How Special

Hayley Shoemaker [ Mon Jun 11 2007 3:55 PM ]

Weeee!

Retarded is such a special word, reserved for those infrequent yet precious moments lacking utterly of brainpower. Only on rare occasion can this word apply so impeccably to a situation—a quote in this case—but when it does it’s like no other. The chairman of the Arkansas Republican Party has given us a perfect example:

“I think all we need is some attacks on American soil like we had on [Sept. 11, 2001] and the naysayers will come around very quickly to appreciate not only the commitment for President Bush, but the sacrifice that has been made by men and women to protect this country."—Dennis Milligan, chairman of the Arkansas Republican Party

Ahhh ... it’s so bad it’s good, kind of like Snakes on a Plane or Nicolas Cage.

Let me get this straight: If America were to be attacked again (God forbid), it would prove to Americans that—because of Bush, mind you—we’re safer … ? An attack would confirm we’re not getting attacked? Ahhh! I hope I’m not the only one that feels like their brain just took a ride on a mobius strip.

Dennis, you have provided us with quite the gem. Out of all the clever words for dumb—vacuous, imbecilic, bovine—retarded triumphs over all of them effortlessly.

Public Comments (11)

- Greenley
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yeah [ Mon Jun 11 2007 5:16 PM ]

my husband hates it when I use that word, he too feels it's disrespectful to mentally handicapped people.
- sunlight
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get real [ Mon Jun 11 2007 8:49 PM ]

yes it's true. the "politically correct" flavor of the year for a handicapped person is no longer "retarded" but those of us past puberty do remember when it was. that said, the whole point of this post, imho, is that the CONCEPT of the quote is (gasp!) RETARDED! don't let semantics get in the way of the message.
duh!
sunlight
- pencil
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sticks and stones [ Tue Jun 12 2007 1:05 AM ]

break bones, so stay away from sticks and stones. Nobody wants to break bones, Hayley included.
- Greenley
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it doesn't matter if [ Tue Jun 12 2007 11:09 AM ]

it's calling a CONCEPT or calling a person retarded, if you don't care to use the word they're both the same- offensive. That being said, sunlight is probably right.
My neighbor is mentally handicapped, I would never say retarded around him or his family because I would never want to hurt or offend them. But I honestly believe they're probably above it, they ARE adults.
I used to work with mentally handicapped folks. That's what we called them, mentally handicapped, which now, mentally challenged is more politically correct. Either way, you don't call them retarded. You don't call young kids retarded either because of their fragile little minds (said in Cartman voice).
But you all already know this. It may be rude in some circumstances, but it's not a hateful discriminating term.
- Jessica
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Don't say retarded. [ Tue Jun 12 2007 5:08 PM ]

It's similar to negatively describing something as "gay"--disrespectful to a group of already disenfranchised people.
Furthermore, there's an abundance of synonyms for dumb, and in terms of slang "retarded" is pretty played out.
- pieceful
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Oh please [ Tue Jun 12 2007 6:00 PM ]

If the PC police are so concerned about the plight of the mentally handicapped, they should quit whining and start acting to explicitly better the lives of those they are ostensibly standing up for. Calling a concept or comment "retarded" is qualitatively different than using it to demean another human being.
Futhermore, Sunlight is correct to notice that all this PC finger pointing misses the point, which is that there are some very high-ranking Republicans (W. included) who think and act in ways that are frighteningly illogical and even tautological. I think we should all be praising and encouraging those who call it as they see it (as Hayley has), rather than effectively discouraging it via PC silencing.
- Jessica
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Yeah, but don't say retarded, retarded. [ Tue Jun 12 2007 6:45 PM ]

Most people reading this blog already know "there are some very high-ranking Republicans (W. included) who think and act in ways that are frighteningly illogical and even tautological." The idea that this might be a new idea is retarded.
On the other hand, some of them obviously don't know they sound like idiots when the say retarded. Filling these people in IS bettering the plight of the retarded, by making it so that less people say retarded. It's also bettering the plight of people who say retarded by helping them not sound retarded.
(P.S. Way to give my comment one star and yours five, "pieceful." That's pretty retarded. I'm going to leave it that way.)
- hbop
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That was me... [ Tue Jun 12 2007 8:16 PM ]

I gave his five stars...
- hbop
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perhaps [ Tue Jun 12 2007 9:23 PM ]

Hey, since we're off the main topic of the original post, it would be interesting to note the origins of terms for the mentally challenged. Interestingly, according to wikipedia, the word idiot—which Jessica used in place of retarded— "indicated the greatest degree of intellectual disability, where the mental age is two years or less, and the person cannot guard himself or herself against common physical dangers. The term was gradually replaced by the term profound mental retardation." [link]
So it appears the word "retardation" evolved out of the word "idiot". Agreeably, now-a-days no one finds "idiot" offensive in any PC way. But at one time, it seems quite likely that it was.
Perhaps this is an indication that "retarded" may be an example of a term in a transition phase, evolving from a once medically specific label, towards a status more similar to that of "idiot".
- Jessica
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Retarded vs. Idiot [ Wed Jun 13 2007 12:53 AM ]

Interesting, indeed. I suppose I've been had. On the other hand, the word idiot has hundreds of years of other usage [link] [link] on retarded, which according to Merriam-Webster originated in 1895, [link].
Either way, perhaps we can freely say retarded in 50 years or so, but not now I say.
Here's some more information on the use of retarded: [link]
- marisa
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Handicapped [ Wed Jun 13 2007 10:14 AM ]

is also not great. It refers to the days when there were so few services for disabled people, physically or mentally, that they were forced to sit on the street corners cap in hand begging for change. Wait a minute ...