I have thick skin and not a lot people say about me or to me irritates me, so when I say that something someone says bugs me I feel like it's for a generally good reason. Also yes, I'm a millennial and yes, I get offended. Shocking, right? But you would get offended too if you couldn't change what you did or how you acted and people used your name for something that is considered stupid, or dumb.
Retardation is the slowness in development or progress. A retard is something or someone that slows something down. So yes, it's in the dictionary and yes it's an actual word, but so are jackass and bitch and those banned from TV, considered bad words, and are offensive.
People always say to me, it's just a joke it doesn't mean anything. "Okay, so now every time I see someone mess up or do something stupid I'll call them your name," I'll tell them and they don't like it. Crazy. "Well, I'm not calling one of them that," people will say. That's great, but your still basically calling them a joke. It's not a joke and it's not funny. People with mental disabilities can't help what they have and how they are. They need our support and love to grow and develop. They are people not a slang term for someone stupid or something stupid.
I get made fun of a lot for this and for being so fired up about it, but I don't understand why. Why am I the one who is made fun of for defending a group of people that deserve respect? "Just kill me," or "I'll kill myself if..." Are phrases that people just hate hearing, why? Because that's making a joke out of suicide which is indeed a huge problem, so why not this?
If you don't see a problem with this then take a look at your family or loved ones close to you. Is there someone in your close group that has something that they can't help? For me my dad has diabetes and my sister has a learning disability. What's in your family? Cancer? Health Issue? Physical disabilities? Now I'm going to make a joke about them, but don't worry it's just a joke. I'm not going to ever say it to their face, so don't get upset.
If anyone were to call my sister stupid, it would take everything in me to not punch their teeth out, so how do people who have someone close to them that has a mental disability feel when you say that word. I had a teacher in high school who had a brother who had a mental disability and the R word was banned from her room because it hurt her feelings. I saw one girl say it and the look in my teacher's eyes was a mix of hurt, sadness, and anger.
So rather than just getting annoyed when I or anyone else says, "Please don't use that word," just understand that it hurts someone, maybe to you it's a joke, but to them it's a heartbreak.
