I didn't say YOU were offended by it. I said I am.
And I was just sharing that I am not offended by that term and also have a retard in the family. Just because it offends you, doesn't mean I will quit using the term, nor should anyone else.
I wrote that because I realized I was hijacking the thread.
I never said you had to be offended by the term. This doesn't have to be a fight. Can't I just state my opinion? Do you have to attack me because I am offended by a term that YOU use? I didn't ask you to defend your position. I don't care about your position, I just said it offends me.
Would you refer to your uncle as a "retard" in front of your grandparents? I think about the parents of mentally handicapped people when someone uses that term. It's insensitive and hurtful. I choose not to use it.
Considering that South Park itself uses the word retard fairly frequently, as well as "fat flaming mongoloid," and various other hysterical ways to demean its characters who are NOT retarded, except for Timmay, who IS retarded and is called such. It's odd that you like South Park but are offended by the use of a word that until fairly recently was a diagnosis.
It's just a word, it's not hurtful unless you mean to hurt somebody with it.
It's just a word, it's not hurtful unless you mean to hurt somebody with it.
But would you say it in front of someone with a "retarded" child?
The show is so irreverant that I am not bothered by that aspect of it. My point is, I choose not to use the word because I don't want to hurt anyone with it. I'm not saying everyone needs to stop using it and be offended by it. I was simply stating what it means to ME.
I'm not trying to jump all over everyone here. I just wanted to state how I feel. Is that okay with everyone? What you choose to say and do is your business. If you call someone a retard in front of me, I won't even react to it. I simply don't use the term myself.