What would you do if your manager used this word?

[Shimmyshine193]

If they referred to someone, indirectly as a m*ng?

And I’m not saying it is OK, and clearly in your instance those kids know full well it’s a disablist slur.

Idiot used to be used medically and as a disablist slur, but no one takes it as such nowadays and I doubt 1 in 1,000 people know that’s what it used to be.

Please read the thread.

Nonsense. That word is absolutely unacceptable in the US. Some uneducated and ableist people still use it, just as some uneducated and ableist people in the UK still use the word that the OP referred to. But in neither case are these words acceptable in general.

It would be considered extremely unprofessional and childish in my workplace, I think a manager who used it would loose the respect of many by using it

It is absolutely not an “age thing”-don’t be ridiculous.

I haven't heard people use that in years.

I wonder if its made a comeback because of a very famous content creator 🤔

It’s very telling of the people who you associate with then, I can honestly say that none of my friends, family or work colleagues ever use it or would ever use it as they know people would loose respect for them if they did, it’s a completely word to use and makes the user look worse ( more uneducated / unintelligent) than the person that they are actually referring to

Agree, it’s more of an uneducated / unintelligent thing than an age thing

I heard this word used when I was a child and even then knew it was disgusting, insulting and wrong. Totally unacceptable.

Yikes.

It is incredibly offensive and I’d assume he wasn’t very clever. Of all the words in the English language, he chooses that one. I’d report him to HR.

I hate when people use age as an excuse for things like this!
"It's an age thing that why he said something racist, or something offensive"
No, you must be held accountable no matter how old you are, I don't care.
You manager's choice of word was disgusting to say the least.
HR needs to hear about this.

If anyone in my workplace said this I would be absolutely astonished. I would report them to HR immediately and expect them to face some consequences.

That would be an immediate disciplinary action.

There is absolutely no fucking excuse for using the word, how dare they, and those of you on the thread justifying it as minor , doesn’t mean anything, etc. should be ashamed of yourselves.

My manager would never use a word like that and if they did I’d actually be worried about them. That’s how out there it would be

Trying to make a point with more ablist language? The word was a medical term for someone with disabilities caused by thyroid deficiency which has become a term of abuse. Not an acceptable term.

How would that help.?
Why would you be so offensive to people born with Down syndrome?

I agree that using 'retard' or 'retarded' to refer to a person is never okay.

I think there are grey ares in the fact that its actually the correct technical/ scientific term for slowing things down- eg. flame retardant - retardation in science refers to the slowing down or delay of a process or reaction.

I have seen people online go crazy when it is used in a scientific way though, so I think people are now getting anxious to use it at all, even for inanimate things.

I do say "that's retarded" sometimes though, eg. About a stupid decision or whatever. Suppose i should just stick with stupid. People are always looking for bigger, more expressive words I suppose. Lets all stick with muppet. Not many people take offence at Muppets, I don't think.

I cannot stand that word, it’s probably worse then any swear word for me.

A lot of people would find that deeply offensive so I think Muppet is definitely the best option.

Unfortunately it’s the environment I work in, and it’s not worth my job to challenge them, I hear this and far worse inside work and outside in the world from people of all backgrounds.

Never

hmm i really don’t associate the word with any disability anymore. i think it evolved a long time ago. we know what its short for and nobody uses that word anymore so don’t think anyone associates it with disability really surely?

"Idiot" was formerly a technical term in legal and psychiatric contexts for some kinds of profound intellectual disability where the mental age is two years or less, and the person cannot guard themself against common physical dangers. The term was gradually replaced by "profound mental retardation", which has since been replaced by other terms.[1] Along with terms like moron, imbecile, retard and cretin, its use to describe people with mental disabilities is considered archaic and offensive.[2] Moral idiocy refers to a moral disability.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiot