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Original poster

Is this an OK insult?

84 replies

Girlfrommars11 · 02/11/2018 10:08

So I'm not part of the easily offended brigade.

I'm not actually offended, I'm more just wondering.

Listening to lbc last night and the presenter said, "your going to call me a tard for this" caller then said "yes you are a tard. "

Now I assume tard is short for retard, correct me if I'm wrong.

Is it OK to be using retard as an insult on national radio?

My son has a syndrome that is classified as mental retardation, which doesn't really sit well with me as I feel that retard is a bit of a playground insult like spastic, and shouldn't really be used as a medical term. I prefer intellectually disabled. Now I hear presenters casually using tard as an insult and I feel a bit like, that shouldn't really be an OK word to use in main stream media. Would he have said spastic?

What do others think. Is tard and retard OK to use as a casual insult on mainstream TV and radio?

I wouldn't have actually cared if it was used by a comedian or someone in real life. But this was a news show on the radio.

  • [Message from MNHQ: We've edited the title to remove the offensive term]
OP posts:
Chewbecca · 02/11/2018 10:08

No!

Samcro · 02/11/2018 10:09

its short for re so awful disablist word. never ok to use.

BitOutOfPractice · 02/11/2018 10:10

No it's not OK!

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Radio
WorraLiberty · 02/11/2018 10:10

God no!

Who was the presenter?

KeysHairbandNotepad · 02/11/2018 10:10

It's not okay.

JanetLovesJason · 02/11/2018 10:10

No, that’s not ok.

PennyMordauntsLadyBrain · 02/11/2018 10:12

No!

I’m not easily offended either, but any shortening or slang stemming from the word “retard” isn’t acceptable.

WomanOfTime · 02/11/2018 10:12

It's definitely not okay.

The presenter wasn't American, was he? I've noticed that that word (and 'spastic' and its variants) seem to be considered much less offensive in the US than the UK.

Original poster
Girlfrommars11 · 02/11/2018 10:21

It was the guy on the 9pm show last night, English. I'll look him up.

I thought it wasn't OK but thought maybe I was being over sensetive because of my sons condition.

OP posts:
ginandtonicformeplease · 02/11/2018 10:22

Of course that's not ok.

Disablist insults seem to be acceptable still and I don't understand it. I once posted on MN that I wished parents wouldn't say things like "you look like you're going to throw a fit" to their kids and was called a snowflake.

GlitteredAcorns · 02/11/2018 10:23

It's not okay, it's disgusting actually

Original poster
Girlfrommars11 · 02/11/2018 10:24

The schedule says it's Clive Bull on a Thursday evening so must have been him.

OP posts:
AlexanderHamilton · 02/11/2018 10:25

Yes, it is a shortening of retard and I don't think its at all acceptable.

TwoBlueFish · 02/11/2018 10:27

No, no, no, no, no absolutely not acceptable. Please complain to the station.

Original poster
Girlfrommars11 · 02/11/2018 10:28

It was said so casually I thought I must be wrong to think it wasn't OK.

It's a horrible word and it actually hurts my feelings that my son is classed medically as retarded because it is used as an insult. I think it's a word that should be retired to the history books now.

OP posts:
Samcro · 02/11/2018 10:29

mn hq are good on this, they will delete re and fuck and I assume they would delete this. you just have to report. I wish they would do the same with moron and cretin too.

Gilead · 02/11/2018 11:36

Absolutely not okay.

SillySallySingsSongs · 02/11/2018 11:39

That is very unlike CB. Was it him or someone who was on with him?

Athena51 · 02/11/2018 11:41

No, that's awful. Totally unacceptable.

Original poster
Girlfrommars11 · 02/11/2018 11:54

It was about 9:10pm last night, the schedule said it would have been Clive Bull when I looked on the website just now.

Presenter said the word first in reference to himself and the caller agreed that he was then they both laughed about it.

OP posts:
LordPickle · 02/11/2018 12:08

It's obviously not ok.

TheGoogleMum · 02/11/2018 12:25

Yeah it doesn't seem right. Maybe it's just me but using 'spaz' somehow doesn't seem as bad despite being short for spastic. It feels more playful than offensive? But I guess that's my personal interpretation and others may disagree.

I don't think tard is ok on the radio. It's something that I probably didn't think about much until I knew someone with a family member with autism and learning difficulties and realised if I felt awkward using a word in front of her it probably wasn't ok. I would describe myself as a spaz in front of her but wouldn't use retard.

Rebecca36 · 02/11/2018 12:25

I think they were deliberately mispronouncing 'turd'.

purplemunkey · 02/11/2018 12:28

'spaz', playful?! Jesus fucking christ. I think most people would disagree pretty strongly with that interpretation.

Gilead · 02/11/2018 12:36

Yeah it doesn't seem right. Maybe it's just me but using 'spaz' somehow doesn't seem as bad despite being short for spastic. It feels more playful than offensive? But I guess that's my personal interpretation and others may disagree.
Seriously? WTAF? How dare you, how do you think my dd feels when you come out with that sort of shit? Marginalised, insulted, hurt, unwanted by a society that makes access in every single way almost impossible. Angry
Try thinking a little harder rather than being hard of thinking.