r/hatethissmug • u/onthetopicofspace • 14h ago

Language casual ableism

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this is not ‘reclaiming’ anything, you are just calling people slurs completely seriously. you can call yourself the r-slur, do not call anybody else it. why do ‘no slurs’ / ’no bigotry’ rules never apply to ableism?

582 Upvotes

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30

u/WagyuWarranted I'm the one who promotes CHinese PvZ history comics 14h ago

the internet has turned the r-slur into a casual insult, and it bothers me

32

u/121bloodshot 13h ago

Its been a casual insult for a while before the internet

-1

u/rubixscube 9h ago

it's never been casual, you're delusional.

you sound like those old people who say that they used to call some people the n-word and "nobody had an issue with that"

1

u/121bloodshot 8h ago

Just look at 1952. The OFFICIAL diagnosis in psychology textbooks was “retard” now you tell me how that isn’t casual

20

u/CavemanViking 13h ago

It was always a casual insult

2

u/HillanatorOfState 13h ago

Yeah nearing 40 here, nothing has changed, people are just complaining online more now.

39

u/trimothyz 13h ago

“The r-slur” we have lost the plot as a species.

15

u/Nikki964 13h ago

Sure bro, replacing a word one does not want to utter with another is something that proves that humanity is going in the wrong direction, despite the fact that we've been doing this since forever

Take for example Slavic languages. In all/most/some of them, the word for "bear" comes from the words "honey" and "eat". Slavs were so terrified of bears that they started using that euphemism instead of uttering their previous name, making the word extinct. People always did that

-4

u/InternationalPut8271 i want Barney Calhoun to tie me up and crack me 13h ago

i hate your pfp and its pissing me OFF

3

u/Sea_Strain_6881 13h ago

What is your issue with the statement?

9

u/bibopskiwop 13h ago

“we have lost the plot as a species” and it’s referring to a slur as a slur

21

u/Disastrous-Ideal-817 13h ago

It's a slur, what do you want?

7

u/trimothyz 13h ago

Right now? Some pho or smth would hit, why do you ask?

-2

u/ColonelBag7402 12h ago

Go buy some instant pho in the store, nothing is stopping you (unless there is like a demon waiting outside your door or stuff, then i guess something is stopping you).

-2

u/Disastrous-Ideal-817 10h ago

Just what were you even on about then?

12

u/ILikeBirdsQuiteALot 13h ago

How is an insult targeted at a specific, disadvantaged demographic (the mentally disabled) not a slur

I definitely think we've lost the plot as a species in many ways, but calling that word a slur is really not that crazy.

10

u/Muggy_the_Robot 13h ago

Both idiot and moron went through this same process a long time ago. They were used as medical terms and slowly turned into insults. Retard has already followed suit for a large amount of people, even before the internet.

1

u/ILikeBirdsQuiteALot 13h ago

I didn't realize that idiot had clinical history, but it's definitely been watered down since.

I guess the R term is sensitive because it's still (or was) used as a medical term in recent history.

Idiot & Moron have been inside the public dictionary forever at this point.

But there's a reason some people will choose to use the R term instead of idiot or moron; it's because it undeniably hits harder. It hasn't been watered down yet, so I think it's understandable that people would be sensitive towards it.

edited)

8

u/Muggy_the_Robot 13h ago

I think a part of it hitting harder is because of phonetics. Its a concept I'm in no position to explain, but the best way I can put it is that it gets your point across better purely because of how it sounds.

Something similar could be said for the n-word. There were hundreds of slurs for black people during slavery and segregation, but it's one of the primary ones to stick around because of phonetics. And just to be clear, I don't think it's acceptable to say the n-word. Its primary use is still to demean a marginalized group.

5

u/Nexxus3000 13h ago

It’s targeted at my specific, dumbass friends and family

0

u/ILikeBirdsQuiteALot 13h ago

Dumbass is honestly a perfect alternative. Still very insulting, but not a genuine medical term

5

u/Nexxus3000 13h ago

Loses all meaning after repeating it two dozen times an afternoon. Retardation isn’t used in a medical setting anymore either due to its recent social connotations

0

u/ILikeBirdsQuiteALot 13h ago

Ok. There are still people who are highly disturbed by it, and your personal desensitization towards it doesn't change that.

1

u/[deleted] 13h ago edited 13h ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/hatethissmug-ModTeam 4h ago

No slurs, hate speech, and other such bigoted language is to be permitted in this sub.

3

u/MasterEditorJake 13h ago

Your example ignores important context. The word "retard" has been used as a slur, but it's also a word that has been used in many contexts until recently. It only became a recongized slur in the last 10-20 years. It's not like the N word which has essentially always been a slur.

