Anonymous wrote:Seriously. "Retard" comes from the french for reverse. The pilots are using standard pilot language "retard" as in "retard the throttles". Do none of you understand this?

"Only accident of the Martin XB-48 test programme occurs when pilot E. R. "Dutch" Gelvin tries to abort takeoff in first prototype, 45-59585, from NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, when fire warning light comes on as engines reach full power. He retards throttle and applies brakes but bomber does not slow. As he runs out of runway and as the brake pressure bleeds off, he has a choice of running into the Chesapeake Bay or heading for the mudflats - he opts for the latter. He turns off the runway, tries to retract the undercarriage, runs across a ditch, a road, another ditch, left outrigger gear collapses and jet slides to stop leaning to port, just 50 feet short of a Navy doctor's home. Damage is minimal, limited to gear doors, outrigger, and flaps. Cause was the emergency fuel system, designed to maintain engine power at 94 percent, regardless of throttle position."

Yes, and we don't have a problem when it is used as a verb. Do YOU not understand parts of speech?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are valid uses of the word retard--for example, its use as a verb. The primary problem is people who use it as an insult.

What using it as a compliment as in retard-strong? Like "Big Jim loaded over 100 bails of hay today, he is truly retard-strong and has a 10 inch cock".

I so miss Big Jim.

Seriously. "Retard" comes from the french for reverse. The pilots are using standard pilot language "retard" as in "retard the throttles". Do none of you understand this?

"Only accident of the Martin XB-48 test programme occurs when pilot E. R. "Dutch" Gelvin tries to abort takeoff in first prototype, 45-59585, from NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, when fire warning light comes on as engines reach full power. He retards throttle and applies brakes but bomber does not slow. As he runs out of runway and as the brake pressure bleeds off, he has a choice of running into the Chesapeake Bay or heading for the mudflats - he opts for the latter. He turns off the runway, tries to retract the undercarriage, runs across a ditch, a road, another ditch, left outrigger gear collapses and jet slides to stop leaning to port, just 50 feet short of a Navy doctor's home. Damage is minimal, limited to gear doors, outrigger, and flaps. Cause was the emergency fuel system, designed to maintain engine power at 94 percent, regardless of throttle position."

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When someone says, "that's retarded," they are

1) using the word as a synonym for stupid--a definition that very clearly has been derived as a reference to people with disabilities; and

2) using the term in a derogatory manner.

No one is trying to say that other uses of the word (i.e. as a verb) should be banned, so it's unclear why that would even be a point of discussion.

if I said, "this thread is really retarded", would I be insulting people with disabilities or saying the collective IQ of this thread is very low?

the word has evolved. "Retarded" is now an insult, not a real diagnosis. Get over it.

Yes you would be insulting people with disabilities. Grow up and use a different term.

Anonymous wrote:When someone says, "that's retarded," they are

1) using the word as a synonym for stupid--a definition that very clearly has been derived as a reference to people with disabilities; and

2) using the term in a derogatory manner.

No one is trying to say that other uses of the word (i.e. as a verb) should be banned, so it's unclear why that would even be a point of discussion.

if I said, "this thread is really retarded", would I be insulting people with disabilities or saying the collective IQ of this thread is very low?

the word has evolved. "Retarded" is now an insult, not a real diagnosis. Get over it.

When someone says, "that's retarded," they are

1) using the word as a synonym for stupid--a definition that very clearly has been derived as a reference to people with disabilities; and

2) using the term in a derogatory manner.

No one is trying to say that other uses of the word (i.e. as a verb) should be banned, so it's unclear why that would even be a point of discussion.

Anonymous wrote:If you're not using "that's retarded" to refer to people with disabilities, what are you using it to refer to? What singers of the national anthem typically do at football games? This seems unlikely.

And yes, "that's crazy" also refers to people with disabilities, and it would be nice if people also stopped using "that's crazy" about things that do not involve mental illness.

When someone say "that's retarded," they're referring to something generally being negative. If YOU are making the antiquated connection to people with disabilities, then that connection is wrongly being made in your mind. I don't view people with disabilities as "negative" - that's absurd. But sometimes life in general is filled with things that people address with negativity, because, well that's life.

When someone's says "that's stupid," do you think they're also automatically alluding to people with intellectual deficiencies? Or when someone says "that's, dumb," do you think it's a reference people unable to speak? Similarly, for "that's crazy?" Do you really truly think that when someone says "man, the icy roads were crazy!" that someone's directly referencing someone with mental illness?

Words and their usage evolve and change - it's not the word itself that is "bad." To flip out over hearing a word without actually using your mind to think about the evolution of usage, makes your so-called "argument" totally disingenuous. Context and nuance not only matter - they're pretty much everything in language, idioms, etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are valid uses of the word retard--for example, its use as a verb. The primary problem is people who use it as an insult.

They have street signs saying Slow Children Playing- so what is the difference or am I missing something?

You're missing something.

LOL

If you're not using "that's retarded" to refer to people with disabilities, what are you using it to refer to? What singers of the national anthem typically do at football games? This seems unlikely.

And yes, "that's crazy" also refers to people with disabilities, and it would be nice if people also stopped using "that's crazy" about things that do not involve mental illness.