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(frozen comment) Re: Um. Ableism?

[(Anonymous)]

I find this one interesting, because it's actually a case of the reverse of some of these.

Speaking from personal experience, I remember when I figured out that "jewing the price down" was an ethnic slur. (My brain had made a connection to "jaw," instead.) Similarly for "gyp." I don't know that I've ever used "spaz," but if I have, it was probably self-referential, and referred to a moment when I approximated somebody having actual spasms. ("I was so excited because I knew the answer that I couldn't spit it out! I just spazzed instead [referring to the jerky, uncontrollable motions my body went through], and my opponent won.") I'm not sure whether I should stop using that term or not. (For the record, I am American.)

But "retard" has a much older meaning, meaning "to stop or slow." It's pronounced differently when used that way, with the accent on the second syllable, but pronunciation isn't communicated online. I stay away from the accent-on-the-first-syllable version of "retard" for the reasons given above. But, since I have been known to talk about how "dear" something is when I mean "expensive," (and remember! I'm American!) I am quite capable of having my brain in another century or culture and using the other meaning of "retard." And both "retarded"s are pronounced the same, anyhow.

This post doesn't really have a point, except me musing about the etymology of certain words. In case you're wondering.