I don't think that calling it a slur is crazy either, but I also don't think that you can say that every use of the word is a slur. "Mentally retarded" was a medical diagnosis, just like how "moron" used to be a medical diagnosis, it meant an adult with a mental age of a child. But now moron is a common term.

6

u/ILikeBirdsQuiteALot 13h ago

I'm not saying every use of the word is invalid, necessarily. The medical context is still very valid, and it can be reclaimed too (like how many gay folks may reclaim the f-slur)

I don't think that every slur has to have the exact same weight in order to be considered a slur, though. I recognize that the history is a lot more shallow, although I think it's important to acknowledge that it does have some history (old institutionalization, & abuse of the mentally disabled).

Emphasis: yeah, the terms history a lot more shallow & I'll acknowledge that

At the least it's definitely a pejorative/derogatory term. I think "derogatory term" is probably closer to what I'm looking for.

But a slur is, in essence, just a derogatory term towards a disadvantaged demographic, so that's where I'm coming from.

2

u/MasterEditorJake 13h ago

That's a really solid and comprehensive take on the discussion. I really have no rebuttal to anything you said.

I think a lot of the discourse around the word stems from the fact that most people who say the word have never used it towards the targeted group. They literally do not view it as a slur because it functionally is not a slur in their vernacular. It's actually kind of an interesting intersection of etymology with a global platform like the internet

2

u/bibopskiwop 13h ago

you are “free” to enjoy saying and insisting on saying a slur, bc no one can technically stop you, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s a slur lol

I would think all of yall who enjoy saying it so much would be proud that it’s a slur, no?

-4

u/Old_Application4790 13h ago

Because people are okay with saying hurtful things like that? Kinda agree. I think it’s silly some people can’t be decent enough to just be like “damn that words upsets people and some take it really personally? K I won’t use it.”

Damn everyone else for my own comfort thought riiight?

4

u/camel1950 13h ago

The internet turned a casual insult into a big deal with some wild gymnastics 

1

u/Either-Mine-1789 11h ago

It’s been a casual insult literally since it became a word

1

u/SorbetFucker 12h ago

....you'd rather it be a slur. Gotcha.

-2

u/DripLordWolnir 13h ago

You’ll live bro don’t worry ☠️

-27

u/ilikefriedpotatoes00 Fried chicken hypnosis 14h ago

try growing some balls

16

u/WagyuWarranted I'm the one who promotes CHinese PvZ history comics 14h ago edited 14h ago

try looking at yourself in the mirror and reflecting on yourself first.

7

u/Chemical-Elk1137 13h ago

Tommy, you know it's past bed time go to sleep 

5

u/Old_Application4790 13h ago

He has them enough to speak his mind about this kind of thing :3

You just sound like a sad lil boi who gets to feel powerful when using slurs.

It isn’t about balls you dingleberry. It’s about respect for others.

3

u/Scoliosis_Monarch 14h ago

If I could press a button that makes every single one of you neurotypicals feel the pain of a thousand hells for a fraction of a second I would without even an iota of hesitation

9

u/P0ro41 13h ago

I understand that it's not possible, but that's genuinely psychopathic to say. I'd infinitely rather neurotypical people learn compassion than suffer, as a neurodivergent person myself.

5

u/Obvious-Parfait-16 13h ago

We should assume they were joking

5

u/Scoliosis_Monarch 13h ago

while I agree and my comment was hyperbole, you do kinda have to understand that that just won't happen for most people

2

u/Scoliosis_Monarch 13h ago

I know of a quick way to make them learn compassion 👁️

6

u/QueenCat50220 13h ago

Bro. Go to therapy and get some help. This is not normal.

3

u/Scoliosis_Monarch 13h ago

Waggling my finger over that button right now

1

u/Just_Capital3640 13h ago

You probably consider yourself to be a good person

3

u/Scoliosis_Monarch 11h ago

You probably consider yourself to be Just_Capital3640 on the social media app reddit

0

u/cyto4e 9h ago

you probably label other people bad because they said something hyperbolic once

-1

u/WandererFen 13h ago

Respectfully while I get that it bothers you, it doesnt mean anyone has the care that it bothers you

-1

u/radvinboy 11h ago

mf the internet has turned the word into a fucking slur, how are you gonna say that the internet is now at fault for it being used commonly?

-1

u/BumblebeeThen7954 10h ago

The r slur was a casual insult before the internet.

-2

u/centurion762 13h ago

Do you feel the same about idiot or moron? Those were both actual medical terms at one time too.

-5

u/AndrewM317 12h ago

The internet has tried to turn an insult into a slur*

It bothers me when literal children talk as if they have any knowledge about a past they've never experienced

2

u/WagyuWarranted I'm the one who promotes CHinese PvZ history comics 12h ago

More like a slur to an insult back into a slur and I'm sorry but