There’s a clear campaign against the mentally ill with the global rise of fascism. Lots of it shows up in anti homeless rhetoric, but you can see it in the MAHA and anti vaccination movements.
There’s no reason to use the word “r-tarded” to describe someone. As someone who’s worked with the intellectually challenged, it’s an insult to them to compare them with people who are willfully ignorant.
I agree. The word retarded was adopted because it was technically correct and less offensive than others words that had been used previously. It didn’t feel offensive in the 70s.
I don’t see how switching words used as insults every 50 years is difficult.
I think the pushback is more from some small group of voices telling everyone what words they must use or are not allowed to use. People will always resist compelled speech even when the specifics aren’t actually important to them.