Is the R-word unacceptable/inappropriate to use at any time?

[Woody]

https://www.specialolympics.org/stories/impact/why-the-r-word-is-the-r-slur

The R-word, also known as the R-slur, is a hurtful term that remains prevalent throughout social media, according to a Kantar Social Listening study. The research shows that when social media users are posting about people with intellectual disabilities, 7 in every 10 of those posts are negative, and 6 in 10 contain a slur.

Kantar reviewed nearly 50 million social posts in the U.S. over 2 years. Over two-thirds of posts about people with intellectual disabilities were negative and nearly 29 million contained slurs (i.e., using the word “r***rd(ed)” or other words combined with “-tard”).

I think so, think of it as a slur too. Even here people unfortunately use this word when they write posts.

[Joe Republic]

Yes, I try not to call people R*p*bl*c*ns no matter how awful they are.

[Stuart98]

Yes, just the same as any other slur. Whatever legitimate meaning the word once had is long gone, the way the word is used nowadays is exclusively as a slur.

[emailking]

It can be used in physics where it derives from, or if you're talking about the word. It's not acceptable to call someone that or to use it as a synonym for stupid.

[Mr. Reactionary]

No. Grow up.

[GM Team Member and Senator WB]

like pretty much any word it depends on context. Using it in a joking manner and not directed at anyone "that's retarded" is usually fine. Using it as a directed attack on someone "wow, what a retard!" is not.

[DrScholl]

No. Grow up.

Yet when Hillary Clinton used basket of deplorables Republicans were highly offended. It's you who needs to grow up.

[Mr. Reactionary]

Wouldnt be a Dr Scholl post without a "buh muh watabout Reepublicans!?" Stay on topic.

[Joe Republic]

No. Grow up.

Growing up is exactly what leads people to stop calling others retarded, though.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

[An American Tail: Fubart Goes West]

You can talk about retarding the spark advance on an old car.

[MarkD]

What would we do to all of the episodes of L.A. Law in which Larry Drake portrayed an R-word man, and the dialogue frequently called him the R-word, bury them and never watch them again? Or re-dub the sound track in order to substitute a different word every single time someone used the R-word in an episode?

[DrScholl]

Wouldnt be a Dr Scholl post without a "buh muh watabout Reepublicans!?" Stay on topic.

Oh, get over it. It is not the serious.

What would we do to all of the episodes of L.A. Law in which Larry Drake portrayed an R-word man, and the dialogue frequently called him the R-word, bury them and never watch them again? Or re-dub the sound track in order to substitute a different word every single time someone used the R-word in an episode?

I doubt anyone is worried about a show that was canceled 28 years ago. The topic is about using the word as a slur against people.

[Orwell]

No I use it daily along with a litany of other slurs, like both G-words and the W-word to describe Italians, M-word to describe the Irish, and many homophobic slurs. My Anti-Italian sentiment is directed towards Italians, and I 100% mean it. The rest of the slurs I use are homophobic in nature but I just call my friends them.

[T'Chenka]

I'm not afraid to say "Republican" out loud.

EDIT - f__k somebody said it already

[John Dule]

It's extremely disrespectful to people with mental problems. I use it frequently for this reason.

[Joe Republic]

I think so, think of it as a slur too. Even here people unfortunately use this word when they write posts.

I agree, and there's only one valid response whenever people here do it:

WTF!?!? are these guys retarded?

[Darthpi – Anti-Florida Activist]

I personally don't use it, but I also get that words like "idiot" "imbecile" and "moron" have a similar origin as archaic terms for people with various intellectual disabilities, so I don't think it's inherently bigoted to use the r-word in a similar way, even though it certainly is a more hurtful word due to how it has been used over the decades.

[Vice President Christian Man]

I'm waiting for the day it's as stigmatized as the "N" or "F" words

[Pres Mike]

What would we do to all of the episodes of L.A. Law in which Larry Drake portrayed an R-word man, and the dialogue frequently called him the R-word, bury them and never watch them again? Or re-dub the sound track in order to substitute a different word every single time someone used the R-word in an episode?

I would put a disclamier. I think Warner Bros was very tasteful

[Orwell]

I'm waiting for the day it's as stigmatized as the "N" or "F" words

I use the F word a lot fugaze

[Woody]

I think so, think of it as a slur too. Even here people unfortunately use this word when they write posts.

I agree, and there's only one valid response whenever people here do it:

WTF!?!? are these guys retarded?

I have changed my stance.

[BlueSwan]

Which people with mental disabilities are actually hurt by this? Nobody actually calls mentally handicapped people "retarded" these days, it is almost exclusively used to describe people who say something idiotic and has the same de facto meaning as idiotic or moronic. Anyway, name me a mentally mandicapped person who is reading Atlas and taking offense when somebody uses that word? Seems to me like it is mostly white liberal speech police that are obsessed with this.

Also, canceling one of the best scenes in movie history would be tragic (Tropic Thunder - "never go full retard" scene).

[T'Chenka]

Which people with mental disabilities are actually hurt by this? Nobody actually calls mentally handicapped people "retarded" these days, it is almost exclusively used to describe people who say something idiot and has the same de facto meaning as idiotic or moronic. Anyway, name me a mentally mandicapped person who is reading Atlas and taking offense when somebody uses that word? Seems to me like it is most white liberal speech police that are obsessed with this.

I know several Atlas posters who are autistic that strongly dislike the use of the word, even though it doesn't directly mean "autistic". It's offensive to people who could be considered "mentally handicapped" in some way (even  though it's the wrong way to correctly describe autism).

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Reminder that a whole slew of negative words in the English language have origins that are just as demeaning by the standards of what the zeitgeist would tell you, yet they don't get much in the way of any criticism at all. Have y'all ever wondered what the word "dumb" originally meant? Is it ok to call people dumb? Is using the word "dumb" in the sense most people use it nowadays offensive to mute people? Oh, and did I mention that under this school of thought, a sufficient large amount of negative terminology just wouldn't even exist in English and so language would not be able to properly express human emotions in a complete way? I use this word IRL, btw. No regrets. It fills a niche, and sometimes I have to go into that niche to express myself.