Earlier quoted context omitted.
Adjective: Less advanced, esp. mentally, than is usual for one's age. Synonyms: backward - delayed Seems fine to me, especially considering it's no longer socially acceptable to use the word to describe the mentally disabled. Using gay however, is a completely different scenario. Retarded reflects on mental performance, while gay reflects on sexuality. English already has so few words - we might as well use the ones…
> Adjective: Less advanced, esp. mentally, than is usual for one's age. Synonyms: backward - delayed The OP doesn't use it to mean "backwards" , "delayed" or "less advanced". He means "stupid" and should just say so. > it's no longer socially acceptable to use the word to describe the mentally disabled Looking on Wordnik [1], four dictionaries out of five list "retard" as having to do with mental retardation (Wordnet…
Unless you want to offend. You might want to offend to signal the intensity of your rage. Minor range can warrant words like idiotic or stupid, major range calls for words like "fucking retarded git"
> The OP uses the word "retarded" by saying "let's not be retarded". My state of retardation doesn't change from second to second; it's fixed at birth. Insulting what one can't change is the most powerful type of insult. If you call me "stupid", I can always work to be less ignorant. If you call me a "chink" because I'm Chinese, I can't change that, and I feel more insulted.
Unless you really are retarded, he clearly meant that you shouldn't behave like somebody who is mentally disabled, so I don't see the similarity to the word "chink".