Every single word which has been used to refer to a mentally disabled person will, eventually, become a slur.
“Idiot” and “moron” used to be technical medical terms. There actually used to be a whole spectrum, with “idiot” being a pretty profound level of disability, meaning that someone’s mental age was around two years old or younger.
“Retarded” was a new invention, to introduce a new term which didn’t overlap with the slurs for a non-disabled person who was being stupid. Eventually, it came to be used as a slur, at which point we couldn’t used it for actually disabled people anymore. This cycle will repeat, I think, without end.
Probably the best thing to do is use terms which are too cumbersome to easily become slurs. “Mentally disabled” is one.
Every single word which has been used to refer to a mentally disabled person will, eventually, become a slur.
“Idiot” and “moron” used to be technical medical terms. There actually used to be a whole spectrum, with “idiot” being a pretty profound level of disability, meaning that someone’s mental age was around two years old or younger.
“Retarded” was a new invention, to introduce a new term which didn’t overlap with the slurs for a non-disabled person who was being stupid. Eventually, it came to be used as a slur, at which point we couldn’t used it for actually disabled people anymore. This cycle will repeat, I think, without end.
Probably the best thing to do is use terms which are too cumbersome to easily become slurs. “Mentally disabled” is one.