My eye! Sweet Jesus, Ouch!

[Alias1983]

Speaking from experience, I did work with people that had what the council term 'mild disabilities' as in enough for benefits but not enough to need 24hr or specialist care and they called each other a retard all the time.

 

Suppose it is a bit like the N word, used all the time but only between people that it is meant to offend is it deemed 'ok'.

 

'FireKnife'

I know a few (as my grandmother would say) darkies that will only want to be call n word.

 

If your legal why add a name in front of the country you live in?

That causes more racism issues, your black and an American, so your an American.

 

Your black and English, your English.

 

Etcetera, etcetera

[Hedganian]

Even more so since the majority of "African Americans" have never been anywhere near Africa in their lives. (Something like 70% of Americans don't even have a passport, I hear, regardless of what colour their skin is.) They're not African.

 

Also, I don't see what's wrong with using a distinguishing feature to describe someone where required. If you ask me which of a group of guys you need to speak to about a certain thing, I'll tell you the most obvious way to identify the guy you want: "the one with glasses, the tall one, the blond one, etc" all acceptable. "The black guy" - oh, suddenly I'm a racist...

[Alias1983]

Even more so since the majority of "African Americans" have never been anywhere near Africa in their lives. (Something like 70% of Americans don't even have a passport, I hear, regardless of what colour their skin is.) They're not African.

 

Also, I don't see what's wrong with using a distinguishing feature to describe someone where required. If you ask me which of a group of guys you need to speak to about a certain thing, I'll tell you the most obvious way to identify the guy you want: "the one with glasses, the tall one, the blond one, etc" all acceptable. "The black guy" - oh, suddenly I'm a racist...

I say you with the face

[Hardcore1-6]

Ah. They changed their name. I wonder why. Was it some sort of PC thing? Ie: The spastics got fed up with being called spastics

 

Wait for "them" to be called Scopeys or something.

[hitmanNo2]

I've just discovered the hilarity that is the TV series 'Man Down' and then was reminded of Rik Mayall's death when he doesn't turn up in season 2

[shmook]

Wait for "them" to be called Scopeys or something.

It's 'scopers'. I heard it used by feral kids.

[Cannonfodder80]

As a parent of a kid with ASD and possibly ADHD people using learning disabilities and mental health problems makes me want to break things on their heads.

 

Re the word retard, it's not used as a mental health term in the UK for many years due to the negative connotations

[Tinkerton]

They made multiple references in the books to swinging out the cylinder to reload. So it is some magical wacky hybrid of revolvers.

 

Makes me wish that I'd not sold my long barreled M500s to get that massive revolver look that they reference throughout the series (despite not being eaten style, but then again I've never been much of an impressionist)

 

Finishing the last book myself (not for the first time)

I don't recall that, only Roland's fingers automatically reloading whenever there was room to breath. Mainly that's from the gunfight in the first book before the lobstrosities get his right hand though, and I've only read them once so I'll take your word for it .

[Mike_West]

With the advent of battlefield computing, someone should start marketing the Readiness-Enhancing Tactical Augmented Reality Display, but that's beside the point.

 

It appears that not only the customs officers are on strike, but the postal workers are screwing about as well. Normally, the time needed to push a parcel through customs was five to seven days and three or four more to sort and deliver it. Not any more. And what's the governmental shortbus doing? Posturing and throwing *suitcase* at each other. They don't care that they broke the day-to-day things, and are playing what they believe to be "Great Politics" instead. Like, insulting the neighboring nations, ignoring the EU's advice, writing history according to the party line, and of course putting their buddies on well-paid positions in all sorts of departments, agencies and state-controlled companies.

[Got Wood?]

Brought into this company to improve processes.

 

Arrange a meeting to discuss how it will be improved.

 

Get torn a new one because it wasn't perfect to start with.

 

Boss is a top *Ubar*.

[hitmanNo2]

I'm lucky I'm rarely in that position.  I would have no qualms pointing out someone being a idiot heh. I might be somewhat careful with my choice of words but it would be clear I was calling them out.

[Alias1983]

As a parent of a kid with ASD and possibly ADHD people using learning disabilities and mental health problems makes me want to break things on their heads.

