If, culturally, you thought we left “the R-word” again within the late ’90s, you’d sadly be improper.
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 frequently: Prior to now yr, 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 just lately, Timothy Snyder, a Yale historical past professor and authoritarianism professional who acquired underneath 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 virtually 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 toes ― it’s true that 4-Chan posters and wannabe edge lord comedians by no means stopped utilizing the phrase ― nevertheless it’s plain 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,” mentioned 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, just isn’t above insulting folks, together with these with disabilities: On the 2016 marketing campaign path, he mocked a reporter’s incapacity 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 best way 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 movies 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 in regards to the comeback. In January, the Financial Times interviewed numerous 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 must self-censor their language round girls, minorities and disabled folks.
“I really feel liberated,” one Wall Road banker told the paper. “We will say ‘retard’ and ‘pussy’ with out the concern of getting cancelled … it’s a brand new daybreak.”
That’s precisely the sort of pondering 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 properly,” mentioned Morton, a graduate pupil 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, typically 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 individuals with
disabilities, particularly these with cognitive disabilities, are much less worthwhile,” Morton mentioned.
“We’re not simply allowing offensive speech ― we’re probably undermining the muse of respect upon which incapacity rights rely.”
– Katy Neas, CEO of The Arc
What makes the R-word’s return most miserable for incapacity advocates is that for the previous few a long time, 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 academic banners and flyers of their colleges suggesting different phrases to make use of.
Now, although, even popular culture is normalizing it once more, mentioned 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 principally disconnected from the hard-fought battles to get rid of this language. (“Euphoria” will not be the most realistic teen drama, nevertheless it does are inclined to get the language proper: Teenagers and adults are utilizing the phrase once more.)
“This isn’t an remoted pattern [with Musk] — it’s a part of a broader cultural shift that’s regarding for incapacity advocates,” Neas informed HuffPost. “Once we permit this slur to make a comeback, we’re not simply allowing offensive speech ― we’re probably undermining the muse of respect upon which incapacity rights rely.”
Why does the R-word have such sticking energy?
The story of the R-word exhibits how our nation’s relationship with incapacity rights has steadily developed, Neas mentioned.
Just like the phrases “idiot” and “moron,” “retarded” began out as a scientific time period for folks with mental problems. In the course of 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 Nineteen Nineties, Neas mentioned, due to the self-advocacy work of individuals in incapacity communities. “We noticed an actual turning level within the Nineteen 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 help that underlined how phasing the phrase out is in the end about primary human dignity, Neas mentioned.
Then got here a milestone second in 2010, when President Obama signed Rosa’s Law — named after a younger lady with Down syndrome — which formally changed that outdated R-word with “mental incapacity” in all federal language. Various states did the identical.
“It wasn’t simply docs or politicians deciding what was finest, both — the push got here from the group itself,” Neas mentioned.
However now that progress appears threatened, Neas mentioned, not simply due to language developments, however as a result of the incapacity group is dealing with critical coverage challenges with Trump in workplace.
“There are proposals for main cuts to Medicaid, which is completely important for many individuals with mental disabilities, and threats to Part 504 protections,” she mentioned. “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. In contrast to many different marginalized teams who’ve gained visibility in mainstream tradition, folks with mental disabilities stay extremely remoted — they’re typically 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 particular person being harm,” she mentioned.
“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.
Right here’s how we are able to encourage folks to ditch the phrase once more.
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 publish on Twitter, tagging GloRilla, to coach her on why the phrase is offensive and counsel alternative routes to specific her message,” Morton mentioned.
And as a substitute of taking insult at being known as out, GloRilla listened and changed the phrase with “naughty,” which Morton thought was completely good: “I’ve been enjoying that music ever since,” she mentioned proudly.
Use of the R-word remains to be typically 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 mentioned, ‘Grampy, you possibly can’t say that phrase!’ My father was irritated and mentioned, ‘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 help the incapacity justice group of their language and in different methods.
“Perhaps you encourage them to vote to help companies for folks with disabilities, or to talk on to [disabled people] as a substitute of to the non-disabled folks they might be with,” she mentioned. “Perhaps you counsel hiring certified folks with disabilities every time there’s a job opening.”
When attempting to encourage somebody to be higher with language or conduct, Kreuz-Uhr’s recommendation mentioned she retains it fairly easy: “I attempt to observe the saying, ‘Don’t name folks out. Name folks in.’”
