0700
From: Mike Perry <>
Subject: "Bad" word versus what it signifies

John Grigg, #20325:
>When I saw the word "retard" in a post subject heading I was taken aback, 
>since I have always considered it a very cruel term.

It didn't occur to me that this word would be offensive when I used it 
(pluralized) in a subject header; sorry if it was. Words are slippery, and 
they can lead to unfortunate stereotyping and misunderstandings, but that 
seems an unavoidable feature of language. It's also peculiar how certain 
words or phrases are considered vulgar or otherwise offensive while others 
that mean the same thing are not. Words sometimes change their level of 
acceptability over time, too. I think, in fact, that "retarded" started out 
as a euphemism for "feebleminded" and thus was considered a "nicer" term 
than it is today.

Call it what you will, the condition itself is the real problem, which, of 
course, is no reflection on the unfortunate victims. (And I realize the 
"victims" may be happy, productive, talented, endearing, and so on, to 
varying degrees, but most would still agree, I think, that the condition is 
a disability we would like to cure.) Nature's at fault in this 
(metaphorically speaking) as in many other things we hope to correct 
someday. I don't view the imperfect world or its antecedents as simply 
"wrong" or deserving of a grudge--not at all. But having and outgrowing our 
limitations (or in some cases discovering their proper place?) is part of 
our developmental process, one we can look forward to, if the future turns 
out as we'd like.

Mike Perry

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