Quote:
Originally Posted by Alex
I thought I pretty much explained the "so what" as I see it. Why, even if successful, it likely isn't going to solve the underlying issue. That just as words can gain new definitions they can shed them as well (in usage if not in the OED), and that in this case it may be more productive in the long term to shed a definition than to try and salt this linguistic ground and hope you can avoid a repeat on the new homestead.
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Thing is, you can't "let it be a word meaning "boneheaded" or "stupid"" because when people say retarded they don't mean boneheaded, they mean "you are acting like someone who was born mentally deficient." That's what the word is continuing to mean, and I don't think that's going to change any time soon, as it's still clinging to that even as the technical term fades.
This reminds me of my childhood friend who was forbidden by her liberal parents to call anyone "stupid" or "dumb". It's one of those things that as a (foul-mouthed) kid, seemed ludicrous to me, but as an adult, does make some sense. It's a truly insulting thing to say to someone.
The other side of that story is that the word she used for her younger siblings was "silly". She did use it in a softer manner than me spitting out "UR DUMB" to my brothers. "That seems silly to me", she'd say to them. Her upbringing didn't allow sarcasm and outright meanness, but it did seem to allow for a condescending tone. So in the end she found a way to basically say the same thing with different words and tone.
What I'm trying to say is, you're right, it's a moving target. And that is the nature of language. I fully believe that this problem has been around forever and will continue to be around. Your example of "moron" and "idiot" proves that even if we did follow your tactic of letting "retard" become the same, the new words that replace "retard" will become the offensive terms. I have heard people call each other "mentally challenged" as an insult. Another good example is "special", the ultimate in backfiring attempts to correct the same sort of problem. Even the most simple of sentences - "I'm special" - means something totally different than it did 30 years ago.
The term I'm hearing used most often now (in serious tones) is "special needs". I think that term has another 5 years tops before it's done.
I don't think there's any changing how this goes, no preventing the cycle from continuing. As long as we have words for people that have disabilities, people without those disabilities are not going to want to be called those words, and thus, the names have power and are going to be abused. When it's time, we shift terms. Makes sense to me.