NO ! DON’T SAY THAT !
‘Oh, don’t be a retard!’
We hear that statement being made pretty often. We don’t give a thought to the aftermath of using the word ‘retard’. Many think it means stupid and the likes. But the word retard, lame, moron, imbecile, idiot all has a world of meaning and suffering behind it. The word ‘Idiot’ indicates the greatest degree of Mental Retardation. Who would have thought a simple word like ‘idiot’ would indicate that he is someone who can’t guard himself against physical dangers? But those who did notice the severity of the word have replaced the term ‘Idiot’ with the term ‘Profound Mental Retardation’. The word ‘Moron’ connotes that the person is, ‘Feeble-Minded’. It isn’t as bad as being called an idiot, but it still isn’t pleasant being called ‘feeble-minded’. This term was replaced with ‘Mild Mental Retardation’. ‘Imbecile’, though the word isn’t used too often, it can be derogatory too. It is less extreme than idiocy. But it came to be replaced with the term, ‘Moderate Mental Retardation’. The word ‘Lame’, though not associated with the Intelligence of a person, it still is derogatory in Physical terms. Earlier, the word ‘Lame’ meant ‘crippled’, or a person who has lost a limb or has a limb that is void of any function. But today, when a person says, ‘That is so lame’, it means ‘uninteresting’, ‘boring’ or ‘insignificant’ This term came to be replaced with, ‘Physically challenged’, ‘Crippled’, ‘Handicap’ etc.
Maybe the negative connotations associated with these several terms for mental retardation reflect society's undecided attitude about the conditions that the Real sufferers are faced with. Mental retardation, more commonly now, Intellectual defectiveness is not something that has to be looked down upon. It is just a Biological given that a few Humans are bestowed with. And those of us, who are blessed with a flawless Human body and acceptable Intelligence, hurl insults at fellow humans by the offensive words mentioned above. The use of the words ‘idiot’, ‘stupid’, ‘moron’, ‘lame’ and the likes are being discouraged by Psychologists and other sensitive enthusiasts.
Support Mental Retardation. Don’t attach stigma to the word. It is Natural, just like our existence.
"Disability is natural. We must stop believing that disabilities keep a person from doing something. Because that's not true . . . Having a disability doesn't stop me from doing anything."
--Benjamin Snow
So those of you, who add an ‘idiot’ to every sentence you speak, replace the word with ‘Profound Mental Retardation’. I’m sure you don’t want to say the huge word, or better still, you don’t want to use the word because of its offending nature.
