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8:39am December 19, 2011

➸ codeman38's tumblings: The "R" Word

codeman38:

[Trigger warning for ableist language.]

aspergersissues:

I got a lot of comments about the post that went up earlier today. It used the word “retard” in it. I was told I should know not to use it.

Sorry, but I use it. I don’t use it as an insult, and I don’t use it with NTs. I use it to…

@codeman38 (argh tumblr cut off your words) I see it the same way. I used to know an autistic person who claimed to be reclaiming that word. But then she’d scream it at people with intellectual disabilities if they did something she didn’t like. (Her response when I called her on it was “Oh I know it hurts. I know exactly how much it hurts. I don’t like her and I meant to hurt her.” As if that made it okay. She had this idea that it’s okay to use any slur in the world for the kind of person you’re angry at.)

OTOH I actually do try to reclaim it when it’s thrown at me. Like if someone yells it at me, I’ll say something like “make that PROUD retard” or “glad I’m a retard and not a bigot” or something. Substitute mong or whatever else in there – it’s all a bunch of fast comebacks to defuse its power. I’ll also use it in other very clearly defined contexts (many of which are still giving the middle finger to the kinds of people who use it as an insult). Or I’ll use it when trying to describe quickly a certain stereotyped way of looking at people with ID/autism/CP/TBI/DD/etc. But never the type of put down context we are talking about.