A smallish rant. Will offend pretty much everyone.
Okay, people, this is the real world. More than that, this is the Internet. People are going to say things you don't like. Getting all huffy about it will not help. Know what will help? NOT TAKING IT PERSONALLY. Case in point: the word 'retarded' and the fact that it is often used to mean 'stupid' or 'ridiculous.'
Here is why it annoys me: no one calls Learning-Disabled people 'retarded' anymore, therefore 'retarded' is no longer a descriptor for someone who is Learning-Disabled. Wanna know what we call Learning-Disabled people? GUESS.
Therefore whining about the use of the word 'retarded'--IN A QUOTE BY AN UNAPOLOGETIC, POLITICALLY INCORRECT MAN ON AN APOLOGETIC, POLITICALLY INCORRECT COMMUNITY-- is, yes, retarded. It is stupid and ridiculous.
The gay community has reclaimed the words 'Fag,' 'Queer,' 'Fairy,' and, to some extent, 'Donkey Ramming Buttfuck' by choosing to no longer let those words offend them. Also, THIS IS THE INTERNET. People DO NOT CARE what offends you. So just-- quit it.
And don't ever call anyone dumb because that's offensive to Deaf people.