The “R” word: America’s most used insult

Ever heard of the “R” word? Well, if you live in America, you probably did. A poll suggests that the “R” word in the most commonly used insult in the United States.

Once used in a non-pejorative way, the word retarded described someone with an intellectual disability or other developmental delay. Nowadays, the “R” word has become on of the most commonly heard insults in America, used to show contempt for another person, object, or situation.

This insult is popular with both teenagers and adults. According to a recent Harris poll, 92% of adults and about the same percentage of teens have heard the “R” word, used as a derogatory term. Even more upsetting is the fact that over half of them have heard the word directed at a person that suffers from a mental disability.

The poll also underlines another distressing fact. Nearly three in ten teens and four in ten adults agree there’s nothing wrong with using the word “retarded” to describe a thing or situation.

When asked about their reaction to hearing someone else being called the “R” word, one in four Americans say they did nothing. A quarter of the teens interviews admitted that they had no reaction when they heard the insult being addressed to another person.

But people do react and when faced with the situation of hearing someone else called a retard, about half of adults and teens alike said they felt bad or sorry for the person being picked on or told the person it was wrong to use the “R” word.

When breaking down by gender, the results show that women are far more likely to react to the usage of the “R” word. People that have a family member suffering from a disability are also more involved when it comes to people using the word “retard” as an insult.

Feelings of indignation are a bit stronger among those who have heard the term applied to someone with an intellectual disability. 70 percent of teens said they have told the person using the insult that it was wrong to do so and six in ten teens felt bad about the situation. Only a few of adults and teens stayed indifferent when a person with a disability was called the “R” word.

But those fighting for equality are not pleased with the statistics. Since 2009 when the poll first began, there was no much change in the reports of the word being used. While teens are slightly less likely to say they’ve heard anyone called a retard, they’re significantly more likely to say they’ve heard someone with disabilities called a retard.

Compared to 2016, adults are more likely to say they have heard someone called a retard and to have heard the term applied to someone with disabilities.

There is also a silver lining since the numbers of those that reported doing nothing has decreased over time. Spread the Word to End the Word foundation, looking to end the usage of the “R” word and promote respect finds the poll encouraging especially when it comes to the role that young leaders can play in changing perceptions and cultures.

“In the nine years since the launch of Spread the Word to End the Word, hundreds of thousands of young people with and without intellectual disabilities have taken up leadership of this movement for inclusion,” said Tim

“Timbo” Shriver, co-founder of the Spread the Word to End the Word campaign.  “We have known for years that they have had a profound impact locally – on their schools, their teams, their families and their communities all across the nation and the world. Now, with these new poll results in hand, we are beginning to see the way young leaders are having a systemic cultural impact, fundamentally reshaping the way we see, include, and connect with each other beyond the false boundaries of disability or difference.”

There is no direct link between the insult and the way in which Americans feel about people with intellectual disabilities. According to Harris, the proportion of teens and adults that refuse to do activities that involve people with disabilities or are uncomfortable around them is in the single digits.

Most of Americans, teens and adults alike, feel comfortable having a neighbour with a disability or participate in activities that involve people with intellectual disabilities.

The poll was conducted on 2,319 U.S. adults aged over 18 and 512 U.S. teens ages 13-17. The survey was done online between January 24 and February 3, 2017.