santa cruz wharf

06 May 2009

that’s retarded.

Actually THIS is retarded. 
This post.
It is a post about the word retarded.

The thing is…some yahoo named Diesel tagged me in
“The Retarded Meme” . (Actually he is some Google named Diesel…but you’ll have to read up on Mattress Police to truly understand.)

dumb bookWouldn’t ya think if you bought a guy’s book  he would tag you in
“The Brilliant Meme” ?
Or at least
“The Thank You Meme” ?
Apparently not.

Then again…now that I think about it….I actually bought three copies of his book.  I guess that pretty much explains why I’ve been tagged for his “Retarded Meme”

new book


(note to self…remove name and email address from mailing list for upcoming novel,
Mercury Falls .)








Apparently
it all started when Diesel and Mrs. Diesel (commonly referred to as “the Saint” ) were commenting over Big Fat Tacos,  about a newspaper article reporting the ridiculousness of a campaign to get people to stop using the word “retarded” because of some scene in the movie “Tropic Thunder.”

For reasons beyond my understanding, a series of events unfolded, resulting in
Diesel’s desire to be the number one retarded site on the Internet.

Where in Sam Hill is that loveable banshee,
Grûndir the Implacable, Nazgûl and Meme-Wraith when you need him?

I know half of you are scrunching up your brow and cringing just a bit cause the word “
retarded” is frequently used in conjunction with the word “mentally.”

For the most part when you hear someone say, “that’s retarded” or “you’re retarded” or
“don’t be so retarded” it is a reflection of how they perceive your apparent lack of mental aptitude. 

To those who have a family member who is mentally challenged this can be offensive.  Indeed it is usually meant to be offensive and derogatory.

That however, is a very limited view.

In some cases it is a wonderful word…as in “Flame Retarded.” Watching footage of the out-of-control southern California fire…I bet people wish their homes were Flame Retarded

WITHOUT the reference to mental…
the definitions include:

retard -
cause to move more slowly
operate at a slower rate
be delayed
hinder, obstruct
decelerate: lose velocity

retardation -
deceleration: a decrease in rate of change
the extent which something is delayed/held back

retardant -
any agent that retards, delays, hinders

How dare anyone try to get me to stop using such a perfectly good word as retarded !!

The Rules: (why do all memes have rules?  They tell you what to write about…and then they give you rules to play by. The weblog world is comprised of a bunch of control freaks.)
The Rules according to Diesel are:

1. You must write a post using the word retarded. I don't care what it's about -- Joe Biden, teenage boys wearing girls' pants, whatever.

2. The word retarded must be a link to this post.(meaning Diesel’s post….not mine.)

3. You are encouraged to tag five other bloggers to do the same.

this is a tough assignment…I don’t want to offend anyone…but Diesel is sooo encouraging…and I think these people would appreciate him.

The Queen of Memes ~ Mimi Writes
(cause she understands importance of tagging)

Matt-Man ~ Bagwine Ruminations
(cause he will be hysterically offensive)

Sandee ~ Comedy Plus
(cause I KNOW she has a retarded joke)

Linda ~ Are We There Yet?
(cause she has a teenager and they use the term)

Starrlight ~
Here Comes A Storm…In The Form Of A Girl
(cause I get her sense of humor, she has a teenager, and her blog name is as long as mine…the trifecta of tagging)

and Diesel….you owe me a Big Fat Taco.

15 comments:

Linda said...

Gee, thanks for the tag - I think! As my thought process is somewhat retarded this evening having just driven all the way up to Tahoe and back in less than 8 hours, I may need a day or two to get this done but I shall certainly endeavor to do my best once I get back to the East Coast and some form of normalcy - as if such a thing exists!

And I'm thinking you may owe me a Big Fat Taco, too!

Mel said...

I'm thinkin' you did a standup job and deserve that taco!

Matt-Man said...

I hate memes, but because it's YOU, I'll do it. I'm such a sucker for a request from a woman who looks smokin' hot in chaps.

However...I refuse to follow rule number 2 (I'll link back to you instead) and number 3, because, well, that would be...um...retarded. Cheers Kat!!

Sandee said...

This is such a retarded meme. I'll do it, but I won't follow many of the rules...if any.

Have a terrific day. Off to the boat for us. Big hug. :)

Cinnamon Girl said...

Ya know this came up not long ago and I had a mini rant on the stupidness of Political Correctness. I think I am gonna like this tag =)

I, Like The View said...

how odd

I've been craving tacos for weeks now. . .

%-)

dadshouse said...

I banned the word "retard" wrt its mental association LONG before Tropic Thunder came out. I like all your alternate definitions, and I even retarded my usually quick reading pace to take them all in.

katherine. said...

Linda: anytime you want to come and collect that taco you let me know!

Mel: thank you kindly...smile.

Mateo: I appreciate it. I think you and Diesel would get along famously.

Sandee: I know there is a retarded joke out there for you. Skip the rules.

Starrlight: I'm hands down sure you can do this one justice.

ILTV: come on out...I will treat you to the very best.

David: I didn't like to hear it at home either. Thanks for decelerating while visiting...

Mimi Lenox said...

I heard the hoopla over the word not long ago. There is even a website "campaign" now to stop its use.
It can be offensive when used to bully kids at school (which is really the focus of the campaign) but as with all else, this can be taken to extremes as well - and will, no doubt.

Oh, but I have a post about it. Thanks for the tag.
Interesting challenge....

Cinnamon Girl said...

One hot retarded mess of a post is up =)

Spadoman said...

Worked in the 1980's as a program coordinator for an occupational skills program at a Minnesota technical college. Our student population was made up of a variety of people who were functioning at levels lower than normal. (This description is not mine). We, on the staff, would refer to the population as having a varying degree of ability, and if you look at that, we ALL have varying degrees of ability on any given subject.
We never used the word retard. I learned that what one person can do and another can't do, no matter how slight or insignificant, doesn't mean anything. To judge on how a person wanders through life is a waste of time.
I do, however, retard the rising process of my cracker crust pizza dough!

Peace

robkroese said...

You know I tagged you because I figured you'd have a sense of humor about it, right? And I was apparently right. :)

Travis Cody said...

Sorry...what was this about again? I got distracted after TACO.

david mcmahon said...

I haven't visited Diesel for a while. Must make amends....

Sandee said...

This is set to post on the 19th. It was fun too. Big hug. :)