 

Re the word retard, it's not used as a mental health term in the UK for many years due to the negative connotations

I have add/ADHD whatever and I call myself retarded all the time.

[Habakure]

Good for you. I also call my self stupid sometimes, but I bet another person with Dyslexia (like me), being called stupid by a stranger, is completely different.

 

It always amazes me that we never look to history to learn. Several words have been deemed inappropriate due to the nature of the word. If it is meant to be derogatory (you change gay to mean something is bad, for example), then you're being offensive.

 

Some people name calling is like water off a ducks back. Some people it's slightly hurtful. Some people it's the last straw that brakes the camels back. Now, imagine every day being called a word that makes you feel worthless, inferior, thick and or stupid. All because of something you had no control over. That every day you're constantly reminded how worthless you are. Every day.

 

I was brought up, with the understanding, that if you did something wrong, you should take it on the chin, own up to it and learn. Be the bigger person, sometimes that's the hardest thing to do.

[Cannonfodder80]

Good for you. I also call my self stupid sometimes, but I bet another person with Dyslexia (like me), being called stupid by a stranger, is completely different.

 

This.

[Alias1983]

I have what I say a mild form of dyslexia, I write backwards a lot.

 

I say in my head what I write, yet I put things backwards.

 

Like at work, I fill out invoices, time is am before noon, after its pm.

 

It takes a bit for me to go it's pm and I scratch it out and right pm.

 

Date, 8-5, almost all day I'd write 5-8, id hickup half way through, keep going.

 

Scratch it out, write the proper date.

 

My initial for the rep, looks like chicken scratch.

 

I have issues but I deal with them and I call myself stupid all the time saying wright the right *fruitcage* thing!

[amateurstuntman]

Yeah, turns out I have Dyslexia and ASD but I was never diagnosed as a kid because the standard of my school work was good enough that nobody was looking for reasons it was bad.

 

I just do all my handwriting in block capitals, imagining I am writing on 5mm graph paper.

 

All the other stuff, I just rely of memory/recall to get by.

 

It worked well for all my A levels where I just memorised the text books and spat them back out in the exam but it stopped working at Uni (mostly because I couldn't afford the text books).

 

Funnily enough while I may be more intelligent than 99.998% of people (on Stanford/Binet) I feel stupid a lot due to my inability to interact appropriately.

 

 

Anyway, back to the off/on topic discussion.

.

I use the term retarded fairly rarely.  Basically now I only use is as a deliberately taboo, offensive word to make a point when somebody uses the term "gay" pejoratively.

I find that people's argument of "it's just a word people shouldn't get so excited" stops holding up when you offend them with a word.

 

Plus in the strictest sense of the word, being a bigot is retarded.

[shmook]

Out with some old friends last night. Was supposed to be an early finish.

 

It wasn't. Woke up on the sofa at 0500, dragged my *albatross* to bed, and was woken at 0700 by the child. It's my turn to get up with him and I'm in a hell of my own making...

[scorch]

I'm at work. And I'm exhausted.

 

Also a hell of my own making as I was at bike night at the ace cafe last night and didn't get home until midnight due to me and the guys playing in traffic.

[Hedganian]

Wifey is in hospital. Again.

 

She's exhausted. Never sleeps well in hospital.

 

I'm exhausted from trekking back and forth. I don't sleep well when she's in the hospital (even though having the bed to myself is nice)

[scorch]

Having the bed to yourself is a nice idea, but never feels right.

 

I'm in the spare room this week due to having the 2 year old nephew with us again. He has a readybed in our room, but he fidgets in his sleep so I can never get any decent rest.

 

At least this will be the last time for a while, it was the gf's sisters last chemo this time.

[Hedganian]

Why not put him in the spare room?

[scorch]

It's full of guns and blades. It would be a colossal pain in the *albartroth* to move/secure it all.

 

Plus, the layout of the landing means the stair gate is more secure just outside our bedroom door.

[Hedganian]

Fair enough.

[amateurstuntman]

I fell asleep in the dentist's chair yesterday.

 

I think I would get gold at the sleep olympics.

[scorch]

I'm in the park.

 

Surrounded by children.

 

This is like a well-constructed hell, precisely configured to torment me.