Why We All Should Be More Concerned About The Return Of ‘The R-Word’

If, culturally, you thought we left “the R-word” again within the late ’90s, you’d sadly be incorrect.

Elon Musk, President Donald Trump’s buddy-in-chief and the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, is amongst those that makes use of the slur recurrently: Previously 12 months, Musk, has used “retarded” as an insult at the very least a dozen instances on X, the social media platform he owns and obsessively posts on.

Musk ― who’s at all times been one thing of a shit poster, even at 53 ― has directed the phrase at famed Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen, actor Ben Stiller, and most not too long ago, Timothy Snyder, a Yale historical past professor and authoritarianism skilled who acquired below Musk’s pores and skin by criticizing the Trump administration.

“I’m tempted to name this man a retard however I received’t as a result of I’ve used that phrase too many instances,” Musk tweeted to his nearly 200 million followers on Feb. 22 in response to commentary from Snyder.

You may’t lay the blame for the R-word’s comeback all at Musk’s ft ― it’s true that 4-Chan posters and wannabe edge lord comedians by no means stopped utilizing the phrase ― nevertheless it’s simple that Musk’s voice has an influence. A current examine out of Montclair State College discovered that the use of the slur triples on X when the tech CEO tweets the phrase himself.

“Sadly the R-word is a phrase that’s beginning to come again into dialog as a result of extra folks in positions of energy — whether or not they be political leaders, enterprise leaders, celebrities — are utilizing it as a part of their regular dialogue,” stated Christy Weir, who works for the Special Olympics, the world’s largest sports activities group for kids and adults with mental disabilities.

Trump himself, after all, is just not above insulting folks, together with these with disabilities: On the 2016 marketing campaign path, he mocked a reporter’s disability by performing an impression of the person. All through the final marketing campaign, Trump known as each President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris “mentally disabled” ― one step below the R-word in offensiveness.

In some methods, the R-word’s resurgence is a miserable signal of our political second: There’s an inherent meanness to the way in which the Trump administration and the president’s varied cronies conduct themselves.

You may see it on the White Home’s social media feeds, which embrace mock ASMR videos of deportations and posts mocking Selena Gomez for a tearful video she posted in response to ICE raids.

It’s aptly been known as a “politics of cruelty,” and if cruelty is the secret, slurs just like the R-word or using “gay” as a pejorative match proper in.

Some couldn’t be happier concerning the comeback. In January, the Financial Times interviewed quite a few finance bros who have been glad that Trump received and that “woke” misplaced the election, if solely as a result of they figured it meant they’d now not need to self-censor their language round ladies, minorities and disabled folks.

“I really feel liberated,” one Wall Road banker told the paper. “We are able to say ‘retard’ and ‘pussy’ with out the worry of getting cancelled … it’s a brand new daybreak.”

That’s precisely the sort of considering that worries incapacity advocates like Nila Morton. Listening to Musk or Gen Z politico bro podcasters casually slip a “cease performing so retarded” into dialog makes the phrase extra palatable, emboldening others to make use of it of their on a regular basis lives.

“They’ve examined the boundaries of what they’ll say and do, and many individuals who as soon as hesitated to make use of offensive language now really feel inspired to push these limits as effectively,” stated Morton, a graduate scholar on the College of Social Work at Howard College.

As somebody with a bodily incapacity who makes use of a wheelchair, Morton has skilled ableism and the sting of being known as the R-word. She doesn’t have any cognitive disabilities however has seen firsthand how painful and dehumanizing it may be for many who do to listen to the phrase. Worse, generally these with such disabilities internalize the unfavorable messages.

“Even when somebody claims they aren’t referring to disabled folks once they
use the slur, the underlying message stays the identical: that folks with
disabilities, particularly these with cognitive disabilities, are much less useful,” Morton stated.

What makes the R-word’s return most miserable for incapacity advocates is that for the previous few many years, its use was lastly dying out: A decade in the past, excessive schoolers ― traditionally frequent customers of the phrase ― began campaigns to nix it from their vocabulary. They wore “Spread the Word to End the Word” wristbands and hung instructional banners and flyers of their colleges suggesting different phrases to make use of.

Now, although, even popular culture is normalizing it once more, stated Katy Neas, CEO of The Arc, a nationwide incapacity rights advocacy group. Reveals like Max’s “Euphoria” use it and introduce it to youthful viewers who’re largely disconnected from the hard-fought battles to remove this language. (“Euphoria” might not be the most realistic teen drama, nevertheless it does are likely to get the language proper: Teenagers and adults are utilizing the phrase once more.)

