Essay On The Word Retard

Improved Essays
Everyday people use words in their lives whether it is orally or written, but has anyone asked themselves if they have used all of the words correctly? Most of the time the answer is no since many people tend to just use whatever word that comes to mind without knowing the meaning. People have used the word “retard” for many years now but depending on who is using it the definition can vary. Now people perceive the word retard as a derogatory term or as an insult. For example, I was hanging out with some of my friends and they started to argue about who was better LeBron James or Kobe Bryant. The argument led to two of my friends calling each other names and one of them called my other friend a “retard” implying he was stupid so he could insult …show more content…
According to the medical dictionary mentally retarded means, “persons diagnosed as having significantly lower than average Intelligence and considerable problems in adapting to everyday life or lacking independence in regard to activities of daily living” (Mentally Retarded). So if people in the medical field such as doctors were to say a person is mentally retarded they would mean that person has a lower intelligence than a normal person or might have learning problems. Also according to Wikipedia retard is pejorative word that has the meaning of a person with mental disabilities (Retard n.d.b.). If the word retard is used in a medical practice I would not mind it since the definition is logical and I agree with the medical definition. Urban dictionary is another source that gives the definition as a person born with a mental condition (Retard n.d.c.). These three sources all have similar definitions and they were the definitions I associated with the word retard while growing up. That is why I believe the word retard should only be used by people from the medical field. But retard is also used by many other people and how they use it implies the word has a different

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Fairman maintains, “Invariably, negative connotations materialize around what ever new word is used.” He debates how the “r” word was originally used to take place of the insulting word idiot, yet still the word retarded has been turned into a negative insulting word. Then the phrase “intellectual disability” became the new official diagnosis. In 2010 the family of Rosa Marcellino a little girl with Downs Syndrome helped to pass “Rosas Law… mandated that “intellectual disability” replace “mental retardation” in many areas of federal government” (Hallahan 86). When Fairman remarks, “Idiot becomes an insult and gives way to retardation, which in turn suffers the same fate, leading to intellectual disability” he plummets back down the slope.…

    • 1204 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The Word Retard Analysis

    • 1011 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Word “Retard” The first amendment allows Americans to freely express themselves without the fear of imprisonment. This amendment is also understood as a gateway to freely using offensive language regardless of how it impacts an individual. Although there are certain words and phrases that should not be used, it is important that there is a distinction between something that is prohibited versus something generally frowned upon. Words should not be banned, that can lead to other words/phrases/etc also being banned, and that will diminish the significance of the first amendment.…

    • 1011 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I think you have seen them before. That little kid bound to a wheelchair because he has a disability that paralyzed his legs. He will never walk. That old man who still lives with his mother, who has a brain deficiency. And that lady who walks around town just watching talking in gibberish and never changing.…

    • 1175 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “A Move, a Word and My Family’s Battle” written by Patricia E. Bauer is about the battle one family had with the infamous “R” word. The explanation of the issue takes place at the family’s local movie theater in 2008, when the Patricia’s daughter, Margaret, was called a retard by a couple pre-teen girls. Margaret was noticeably hurt by this remark. Claim of value is used in different ways for the different views of people. As for the families with mentally disabled kids and adults, the importance of care for those is a great deal more than those who don’t know anyone with a mental disability.…

    • 973 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Buffalo State chapters of Best Buddies college mission is to provide an opportunity for college students to be matched in a one-to-one friendship with individuals who have intellectual disabilities. The purpose of Best Buddies campaign is to raise peoples’ awareness of the derogatory use of these words and their negative effects on people with intellectual disabilities, as well as on their families and friends. The campaign also aims to change attitudes of segregation and hate to attitudes of acceptance and respect. Also, to spread the word to end the word. The R-word, retard or retarded, is slang for the term mental retardation, these are the word hurts millions of people around the world.…

    • 428 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Superior Essays

    What does the word nigger mean? A question that no one would expect a nine year old to ask another person. A phrase that could cause anyone, not just a nine year old, a whole world of trouble. What led me to ask not only my childhood best friend, but also his mom, what the word “nigger” meant, was when we were in his front yard while a black mailman delivered mail in our neighborhood.…

    • 1335 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The term politically correct first appeared in the 1960’s and since then it has evolved far beyond its original purposes. In his article “Apple Removes All American Civil War Games From the App Store Because of the Confederate Flag”, Tasos Lazarides informs people about Apple’s decision to remove the image of the Confederate Battle Flag the author does not take a strong position in the argument. He uses the article more for informational purposes, as opposed to using the article for an argument. Recently there has been uproar over the use of the Confederate Battle Flag. People find it offensive and therefore, it is being taken down everywhere.…

    • 1376 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Essay On Autism In Schools

    • 1293 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Autism in Schools Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is continuing to affect more and more children everyday. Autism can have a huge impact on a child’s ability to succeed in school. Autism can result in a delay in brain development that can be associated with difficulties in social and motor skills. Physical health can also be affected, which often results in sleep deprivation. All of these conditions will often damage a child’s chances to succeed in school.…

    • 1293 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Lennie, Candy and Crooks all had these problems which caused them several problems on the farm. If they wouldn’t have these impairments then they would live an easier life on the farm, but they have to do a lot of work with the problems they have. They just had to learn how to deal with them and work through them so that they can make their money. Well Candy and Crooks are the ones who have the impairments that gave them problems when they were working on the farm. Lennie mostly had mental impairments that cause him to lose his memory.…

    • 658 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Essay On Nigger

    • 788 Words
    • 4 Pages

    This is article is about the use of a special and sensitive word Nigger. Because of special history, there are always contradictions between white people and black people. Long long ago, black people were caught by the white people in Africa and translated to America. They were regarded as goods, called slaves, also niggers. As far as I am concerned, I definitely disagree with this evil slave trade.…

    • 788 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Why should children be informed on disability at an early age? Investigating: “Retard.” “Freak.” “Slow.”…

    • 1046 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Definition of Autism There are many serious mental diseases. Autism (ASD) is one of the most dangerous mental illnesses. It is a common disease in the whole world. Nowadays, statistics show us that autism became a very common condition. All ages may have autism, but children are the biggest victim of this disease.…

    • 608 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Dyslexia Research Paper

    • 1890 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Language is one of the oldest and first uses of communication. Whether it is body language or sign language. Language is the one thing that everyone in the world has in common. “There are about 5000 languages spoken in the world today (a third of them in Africa), but scholars group them together into relatively few families - probably less than twenty. Languages are linked to each other by shared words or sounds or grammatical constructions.…

    • 1890 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Dyslexia Research Paper

    • 1637 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Dyslexia is an inherited condition that makes it extremely difficult to read, write, and spell in your native language, despite having an at least average intelligence. Dyslexia is very common, but has only been talked about in recent years. It was 1878 when German neurologist, Adolph Kussmaul, first used the phrase “word blindness” describing what we know as dyslexia today. The word dyslexia was first used by Rudolf Berlin of Stuttgart, Germany, in 1887 to describe the inability to read. In 1905 W.E. Burner published the first report of childhood reading difficulties in the U.S..…

    • 1637 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Asperger's Syndrome Essay

    • 1736 Words
    • 7 Pages

    A lot of people might wonder after hearing it on the news or somewhere else: What is Asperger’s Syndrome? Asperger’s Syndrome is the most mildest of the Autism Spectrum disorders, with the most mildest of symptoms (...Fact Sheet). It may seem otherwise, but Asperger’s, (or autism in general), is very common. It is estimated that one in eighty-eight children will be diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (or ASD) (... Fact Sheet).…

    • 1736 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays