Friday, February 2, 2007

It's a Shame You Can't Un-Ring a Bell....


People are sometimes surprised that since I have a snarky web-column (and, at times, a snarky personality), I take offense to certain things. One of them is the gratuitious use of "retarded." For some reason, some people think it's a generic term that isn't a problem because it doesn't apply to anyone in particular. Well, folks, that's not true. It's mean, insulting, and people who use it are showing no class whatsoever, so don't be part of the problem.

In that same context, "gook" sometimes means a sloppy, thick substance. When referring to people, it is a derogatory term often referring to people of Asian descent. Oh, Stan.... I begged you to get an editor, but you wouldn't listen. Now look what you've done.

3 comments:

Sleestak said...

Bimbo used to mean a stupid man.

Adam Barnett said...

Really? That's interesting. Same can't be said for "gook," though.... that was a mean thing to say about an Asian person pre-1960's, so we can't blame that one on the language of the day.

Zocktastic said...

Sir, bless you. My mother was a developmental pediatrician and I've been around people with mental disabilities my entire life, and because of that I simply cannot stand the proliferation of the dreaded "R word". Now I'm not going to get on a soap box here, and I'm not going to dare and tell people what they should or shouldn't say. If you wanna use that word that way, be my guest. But man is it nice to find someone else out there on the internet who thinks the words is not only over-used, but rude and stupid as well. Thanks, Mr. B.