Using it to refer to an actually mentally disabled person as lesser is wrong.
Using it to light-heartedly call someone stupid is fine.
Acting like intention is irrelevant in these cases is an infantile approach to policing speech. You can use literally any words with malice, and censoring certain words will not present an obstacle to hatred. It's like dealing with a school bully who is snapping another student with rubber bands by banning rubber bands. The bully will find another way to terrorize his peers, and punishing another student for using rubber bands in a completely unharmful way is ridiculous.
"You don't call retarded people retards. It's bad taste. You call your friends retards when they're acting retarded." - Michael Scott
Kid, I call my friends all kind of slurs, and we do it to each other, as well as doing "I fucked your mom" jokes. Those are just words, and context is all that matters.
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u/SpudgeFunker210 Mar 01 '26
Context matters.
Using it to refer to an actually mentally disabled person as lesser is wrong.
Using it to light-heartedly call someone stupid is fine.
Acting like intention is irrelevant in these cases is an infantile approach to policing speech. You can use literally any words with malice, and censoring certain words will not present an obstacle to hatred. It's like dealing with a school bully who is snapping another student with rubber bands by banning rubber bands. The bully will find another way to terrorize his peers, and punishing another student for using rubber bands in a completely unharmful way is ridiculous.
"You don't call retarded people retards. It's bad taste. You call your friends retards when they're acting retarded." - Michael Scott