A man just unfriended me in a huff when I objected to his use of the word “tard” as an epithet. I don’t like being a pain in the ass but I have a commitment to my deceased younger brother with a learning disability who visibly winced every time he heard that word & to those in the self advocacy movement of those with learning disabilities.

Self advocates consider the word “retarded” as hate language & work to eliminate its usage in any form. The proof of that is its constant use as an epithet to insult someone.

My experience in the self advocacy movement has convinced me “retardation” is a social construct that stigmatizes, shames, & isolates. It’s not that people don’t have disabilities, even incapacitating ones, but there is no reason to label them as if they’re afflicted rather than just challenged.