Intellectual disability

We control what
you think with
Language

Said and done

* Neutral point of view
* Code word
* Indo-European languages
* Irony
* The powers that be
* Just a joke

Jargon, buzzwords, slogans

* The powers that be
* Transgender glossary
* Manosphere glossary
* TERF glossary
* Ideological patrolling
* Decoupling

v \- t \- e

Intellectual disability (ID), formerly called mental retardation (often abbreviated MR in clinical settings that still use the term), refers to various physiological conditions that slow or limit cognitive development.

## The R word[edit]

Since mental retardation generally results in what we could call stupidity, it is used as a derogatory insult against people and concepts considered to be extremely, irredeemably bad.

Using the word "retarded" as an insult is now viewed by people who practice civility to be offensive to others with mental disabilities for 2 reasons:

* It degrades disability.
* It's often insulting by comparison. For example, some people consider the saying, "anti-vaxxers are retarded" as insulting to people with genuine intellectual disabilities, since they might be falsely attributed to belonging to anti-vaccine groups.

The word is also often associated with eugenics, and explains why Musk and Trump have been promoting its usage.[1]

### Spread the word to end the word[edit]

Most prominent is the United States social campaign Spread the Word to End the Word,[2] which requests that people refrain from using the word altogether and compares it to racial epithets like the N word.

The campaign, while well-meaning, has met with a mixed reaction. Pragmatists argue that simply banning a particular word doesn't automatically remove the stigmatization of and discrimination against the social group attached to it. This can be directly observed even with the term "retard" itself, which is a middle word in what's known as a "euphemism treadmill" that started with "idiot", "imbecile", or "moron" and has since added "mentally challenged" and "special" as terms that turned derogatory.[3][4] Of course, simply choosing not to say a certain word isn't exactly difficult, and it respects the feelings and dignity of people with disabilities.

Regardless of the campaign's effectiveness, the word is still evocative of childish catch-all name-calling (similar to "gay" as an insult) and if nothing else, should be avoided for that reason. As it is also quite frequently utilized against disabled or mentally ill people by certain awful groups, especially often in targeting 'SJWs', use of this word should additionally be avoided for that reason.

## References[edit]

1. ↑ 'The basis of eugenics': Elon Musk and the menacing return of the R-word: The slur is rooted in the dehumanization of people with intellectual disabilities. Its resurgence threatens the fragile progress we’ve made by Justin Kirkland (3 Mar 2025 09.00 EST) The Guardian.
2. ↑ Spread the Word to End the Word
3. ↑ The Euphemism Treadmill - replacing the "R-Word"
4. ↑ The R Word and the Euphemism Treadmill

This language-related article is a stub.
You can help RationalWiki by expanding it.