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I miss "Retarded" so much for how it was used in slang but it's pretty irredeemable as a word at this point. Nothing really replaced it as a call-out, which sucks.
Even before it was considered offensive, I generally took the Michael Scott route with the word.
I feel the same about the f-slur for gays. I'm in the LGBT + community and still miss that word too.
It literally is just a substitute for idiot. There are tons of words you can use. Here's a list of 123: https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/idiot
I am aware that it has synonyms, but it's not just a substitute for idiot. It meant a specific thing
It means someone has a developmental disability. But that is not how people used it. They used it to call someone an idiot, 100%. If someone did something dumb, they would retort "retard". How is that not exactly how it was/is used? Call them a bafoon, hammerhead, numskull, nincompoop, a schnook, make up a word for all I care. But to use a word that describes someone with a developmental disability should not be used as an insult. Don't complain about there not being a substitute when there's hundreds of options. You just seem to want to use it.
Is this a localised to the US thing? Here in Aus I've never heard removed being used as either an insult or linked to someone with a developmental disability. What context is it used in for a developmental disability?
Did you mean to say "removed"? We're talking about the word "retard"
Interesting. Lemmy.ml has a filter that replaces slurs with removed, so I guess that's what @Event_Horizon@lemmy.ml saw
This illustrates really well why word filters are a terrible idea; they have no regard for the conversational context.
It also illustrates what a bunch of pussies they are lol, can't handle a few mean words