Latter Day Sinner

Before I get into explaining why I don’t like a word and want to see it used less or not at all, I should emphatically state I am against “banning” words. I think censorship is a bigger problem than hurting my feelings. I absolutely affirm a person’s right to say offensive things. I find the words retard and retarded to be almost entirely pejorative. I also don’t think they communicate much in the English language at this point. As words meaning something is generally bad or plain stupid those words are ineloquent. For me communicative intent is vital. I have the same issue with swear words. If someone says there is “shit all over the floor” when there isn’t smeared excrement, it is inaccurate and doesn’t serve the meaning of the phrase. There is also an actual distinction between “making love”, “having sex”, “fucking”. That last word has fairly specific connotations when used accurately. Most of the time it does not. “Retard” and “Retarded” don’t even serve a specific clearly identifiable purpose. I wish they were used less on not at all. But as I said I would never insist that any of these words be banned.