“This isn’t an remoted development [with Musk] — it’s a part of a broader cultural shift that’s regarding for incapacity advocates,” Neas advised HuffPost. “After we permit this slur to make a comeback, we’re not simply allowing offensive speech ― we’re doubtlessly undermining the inspiration of respect upon which incapacity rights rely.”

The story of the R-word exhibits how our nation’s relationship with incapacity rights has steadily developed, Neas stated.

Just like the phrases “idiot” and “moron,” “retarded” began out as a medical time period for folks with mental issues. Throughout the eugenics movement ― a time within the early twentieth century when folks with disabilities have been compelled into sterilization programs and institutionalized ― the time period “psychological retardation” was used to diagnose the “feeble-minded.”

It was ultimately phased out of medical circles, however not earlier than being adopted into mainstream tradition as a generalized insult: “You’re so retarded.”

It remained a crass conversational fixture for some till across the late Nineties, Neas stated, due to the self-advocacy work of individuals in incapacity communities. “We noticed an actual turning level within the Nineties and 2000s when folks with mental disabilities began saying, ‘This language hurts us,’” she defined.

In 2003, President George W. Bush renamed the President’s Committee on Psychological Retardation to the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities ― a transfer with bipartisan assist that underlined how phasing the phrase out is in the end about fundamental human dignity, Neas stated.

Then got here a milestone second in 2010, when President Obama signed Rosa’s Law — named after a younger woman with Down syndrome — which formally changed that outdated R-word with “mental incapacity” in all federal language. Quite a lot of states did the identical.

“It wasn’t simply medical doctors or politicians deciding what was greatest, both — the push got here from the group itself,” Neas stated.

However now that progress appears threatened, Neas stated, not simply due to language tendencies, however as a result of the incapacity group is dealing with severe coverage challenges with Trump in workplace.

“There are proposals for main cuts to Medicaid, which is totally important for many individuals with mental disabilities, and threats to Part 504 protections,” she stated. “It’s like we’re coming full circle as we’re seeing this troubling backslide in each language and rights.”

Neas thinks the R-word ― and the tendency to short-shrift the incapacity group ― persists largely due to a troubling societal blind spot. Not like many different marginalized teams who’ve gained visibility in mainstream tradition, folks with mental disabilities stay extremely remoted — they’re usually segregated in colleges, workplaces and group areas. When somebody is out of sight, they’re out of thoughts.

“It creates a harmful disconnect: When folks don’t have significant relationships with people with mental disabilities, utilizing this slur feels summary — like there’s no actual individual being damage,” she stated.

“The very isolation that retains folks with mental disabilities out of mainstream areas permits this dangerous language to proceed with out obvious penalties,” she added.

Typically, all it takes to get somebody to curb their use of the slur is simply to remind them that it’s nonetheless insensitive and, frankly, bizarre to make use of in dialog.

Morton pointed to how she and different disabled folks on social media identified to rapper GloRilla that her use of the R-word wasn’t OK when she released a track in 2024 that included it.

“Another Black disabled advocates and I made a put up on Twitter, tagging GloRilla, to teach her on why the phrase is offensive and recommend alternative routes to precise her message,” Morton stated.

And as an alternative of taking insult at being known as out, GloRilla listened and changed the phrase with “naughty,” which Morton thought was completely sensible: “I’ve been enjoying that music ever since,” she stated proudly.

Use of the R-word remains to be generally a generational factor, too. Cynthia Kreuz-Uhr, the affiliate director of group engagement at The Arc’s chapter in San Francisco, pointed to how she and her younger daughter gently persuaded her father, a minister and psychotherapist, to retire the R-word again within the early 2000s.

“My daughter was shocked however merely stated, ‘Grampy, you may’t say that phrase!’ My father was irritated and stated, ‘I didn’t imply it as an insult, I meant it as a prognosis — that man’s growth is delayed,’” she recalled.

As somebody who works with folks with developmental disabilities, Kreuz-Uhr seized the chance to elucidate to each generations how the phrase has developed over time.

As a substitute of shaming individuals who use outdated, offensive language, she thinks we must always invite them to assist the incapacity justice group of their language and in different methods.

“Perhaps you encourage them to vote to assist providers for folks with disabilities, or to talk on to [disabled people] as an alternative of to the non-disabled folks they could be with,” she stated. “Perhaps you recommend hiring certified folks with disabilities every time there’s a job opening.”

When making an attempt to encourage somebody to be higher with language or habits, Kreuz-Uhr’s recommendation stated she retains it fairly easy: “I attempt to comply with the saying, ‘Don’t name folks out. Name folks in.’”