Bringing back the 'R' word.

[nfotiu]

Are any modern mentally disabled people labeled with the R word anymore? It seems that disappeared at least 30 years ago, and is now probably a harmless insult.

I've noticed the teenage circles have moved on to autistic as the replacement insult, which is likely much more hurtful to others. I put an effort into trying to quash that and homophobic slurs with my kids, but I'm inclined to let the R word go, just because I don't think it is hurting anyone anymore.

[Matata]

It was a fun word and a hard loss. It paired really well with s---: "that s---'s r-----ed" was a classic.


It's too bad f-- can't be divorced from it's past. Another great swear word that got caught up with the wrong crowd.

[GirlySports]

yeah, people aren't called ######ed or ######s as a slur, it's a situation that's ######ed

What's a better word? "That's so stupid" isn't the same.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by afc wimbledon

Toe rag was always a favorite of mine, I don't know what a toe rag is but if ever someone shouted 'what are you looking at you effing toe rag' I was about to be in barney rubble

no one knows what you're saying man, speak english

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by nik-

no one knows what you're saying man, speak english

I'm pretty sure we need him to speak less English if we're going to have any hope of understanding what's going on here.

[blankall]

I'll also admit that I used the word as a child and probably more recently than I should have.

It's definitely a word that we don't need to bring back. There are plenty of ways to call people stupid without using a slur that's harmful to people who have to go through so much already.

Also, are kids really using "Autistic" as a slur? That's awful.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by nfotiu

Are any modern mentally disabled people labeled with the R word anymore? It seems that disappeared at least 30 years ago, and is now probably a harmless insult.

I've noticed the teenage circles have moved on to autistic as the replacement insult, which is likely much more hurtful to others. I put an effort into trying to quash that and homophobic slurs with my kids, but I'm inclined to let the R word go, just because I don't think it is hurting anyone anymore.

Yeah, my kids and their friends all use it, too (the r-word, that is). We even have an expression in my house: DBR (don't be ######ed). Credit where it's due, my wife came up with that acronym. She really likes acronyms and they factor heavily into the humour profile I'm building on her, but I digress.

I would never let my kids use autistic as a desperaging remark because it's a contemporary word that describes people on a spectrum and I would not tolerate suggesting autistic people are lesser-thans. I don't think they would use it, anyway. Along with their peers, they're a very tolerant and sensitive bunch.

The r-word, conversely, hasn't been used as a medical term since before they were born. It's no different than calling someone an idiot or a moron now, which were both once words used to describe mentally disabled people.

I also dispute that ######ed was used for only people with Downs syndrome as had been suggested either here or maybe in the other thread where this conversation started. I think that when it was used decades ago, it was an umbrella term for all people with severe mental disabilities.

I had retired the r-word from my vernacular for a while, but over the past year or so I've been using it again and I do enjoy the word and there just isn't a viable replacement.

I did get called out by someone last year for saying 'that's crazy' about something they were telling me and apparently that was offensive? ok

I think The Black Eyes Peas may have summed up using the r-word best in this lyric: 'In this context, there's no disrespect....let's get ######ed.'

[nik-]

Originally Posted by bizaro86

I'm pretty sure we need him to speak less English if we're going to have any hope of understanding what's going on here.

Those people ####ed up their own language smh

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Why stop at he R word? I’ve got a few others I’d like to bring back. Plus, any word is a slur. Soon as one word gets banned, three take its place. The words get their power from the people ban them, not the ####ty people who use them as slurs.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Dion

https://www.specialolympics.org/stor...-is-the-r-slur

Okay, well obviously that source is going to say that lol. I mean, a guy won a court case in the UK last year for sexual discrimination because somebody called him bald. Bald is now a derogatory term.

Bums, transients, hobos and now...homeless...are all no-nos. It's temporarily unhoused. I remember when my friend's mom picked him up from The Den in university. He was sitting on the curb puking into a pitcher and she said he looked like a skid row bum. You can't even call your own son a skid row bum anymore. It's ridiculous.

[DownInFlames]

Has anyone been reprimanded for saying homeless? I thought unhoused was used because it's technically more correct, not because homeless is considered a slur.

I doubt someone on the street is going to give you #### if you call them homeless. I still use the word and I actually like to interact with them and buy them a sandwich if needed.

[Fuzz]

This thread would be a lot easier to follow without a ####ing swear filter. ####!

[White Out 403]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

This thread would be a lot easier to follow without a ####ing swear filter. ####!

Right? Swear filters are ######ed

[SutterBrother]

It should only be used in the context of Donald Trump. Where it is 100% accurate.

Otherwise, offensive.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by DownInFlames

Has anyone been reprimanded for saying homeless? I thought unhoused was used because it's technically more correct, not because homeless is considered a slur.

I doubt someone on the street is going to give you #### if you call them homeless. I still use the word and I actually like to interact with them and buy them a sandwich if needed.

Probably more of an issue when you say '####ing homeless' with a sneer on your face.

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Okay, well obviously that source is going to say that lol. I mean, a guy won a court case in the UK last year for sexual discrimination because somebody called him bald. Bald is now a derogatory term.

Bums, transients, hobos and now...homeless...are all no-nos. It's temporarily unhoused. I remember when my friend's mom picked him up from The Den in university. He was sitting on the curb puking into a pitcher and she said he looked like a skid row bum. You can't even call your own son a skid row bum anymore. It's ridiculous.

Sliver: “it’s not offensive, or derogatory anymore”
Dion: “Actually, the people it is most impactful towards beg to differ. Here is a link explaining why it is still very harmful”
Silver: “Well of course the people it is meant to demean by way of comparison are offended by it. I still think it’s okay to use”

Come on man.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Just pick a different word. The dictionary is big. It ain't that hard.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

Why stop at he R word? I’ve got a few others I’d like to bring back. Plus, any word is a slur. Soon as one word gets banned, three take its place. The words get their power from the people ban them, not the ####ty people who use them as slurs.

This is actually the bigger underlying issue: everyone already knows what the hell you're saying anyway.

The word ###### The R-word has gone through so many mutations over the years, and every time someone starts using the new version in a way that's kind of sh-tty, the word or phrase becomes verboten and a new politically correct one takes its place... only to meet the exact same fate a short time later, and again, another word / phrase replaces it... rinse, repeat. And of course you know someone's dad is going to use the previous word having missed the memo that we're discontinuing the old version, and he's going to get in sh-t at the family Christmas party or something.

Isn't anyone else kind of sick of this stupid, pointless exercise?

If someone says something in a sh-tty way (eg: calling someone with a mental disability a ######), then call them on it. And before some moron brings it up, the "N-word" is not a comparable because it was used from the very beginning to refer to black people. It has no other meaning, that was literally the point of its creation, to refer to them specifically.

[zamler]

Rebar is a fine word I'll have you know.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

Just pick a different word. The dictionary is big. It ain't that hard.

Have you seen the size of that document??? The cure for cancer could be in there and no-one would ever know.