The Testing Chat III: The Time of Great Chatting

[evilsoup]

Is retard still used as a medical term? I believe that the correct term now would be 'learning difficulties' or 'special needs' or a specific disorder.

Also for a while there was an attempt (at least over here) to use the word 'special' (i.e. special needs) to refer to children with learning difficulties
which of course quickly became one of the playground taunts
then I think there was something like 'sparks kids' or something? Anyway, that didn't last long, for the same reason
I think they've given up on that ridiculous strategy now
so yeah euphemism treadmill

[Darksi4190]

As someone who actually has a learning disability, I probably shouldn't use retard as an insult as much as I do, but when you're online gaming, you can either call someone a retard, or call them gay, and I don't like to use gay as an insult.

[adr]

gg n00blars. pwned

[Agent Bert Macklin]

Or you can be an adult and not respond to these people in such a way when playing online.

[Darksi4190]

Or you can be an adult and not respond to these people in such a way when playing online.

I don't do it that often, but every once and a while, somebody will do something so mind-blowingly stupid, you really have to get on the mic and yell at them for it.

[RyanThunder]

Fun fact: idiot, moron, retard, halfwit, dumb, etc. are all medical terms used legitimately to refer to someone with a learning disorder at some point or another.

So it is literally impossible to call anybody anything but 'stupid' if you want to insult their intelligence, if we listen to the PC brigade.

I don't think stuff like "idiot" and "moron" are proper medical terms or really associated with medical conditions in most people's mind's anymore though. Their useage in the language has evolved to the point where they've basically lost their "real" meanings and just mean stupid.

Exactly like 'retard'.

"Retard" is different because the association with medical conditions in the living language is stronger.

I think we're well past the point where anybody would use it in a neutral light, though. Also, what evilsoup said.

I think the problem is, fundamentally, that the terms being used to refer to somebody with a learning disability end up being easy enough to throw into a sentence. If they're too clunky to use as a clever-sounding insult, I don't think they will be, which is why phrasing it as a long-winded condition they have is preferable because nobody in their right mind is going to use that as an insult.

[evilsoup]

I prefer 'fuckhead'
or, even better, combining swears with otherwise innocent words
'tablefucker' is a good one. Or 'shitburger'.

[RyanThunder]

ginormous shitbird?

[RyanThunder]

'whiny sniveling cockgoblin'?

[Losonti Tokash]

hey ryan go use the word retard around someone who has a developmental disability and tell us how not hurt they are

dumbshits coming up with excuses for why it's okay for them to use a slur never gets old

edit: hey guys why do people get upset when i call a black person a negro it used to be what the census called them

pc gone mad

[RyanThunder]

I actually don't even use it because I don't like how it sounds in a sentence.

[evilsoup]

'cockgoblin' sounds like a homophobic slur of some kind
but otherwise, yeah, you're getting it

[Djinnkitty83]

I guess 'cockgoblin' sounds a little like 'cockgobbler', which could easily be seen as homophobic.

I just saw the word as implying someone looked like a hideous, deformed penis-monster.

Or you can be an adult and not respond to these people in such a way when playing online.

I don't do it that often, but every once and a while, somebody will do something so mind-blowingly stupid, you really have to get on the mic and yell at them for it.

No you don't.

[adr]

when I play that black ops 2 game my username is like pi415926535 and ppl have a few times been like "pi guy you're a I'M A JUGGALO WOOP WOOP faggot pi is 3.14 not 415whatever"

and I just want to correc thtem but I don't have a mic lol

cookie to anyone who can figure out why I picked the numbers I did

and i'll throw in some milk to anyone who sees why i'm revealing this amusing anecdote at this time

[evilsoup]

well those numbers are a bunch of digits from pi (I know it starts 3.141592, I have no idea why I memorised that many digits)
but apart from that I'm afraid I can't perceive your brilliance

[Flagg]

hey ryan go use the word retard around someone who has a developmental disability and tell us how not hurt they are

dumbshits coming up with excuses for why it's okay for them to use a slur never gets old

edit: hey guys why do people get upset when i call a black person a negro it used to be what the census called them

pc gone mad

Yeah but they aren't people like us, so who cares?

[Infinity Biscuit]

As someone who actually has a learning disability, I probably shouldn't use retard as an insult as much as I do, but when you're online gaming, you can either call someone a retard, or call them gay, and I don't like to use gay as an insult.

Did this make sense only long enough to type it or do you still think this sentence is a reasonable thing to say?

[Losonti Tokash]

shit i didn't even see that post earlier

[adr]

well those numbers are a bunch of digits from pi (I know it starts 3.141592, I have no idea why I memorised that many digits)

I knew it to like 160 digits for a while for a "pi off" in high school lol. I didn't even win

I've since forgotten most of it but still remember like the first 30 which is actually pretty useful whenever I need to pick some "random" numbers!

But yes at first I couldn't find a username so I figured i'd just use "3.14159265358979323846264" well as much as it was willing to accept. But it had to start with a letter, so I replaced the first two characters with the word "pi".



Anywho the point is these guys threw out insults when if they just put a tiny bit more effort into thinking about it, they could see that there actually is a reasonable explanation behind it. Insults are easy... but rarely accurate or useful. So instead of arguing over what word we use, I say we should change our approach to not using insults at all.


Though I totally sympathize with those who just want to scream at the fucking hacker n00bs using mod chips in their playstations to increase my lag just so they can win. I mean come on it is just a game is winning really that important to you? so come on LET ME WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

it just isn't useful.

[evilsoup]

I generally just use evilsoup
sometimes evilsoup1

[Oxymoron]

What's the story behind the name ?

[Straha]

Over the past year I've been reading a lot of the literature on Ableism and trying to cut out a lot of the shit I used to do. It isn't just offensive, it helps to damage any ability to relate to people who are non-neuronormative and makes attempts to work with them almost... shameful.

As someone who actually has a learning disability, I probably shouldn't use retard as an insult as much as I do, but when you're online gaming, you can either call someone a retard, or call them gay, and I don't like to use gay as an insult.

Mark the time. We have reached peak .

[RyanThunder]

meant to put quotes around that

just tryin to help a brother out

Of course you did.
Either way its all good.

[Zablorg]

look just call everyone shitbirds that's what i do

[Straha]

I like 'Fritata' my self.

EDIT: Also Holy Fuck, Batman is 42? I did not know that. Suddenly that situation becomes very depressing.