Retards: A Lesson In Language

What follows is a report by CNN on the increasing use of the word 'Retard' in US Politics:

Although I understand why the usage offends some people I don't believe the word should be restricted in it's use for a couple of reasons.

Firstly: It's a real thing, as mentioned people suffer from mental retardation. it's not like the word is made up for insulting people, it's just being used that way.

Secondly: (and this is the main point) language and it's usage can't be pinned down and set in stone, ever.

Take for example the word 'Spastic', not a word you hear too often these days (in polite company at least), yet the word spastic, or its shortened version 'spaz', was the legitimate term used to describe people with Cerebral Palsy, yet the word became a commonly used term to describe people in a derogatory way.

As a result of this usage the Spastics Society changed it's name to SCOPE, and eventually the word dropped out of common usage and was deemed 'politically incorrect' (whatever that may mean).

All we are seeing today is a re-emergence of a disability-related word as a derogatory insult, this time 'Retard'.

Note: the word 'spaz' isn't seen as majorly offensive in the US where it is used to mean clumsy. this is because language is always changing and constantly in flux.

Another word used as an insult for a long time is that of 'Nigger'. since the slave trade it has been a negative word to describe a black person. yet fairly recently, the term has been adopted as a banner by the black community and has entered usage (in the underground at least) as a non-offensive term.

In terms of controlling language and keeping it 'pure', the Académie française is failing for the very reasons I have stated here.

To see how much language changes over a relatively short amount of time look back to your grandparents, the chances are they have names that have left common usage as names, or have been altered over the years. My own grandparents, Arthur, Norman and two Sheilas, both fall into the former category. The exception to this rule being religious names i.e. John, David, Mohammed, etc.

It is because of this I can't help but think that the words we use, although they can be offensive, should not be attempted to be altered because, being human, we will just find new words to replace them or bring back old ones.

I can't help but think if this attempt works then every organisation with the word 'Special' in it's name will remove it as the zeitgeist moves and chooses that word to become associated with disability.

Shep