Lol, I'll never understand these people. The word "retard" was never gone. At no point was it illegal or impossible to say it, similar to any other word. The worst consequence for saying something that's bound to piss people off is just that, pissed off people. You never faced jail time and I can't think of anyone "canceled" for it.
It never left. Using it still makes you look like an asshole.
All these "free speech absolutists" still don't realize that free speech does not mean immunity from consequences of that speech from your fellow citizens. It's almost like they just haven't paid attention for their entire lives.
How about it's just in poor taste to use it and its use probably says more about the user than the target?
And, if you use it, just be prepared for someone to take exception to you using it and you might just trigger yourself an ass beating or some other adverse consequence. Kind of like playing with fire crackers or bullet ants. Maybe, just maybe, you can find a better way to insult someone that's a little more clever and incisive and makes you look like less of an ignorant asshole.
Wonder how long he would think this if everyone just started introducing him as "The Retard, Joe Rogan." I'd bet the very millisecond it started to affect him personally, he'd be changing his tune. These fucking ghouls don't want freedom of speech, they want the ability to police OUR speech.
I'm not a Rogan fan, and don't agree with him on almost anything.
However, I'm a few years younger than him, and grew up with the word as an insult, the same as him. This was back when the absolute worst insults you could call a dude was the "F" bomb, and a girl the "C" bomb. The "R" bomb was fairly tame. It was a mild insult between friends, like "idiot," "dumbass," or "asshole."
So, I really don't have a problem with it, EXCEPT when it's used to hatefully mock an actual retarded person, THEN it's a different story. A furious different story. I had an older uncle who was severely retarded, and a girlfriend whose sister who was, also.
And yes, I know times change, and yes, "If it was about somebody you cared about..." I get it. It still doesn't bother me unless it's to harm someone actually that way. And yes, I realize he's stated what he stated to get attention. Fuck him.
It never went anywhere, there was just a heavily monied effort to quite literally equate it with the n-word.
In the immortal words of George Carlin "it's bullshit, and it's bad for you."
This entire subject is a distraction. Stay focused on the major problems these clowns are creating, and we can all have a war of words when the fascists have been expelled from the highest eschilons of the US government.
Ironically, retard was originally a kinder word cooked up to describe people with lower intelligence, along with moron, idiot, cretin, and imbecile. Over time these became pejoratives. Just kind of interesting to see how language develops and terms intended to avoid offense over time turn into ones that offend people.
Personally I don't really care about these words getting used outside of hateful intent, except that their continued casual use leaves the door open for haters to use the words. I grew up with a bunch of aboriginals who used abbo, widely considered a slur in Australia. I don't use it anymore because it leaves the door open for haters to use the word. I will call some of my gay friends poof, another semi slur, but only in private. It's not about your intent when using the word, it's about the effect on society when the word gets used.
Honestly, if the culture war has been going on this long and the "greatest victory" they can show for it is feeling comfortable using the r slur again, thats just deeply sad for them lol.
I’ve had a bad habit of using the word and every time I do I feel like an asshole, attaching Rogans name to it is an excellent deterrent mnemonic device.
I'm not american and don't care about politics but I was watching a show the other day and when Rogan appeared as a guest I had to shut off after 5 minutes. This person is so annoying I couldn't stand. Don't know how you guys do it. I didn't even liked him in newsradio and I loved the show.
I've never met anyone with this disability as vile, hateful, violent, or senseless as any of them. And that's saying something because once one beat me up on the playground.
The word hasn't seen widespread use as a "disability slur" for a very long time. The great irony of this very vocal online minority continuing to fake offence and turn it into a political left vs right thing is that they are actually trying to take us back to the world in which the word has real power. If they were genuinely concerned about the word then they would just shut the fuck up and let it exist as the generic insult it has become.