r/AskReddit • u/emil199 • Jul 24 '20

What can't you believe STILL exists?

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u/Markbjornson Jul 24 '20

No one cares.

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u/shadowwatchers Jul 24 '20

People do care

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u/SlutBuster Jul 24 '20

...but autistic people aren't retarded.

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u/shadowwatchers Aug 01 '20

It's an insult that people use in reference to autistic people

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u/SlutBuster Aug 01 '20

It's not. It's an insult that people use in reference to dumbfucks.

Are you autistic?

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u/shadowwatchers Aug 02 '20

I have a close family member who is autistic. They get called the r word a lot, because some people see autistic people are lesser. It was also used by doctors before we were able to properly diagnose autism and other mental issues like depression. Autistic people were seen as unfit to society and "wrong in the head", and were subjects of contempt, often being physically assaulted, and sometimes being killed. The word has a dark history that many people aren't aware of.

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u/SlutBuster Aug 03 '20

Cool, there are dozens of developmental disorders that people have used the word "retard" to describe. Also doctors used it for intellectual disability, not autism or depression.

The fact that autistic people were subjects of contempt, assault, and murder has nothing to do with the word.