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I am bothered by that word. If anyone uses it I am sure to reprimend if not scorn them. People are so predjudice over the mental health field. ITs something they're born with or caused by accident and its something they can't control! The brain is no different from the heart! Would you make fun of someone with a heart attack? I hate it when people say "thats retarded, or "he's retarded" its like saying "thats so paralyzed"
Saying You're retarded is as offensive as a racial slur to me. Is anyone else bothered by it? People should be taught at a young age that predjudice is wrong.

just ignore it, let the idiots do the talking....they'll look stupid for using the word retarted anyways

Eh, I doubt they mean any harm. When they say retard they don't mean the mental illness. Just like when people say, "That's gay!" They don't mean a homosexual.

It's a word I use quite alot, but I would never say it in public or when a person with a Mental Disability was around, my friends and I use it against eachother, but to us it means 'stupid' and nothing more.

I can sort of feel with you panic_wolf because I have many learning disabilities too and instead of people calling me by my name they'd refer to me as "the ugly retard"

I don't like it when someone is reffering to someone with a mental dissability, because my cousin suffers from that and I'm constantly flipping out and yelling at people when they use it in that context. But I don't really have that big of a problem when people say "That's so retarted." because it has nothing to do with people with mental dissablilites. And I'm even guilty of saying that once in a while. Only when I get really mad, though, or I just kind of forget that I'm not really supposed to use that word. (Again because of my cousin). But most people don't mean to use if offensivly, and if they do.. then they need to get a life.

Yes, that is how me and my friends are. We mean no harm by it.

Exactly. They aren't referring to people who have 'mental disabilities'. My brother has mental disabilites, just no one sees it but me. All well.

When I say "THATS SO RETARTED!!!".. I am not referring to people who have mental health issues. I am referring to the thing that is so not awesome, persay.

I don't see WHY someone would flip out over that. But then again, I say God and I get kill by someone.

Its not that big a deal, really. Just ignore it and move on with your life. I think people with mental disabilies are friggin' cool. o_0 They just rawk my world. XD

Does this mean I rock? XD I understand most people use it without harm, but when I hear it, it's usually directed at me. So I'm impartial to the word and my judgement still stands.

I hate it when people make fun of people with.....learning dissablitlies or such. I feel so sorry for 'em. I mean, they always have a smile on there face. There was this boy who always comes to my church's VBS. He so funny and I love him to death (like a brother.) He can barely write his own name though and he somtimes blurts out stuff. Somtimes I just want to cry when people are like "Shut up, no one likes you!" To him. Why do people do that? I only say "you're retarded" to my friend, Jordan, even though she's not. She knows I'm just kidding. But I would never say such a thing to an actual person who had a dissability.

I hate it when people use that word deragotoraly (sp). If I see anyone use that word or others (such as "gay" in the same sense). Then I politely ask them to stop. Of course I can't stop them, but I try to not use those words in that context.

You know, Gay means happy too.

I dont see why ANYONE would get upset over someone saying "Oh thats so gay!" or "How retarted!"...

They mean totally different things than calling someone gay, or a retard. XP... I understand if you get angry at someone because they are calling someone that. But saying it out of a 'harmful', persay, context like that, there is no reason to be upset.

And if you dont use it, good for you. I dont use either like I used too. XP... But hey, I dont talk, so I have no reason to anyways.

Of course, if someone used gay meaning happy I would be ok with that

I don't know...

you don't know everyone's prefrences, so somethings may hurt some people. So I guess teh best thing is to be careful what you say.

I think a word is only offensive when a person takes offence to it. I myself use it a lot in casual conversation with friends, but in public I am very mindful of what I say around people, since I know it's a word that isn't exactly tasteful, but it's hard to remove from my vocabulary. There's a time and place for it.