Verified by 
So now, in addition to the N-word, and the C-word and the L-word and the F-word and all the other words too naughty for American discourse, the word "retarded" has been declared verboten. I'm sorry, but that's just freakin retarded – as in "lacking in development," or "delayed."
This is what it's come to: Rahm Emanuel, who works in the White House, called a planned attack ad by Democrats on Democrats "f--king retarded," and it's the second word people are offended by? Is anyone else confused by this? It's cool for a guy working in the White House to use the F-word, but the R-word is off limits? We've passed through the looking glass.
Think I'm kidding about "the R-word?" I'm not. Timothy Shriver, Special Olympics Chairman wrote to Emanuel, explaining that he was shocked, just shocked at Emanuel's use of "what we refer to as 'the R-word.'"
I can't keep up. I must be retarded.
It's a word people! A word that has meaning beyond the casual insult some (normally people under the age of fifteen) use it for. We can't simply declare every word off-limits because some find it offensive. It doesn't work. I can't call someone an idiot any more because the AIA (American Idiot Association) has declared the word offensive? OK, then I'll call him "a genius," and we'll all know exactly what I mean. Or are they gonna outlaw irony as well?
This is yet another example of a symptomatic approach to social engineering. Conflate the underlying problem (discrimination against people with mental handicaps) with symbolic gestures (make people stop using this or that word). Let's all stop using the word "cancer" and we'll live longer!
It's not just stupid, it's counter-productive. In other words, by infantilizing the discussion, this idiocy retards real social progress.
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If you're not easily offended (and not at work), you might enjoy Louis C.K.'s observations on bad words:
Update: Looks like I'm not alone in this perception of word policing.
