Bill Maher 6/9/17

[Brian37]

Neo-Scholastic Wrote: [url=https://atheistforums.org/post-1566728.html#pid1566728][/url]Kind of like the way people on this forum bandy around the word "retard" i.e. creatard, etc. For those of us, like me who work with the mentally challenged, we find it hurtful and stigmatizing. At the same time we teach our members that it says more about the name-callers, their lack of class and ignorance and nothing about the mentally challenged. They won't let other people take away their dignity as human beings. In that way they are stronger than more noble than anyone using the word retard or derivatives like creatard

Accept it has nothing to do with insulting the mentally challenged . It's an attack on people who say stupid things  or believe stupid things. Not a reference to anyone suffering a legitimate mental issue .

I agree, in the context of saying "retard" to someone merely saying something that is bullshit and factless, it is saying you are resistant to facts, much like if you are fireman wearing flame resistant cloths, you are retarding the fire. We are not equating the person to being mentally challenged, we are saying your desire dreamy eyed delusion is causing one to retard facts in favor of naked assertions.

"retard" also has the definition of deflecting something, and that definition has nothing to do with stigmatizing the mentally challenged. 

Just like the word "fly" can refer to an insect, but also can mean "that person is sexy, or is wearing something amazing, or owns something amazing."

"I am going to kill that fly"

"That women is fly"

"That suit the guy is wearing is fly"

Just like the word "gay" can be used as a slur. Long before it was, it merely meant happy. And even today gay can be used as merely meaning happy, or it can also be used as a slur, or it also can be used to refer to someones sexuality.

CONTEXT matters. I really do get down on the all or nothing attitude. If you don't know how someone is using a word, ask, don't assume.