I was poking around on Pinterest the other day and I found one of the memes that people were passing around. Funny, right? Not to me. It made reference to how someone could be laughing so hard they couldn’t make a sound and they just sit there clapping their hands like a retarded seal. Some people might think that is funny, or even harmless. But we all know that words can cut deeper than knives. And Retarded is a big knife.
The real problem I have with this quote is that it uses the word retarded in such an innocuous way. Makes it seem perfectly harmless. They aren’t referring to anyone in particular, and they are actually making fun of themselves. Ha ha, I heard something so funny that I clapped like a retarded seal. How can that hurt anyone? Simple. It makes the word retarded an acceptable word to describe something. That is only inches away from using it to describe a person. Maybe to describe someone struggling with their ability to be like others. Someone that already feel like an outsider. Someone that already questions their worth. It is only inches away from becoming hate-filled and angry; said to hurt someone instead of as a joke.
That word is mean and there is no reason to keep it in our vocabulary. There is no reason to promote it on Pinterest as something funny and to be joked about. There are certain words in our vocabulary that are so disgusting, so vile, so mean spirited that they should not be used in such a flippant and casual way. I would like to assume that this particular meme was not trying to be mean, but in a way, that seems worse. The person that concocted that meme already doesn’t believe the word should be stricken from their lexicon. They don’t see it as a degrading word. That scares me. That means they don’t see it for what it really is. And that means they are apt to use it whenever they want.
So please, if you have this word in your vocabulary, remove it. You are smarter than that, and can come up with much better words in which to be funny and to describe your feelings. Know that it is a hateful word and one that makes many people feel bad about themselves. And it makes you look bad. It is shameful. And it does not describe anyone accurately.
