Retarded Idiots

In the late 19th Century, the word “retarded” was introduced into the English language as a compassionate substitute for more onerous appellations such as “imbecile” or “idiot” – the clinical terms then used to describe people with mental limitations, er, uh, developmental disabilities. [Another is “cretin”, which is derived from the French word for “Christian”.] Since people still loved to use “idiot” and “imbecile” to refer to those with whom they disagree, those terms lost connection to their original definitions and became arrows in the quiver of insults.

Over the decades, “retarded” lost its neutral imprimatur and has become a general insult to be applied to people and things one deems stupid, not exclusively to the special populations it was originally meant to reference. It’s time to liberate the word from professional umbrage-takers like Ms. Palin. Let’s agree that “retarded” is never to be used as a scientific or objective term; we will cease to apply it to any of “God’s children with cognitive and developmental disabilities.” It will be used henceforth only as a semi-harsh insult like “idiot” or “moron” to convey contempt for selected targets within the general population—-the driver in front of you, for example.