to politely request people stop using the word 'moron'

[opionated]

it was a medical term

are exactly the same...

@SaltireSaltire true. I'm possibly being ignorant though, but isn't 'eejit' just another way of saying 'idiot'?

Oh and by the by, I can't believe I'm having to argue for freedom of speech with someone who's taken the name of the great Bertrand Russell in vain. Here's a quote from the man himself:

Thought is not “free” when legal penalties are incurred by the holding or not holding of certain opinions, or by giving expression to one’s belief or lack of belief on certain matters… The most elementary condition, if thought is to be free, is the absence of legal penalties for the expression of opinions.

Legal penalties are, however, in the modern world, the least of the obstacles to freedom of thoughts. The two great obstacles are economic penalties and distortion of evidence. It is clear that thought is not free if the profession of certain opinions makes it impossible to earn a living. It is clear also that thought is not free if all the arguments on one side of a controversy are perpetually presented as attractively as possible, while the arguments on the other side can only be discovered by diligent search.

Game. Set. Match.

BertrandRussell

No. Because he is misunderstanding class analysis.

Ah, so after all you do have the freedom to insult someone and ignore their emotional upset if you believe that they have misunderstood the issue? Why didn't you say so? That completely alters your "be-nice-and-don't-say-what-upsets-people" line!

Miaow
Yes - eejit=idiot=moron to most people.
Some see eejit as less offensive I surmise. (Though ‘idiot’ was regularly used as a diagnosis at asylums and workhouses (not seen ‘moron’ written in records though. Not saying it’s not been used, I’ve just not seen it).
Eejit is just the Celtic slang for it.

It was a pre-existing word, coming from the Ancient Greek for foolish/stupid

Not according to all the online etymologies I've found:
1779, from French crétin (18c.), from Alpine dialect crestin, "a dwarfed and deformed idiot" of a type formerly found in families in the Alpine lands, a condition caused by a congenital deficiency of thyroid hormones, from Vulgar Latin christianus "a Christian," a generic term for "anyone," but often with a sense of "poor fellow." Related: Cretinism (1801).*

Cool, thanks Saltire. I see what you mean.

"Ah, so after all you do have the freedom to insult someone and ignore their emotional upset if you believe that they have misunderstood the issue?" i would consider it my responsibility to explain class analysis in such a way that no reasonable person could take it personally. There is no way of explaining calling someone a nigger, a spaz or a retard in a way that they could not take personally. As you well know.

There is no way of explaining calling someone a nigger, a spaz or a retard in a way that they could not take personally.

It's rather amusing that the only person who has used all these extraordinary terms of abuse on this thread is, er, you . It's been fun, but I think even I have exhausted my love of freedom of speech for the time being.

I find them equally unnecessary HostaFireAndIce
And that's a perfectly admirable position, zzzzz, and I wasn't intending to argue for their use, merely to point out that their status is historically the same and yet idiot doesn't seem to provoke the same reaction.
StrangeLookingParasite, I was talking about 'moron', not cretin (as is obvious from my post!). As I understand it, the origins of cretin are somewhat shrouded in mist.

No, I won’t stop using the word.

There's always 'doofus'

Somebody did once ask me why a particular student hadn't done a particular piece of work well.

I responded that they appeared to lack the intellectual capacity to retain the key concept necessary to complete the work accurately.

I would like to think that this was both accurate and not offensive to anyone else who might also lack that capacity.

There are lots of occasions where you might need to comment on someones intelligence. There is no need to ever insult someone over their intelligence.

Calling somebody and idiot or a moron or any of the other things in the list is an insult. That's why it is offensive. Simply noting in passing that someone isn't intelligent enough to do a particular task in a non-insulting way, isn't an insult and therefore won't be offensive.

As I said. Disingenuous

Yes, although I would say it more plainly. You're a liar. And a rude one at that. But hey, I imagine you'll instantly stop saying any of your words that upset me, right? That is what you said?

I can't actually remember the last time I heard someone say moron until I read this thread title. Looks like the OP just wants to argue on their high horse though so I'll be hiding this thread now too.

So to update the question asked by zzzzz

Can anyone give an example when it was necessary for them to insult someone's intelligence?

I consider eejit to be affectionate, as in "you're a right eejit", so doesn't do for Trump and his ilk.

As I understand it, the origins of cretin are somewhat shrouded in mist.

Well, no, demonstrably, they're not.

I take your point re moron, though.

Well, I wouldn't necessarily trust online etymology, to be honest (because they seem totally unwilling to say 'unclear' and in the absence of a clear origin will state likely ones as fact - name derivation sites are even worse), but even they, while generally agreeing that it is linked to the word, Christianus, aren't entirely in agreement as to why that is the case. The case that Christianus meant 'anybody' or 'a human' in popular usage is not totally convincing to me. 'Shrouded in mist' was perhaps an exaggeration though

It’s interesting that in a moment of temper on here once I used the word moron. And, quite rightly, had my arse handed to me.

It means carrot in Welsh so it makes me snigger.

misses point of thread

Can anyone give an example when it was necessary for them to insult someone's intelligence?

Trump.
Hatie Whatsherface.
Most Tory politicians.

I actually remember that Bert, and remember being touched by the good grace with which you responded to people talking about the difficulties of that word.