Agree, and that's the point -- e.g. when I grew up calling an Italn-Amn a ***, dago, or guinea was an insult. Now those terms are seldom used because they have lost their power, people don't care about them, etc. That's my whole point about words; honesty is best, euphemisms are dishonest -- they have "special needs." What does that mean, oh, I know, retarded, but the reason they're retarded is that their brain development is retarded, so let's call them, developmentally disabled. A retard doesn't care if you call him / her a retard, it's only other people who care. Stop giving power to the word. If you say someone's comment is retarded, well maybe it is. No reason to be offended. This is really about the political correctness issue, in my opinion. Will I use it in a group home of "retarded" people -- no because I know they will be offended. I guess that defeats my own argument, doesn't it? I still think a lot depends on the social context what words we should and should not use.
