We need to bring back the word "retarded". Not as a slur, but as a way to call out destructive stupidity.

Hear me out.

I'm not talking about mocking people with disabilities. That's not just cruel. it's a total misunderstanding of what intellectual disability is. People with cognitive impairments aren't the ones wrecking democracy, hoarding wealth, spreading conspiracy theories, or sabotaging climate action.

I'm talking about people in power, and in our wider society, who are willfully ignorant, reckless, or delusional. The kind of people who should feel social pressure to think twice before opening their mouths in public, or running for office.

"Retarded" used to mean something broader: regressive, slowed down, backwards. It was an insult. yes. but one aimed at behaviour that should be mocked: proudly stupid decisions that harm everyone else. In the medical field, the word is linked to disability and advocates told us that due to that association the words was causing harm and from that point on it was off-limits.

I think linking that word to disabled people is actually more offensive than using it to describe people who are willfully holding society back. That connection never made sense to me, and I reject it. If someone's deliberate and considered actions are retarding progress, they should be called out, clearly and without euphemism.

If there is a study or evidence showing a huge problem that the censorship addressed then I am very sorry for having a stupid opinion like this. But i have not seen any evidence and from where I sit it seems like a bunch of culture war bullshit rather than a genuine intent to help the disabled. Funny how we will move mountains to censor a word but nothing to actually help when it comes to their medical needs!

The problem with blanket censorship is that it doesn't distinguish between intent. It treats a slur, a joke, a criticism, and a completely unrelated insult as the same thing. And that's how we end up in a world where destructive people face no ridicule, and everyone else is scared to use plain language.

So yeah. maybe it's time to bring some of the old words back. Not to punch down. But to punch up. Because some of our leaders are retarding us and our world. And if we can't say that out loud, we're just letting them keep doing it.