4 ms·

I think "idiot" and "moron" have lost their edge because they've been so ubiquitous for so long they don't mean anything more than, basically, a euphemism for "

I think "idiot" and "moron" have lost their edge because they've been so ubiquitous for so long they don't mean anything more than, basically, a euphemism for "dumbass".* The other terms you mentioned are just as offensive as the "r-word" in that context IMHO. Same for people who use "autism"/"autist" as a jokey insult. Using terms like that as insults in a public forum is in bad taste and unnecessarily likely to hurt someone's feelings over something over which they have absolutely no control. *I'm aware these terms used to be more in line with the others, but frankly I'd also question the wisdom of using them in a public forum.

cptskippy 4y ago
> I think "idiot" and "moron" have lost their edge because they've been so ubiquitous for so long they don't mean anything more than, basically, a euphemism for "dumbass".* The other terms you mentioned are just as offensive as the "r-word" in that context IMHO. A dumbass is someone who is stupid or foolish. Stupid, fool, idiot, and moron are all terms that at one point or another were used to describe those with an IDD. They're all still acceptable insults AFAIK, but now not the "r-word". For the longest time it was a fairly tepid insult but suddenly has, for reasons unclear to be, become outrageous and objectionable on par with the "n-word". > I'm aware these terms used to be more in line with the others, but frankly I'd also question the wisdom of using them in a public forum. It goes beyond insults though, the term has become completely unacceptable as a witticism or in a self deprecating manner. It just seems arbitrary to me and feels like an arbitrary change to give someone the opportunity to seize the moral high ground in a disagreement by labeling you ableist. Idk, I guess I'm just old an can't keep up. The day someone labels me an "ist" for saying "I'm an idiot" is the day I'm burning it all down.
- masukomi 4y ago
  > It just seems arbitrary to me and feels like an arbitrary change to give someone the opportunity to seize the moral high ground in a disagreement by labeling you ableist. It is 100% arbitrary. Languages evolve arbitrarily. they're not planned. The word was a medical term that if you think about the literal meaning is simply descriptive. But that doesn't matter. What matters is usage. It has changed from a descriptive term to a significant insult for many. It is, by definition, 100% abelist. Its current usage is to demean someone for their limited / different mental ability. There's no difference between making fun of someone for their mental ability or making fun of someone for their physical ability. No one argues that calling someone in a wheelchair a "cripple" is abelist. Why would you argue that calling someone with mental disability "retarted" isn't?
  - cptskippy 4y ago
    > Its current usage is to demean someone for their limited / different mental ability. > Why would you argue that calling someone with mental disability "retarted" isn't? No no no, that isn't what I'm saying at all. In my lifetime, it has *never* been acceptable to call someone with an IDD a retard. HOWEVER, for the better part of the last 40 years you could call another able person a retard without raising eyebrows. Within the last 5 years or so there has been an abrupt change and the word is no longer acceptable to use under any circumstances. And I'm unaware of what occurred for that shift to happen. Today if an able person said to another able person who'd broken their foot, "what's up gimpy?" it would be taken as a jest. However saying that to someone who is permanently disabled is highly offensive. The situation was the same with the word retarded up until recently.

cptskippy 4y ago

> I think "idiot" and "moron" have lost their edge because they've been so ubiquitous for so long they don't mean anything more than, basically, a euphemism for "dumbass".* The other terms you mentioned are just as offensive as the "r-word" in that context IMHO. A dumbass is someone who is stupid or foolish. Stupid, fool, idiot, and moron are all terms that at one point or another were used to describe those with an IDD. They're all still acceptable insults AFAIK, but now not the "r-word". For the longest time it was a fairly tepid insult but suddenly has, for reasons unclear to be, become outrageous and objectionable on par with the "n-word". > I'm aware these terms used to be more in line with the others, but frankly I'd also question the wisdom of using them in a public forum. It goes beyond insults though, the term has become completely unacceptable as a witticism or in a self deprecating manner. It just seems arbitrary to me and feels like an arbitrary change to give someone the opportunity to seize the moral high ground in a disagreement by labeling you ableist. Idk, I guess I'm just old an can't keep up. The day someone labels me an "ist" for saying "I'm an idiot" is the day I'm burning it all down.

masukomi 4y ago
> It just seems arbitrary to me and feels like an arbitrary change to give someone the opportunity to seize the moral high ground in a disagreement by labeling you ableist. It is 100% arbitrary. Languages evolve arbitrarily. they're not planned. The word was a medical term that if you think about the literal meaning is simply descriptive. But that doesn't matter. What matters is usage. It has changed from a descriptive term to a significant insult for many. It is, by definition, 100% abelist. Its current usage is to demean someone for their limited / different mental ability. There's no difference between making fun of someone for their mental ability or making fun of someone for their physical ability. No one argues that calling someone in a wheelchair a "cripple" is abelist. Why would you argue that calling someone with mental disability "retarted" isn't?
- cptskippy 4y ago
  > Its current usage is to demean someone for their limited / different mental ability. > Why would you argue that calling someone with mental disability "retarted" isn't? No no no, that isn't what I'm saying at all. In my lifetime, it has *never* been acceptable to call someone with an IDD a retard. HOWEVER, for the better part of the last 40 years you could call another able person a retard without raising eyebrows. Within the last 5 years or so there has been an abrupt change and the word is no longer acceptable to use under any circumstances. And I'm unaware of what occurred for that shift to happen. Today if an able person said to another able person who'd broken their foot, "what's up gimpy?" it would be taken as a jest. However saying that to someone who is permanently disabled is highly offensive. The situation was the same with the word retarded up until recently.