soap box...

I have several things that irk me.  One of those things is people misusing the word "retarded."  Come on folks.  Let's think about this.  Retarded is a technical and clinical term generally used to describe one who has moderately to profoundly impaired cognitive skills.

I have worked with many children and adults who are retarded. How rude and deplorable it is when someone uses the word retarded as an insult.  We don't use other medical terms to degrade or poke fun of others.  As with so many other things, one could do better in using vocabulary words in place of retarded.  To use that word as in insult to someone else is not acceptable.  It is cruel and beyond profoundly ridiculous.

Since most people use retarded as an insult to those cognitively impaired, please think about what you are doing. Break that habit now.  You are being mean plain and simple.