there are times I wish it was still 1984 and you could still say, "dude, that's so gay" or "dude, don't be retarded."

But we can't. It's 2014.

(and yeah, "retarded" means slow or delayed, and so I do kind of wish we could still use it for that reason.)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:retarded?

"Retardedly busy at work"? That doesn't even make sense.

I thought this word had been successfully snuffed out. I call troll.

Exactly! What a retard.

I grew up in the 70-80s in Fairfax and ' retarded' and 'gay' were embedded in daily language.

There isn't even malice or intent tied to them. It's a hard habit to break.

Ugh, I have a retarded brother. He is mentally retarded. The word retarded does not bother me. What bothers me is that my brother will never walk or feed himself.

Find something real to be unhappy about.

Anonymous wrote:Oh I thought it was republican.

LOL. Me too. Equally offensive.

My five year old daughter has global delays -- as in will never walk, talk, or feed herself. She is 100% dependent for all her needs. The r-word is offensive and hurtful.

I do not see a problem with using the "r" word.

It's not the same as saying "gay", because being gay isn't an unfortunate thing, whereas being retarded is.

Anonymous wrote:retarded?

"Retardedly busy at work"? That doesn't even make sense.

I thought this word had been successfully snuffed out. I call troll.

Anonymous wrote:Oh shit. Save it for something really offensive. Like using the C word.

No, it's really offensive and childish to use.

OP, I would just ask her to stop using it. (It's time for her to grow up, and if she uses the phrase, "That's so gay," it's time for a new roommate.)

Anonymous wrote:There are really more important concerns in the world right now.

So? I'm a single person. I am not capable of singlehandedly solving world hunger and fixing the national debt. I'm doing what I can, and one of those things is trying to figure out a way to politely inform someone that they need to stop using an offensive slur.

People on this website blow my mind. I understand that it's easy to get your stress and anger out by posting dumb things on a thread, but it's like people forget who reads DCUM. There are parents with children with disabilities who read DCUM. There are certainly people reading DCUM with a variety of disabilities, diagnoses, learning disorders, etc. who find the use of the R-word offensive. And here you people are saying it's not a big deal.

I'm guilty of snarking to the extreme on DCUM. It's so easy and so satisfying. But do it on a different thread - do it in a way that won't be offensive and disheartening to people who read DCUM.

There are really more important concerns in the world right now.

Anonymous wrote:It's not a big deal. Really op. Take a xanax or something.

It is a big deal. Racial and homophobic slurs aren't acceptable - why would slurs against people with disabilities be okay?

Op, what are you prattling on about?

Anonymous wrote:It's not a big deal. Really op. Take a xanax or something.

if it were a member of your family you probably wouldn't think it wasn't a big deal