retard

Someone told an awfully funny retard joke in #everything the other day ha ha ha I'm still laughing. Then there was a lovely chat about the word retarded. Some felt that it was pandering to the politically correct to use the expression mentally handicapped or special needs. Retarded is a descriptive term and everyone should just lighten up.

Well I thought a lot about that while I walked out to meet the short bus bringing my son home from the special ed class he attends. I hearby appoint myself an authority on descriptive terms and lightning up.

Retarded is to special needs as colored is to African descendant.

Retard is to mentally handicapped as nigger is to black person.

Just because it's politically incorrect doesn't mean it's irreverent.

Just because it's descriptive doesn't mean it's polite.

Sometime in your life you will be handicapped in some way. I hope it's one of those handicaps that is easy to overcome... high blood pressure, cataracts, a broken bone. I hope the people around you have enough compassion to use polite language and care for you in a respectful way - from giving you a bath to changing your soiled Depends.

You could probably start earning some karma points toward that by dropping the retard jokes.

Re*tard" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Retarded; p. pr. & vb. n. Retarding.] [L. retardare, retardatum; pref. re- re- + tardare to make slow, to delay, fr. tardus slow: cf. F. retarder. See Tardy.]

1.

To keep delaying; to continue to hinder; to prevent from progress; to render more slow in progress; to impede; to hinder; as, to retard the march of an army; to retard the motion of a ship; -- opposed to accelerate.

2.

To put off; to postpone; as, to retard the attacks of old age; to retard a rupture between nations.

Syn. -- To impede; hinder; obstruct; detain; delay; procrastinate; postpone; defer.

© Webster 1913.

Re*tard", v. i.

To stay back.

Sir. T. Browne.

© Webster 1913.

Re*tard", n.

Retardation; delay.

Retard, ∨ Age, of the tide, the interval between the transit of the moon at which a tide originates and the appearance of the tide itself. It is found, in general, that any particular tide is not principally due to the moon's transit immediatelly proceeding, but to a transit which has occured some time before, and which is said to correspond to it. The retard of the tide is thus distinguished from the lunitidal interval. See under Retardation. Ham. Nav. Encyc.

© Webster 1913.