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Originally Posted by CliffFletcher
Proper descriptor? So is Negro. Perfectly proper word that was once used by most people with no animus towards blacks. And of course blacks themselves used the word Negro up until the late 60s. And yet you don't hear anyone under the age of about 80 use it today.
###### is a funny word. 15 years ago it was going the way of n*gger. It was used by teenagers, but you never heard it in a movie or anywhere else in public. Then it made a huge comeback, probably on the back of the juvenile comedy trend of Stiller, Sandler, etc. And I think people do realize it's not an especially nice or appropriate word. If you were a coach at Special Olympics, would you say "okay all you ######s, hustle up and over here and do your warm-up?"
Personally, I think it's time to move on from '######ed'. It is almost always used an insult, and I know mentally disabled people despise the word. But mentally disabled people rarely speak up for themselves, so nobody worries about upsetting them.
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Most people agree it's time to move on from using the word '######ed' so I don't think you're saying anything all of us don't know already. I've stopped using it 99% of the time I would have five years ago and would never let my kids use it. I think comparing it to the n-word isn't way off base, either, but it's not quite there yet.
I like using language with a punch. Because that word is a bit taboo yet still acceptable enough, for instance, that it isn't filtered out on this forum (give it a year or so and I wouldn't be surprised if it was), I used it. I'm sure Wormius was just having a seniors moment or whatever, but his question was hilariously _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _, so I had to pull out the big guns in my reply to get my point across.
It's fine you busted me, although I think you were a bit dramatic. "Nobody worries about upsetting [mentally challenged people]"? BS. '######' went from being used by everybody and their dog five-10 years ago to being the next n-word within the next five years. The tone of your post implies you practically consider yourself a lone ranger defending mentally challenged people from the masses. I'd say the majority of people are on board with phasing that word out.