Retards all pissed off about forthcoming movie

Note as of late October: this blog posting of mine remains, by far, the most popular of all (based on the number of visits). Who knew that the use of the word “retard” could bring so much joy to peoples lives?

By that measure, I suppose the forthcoming Obama years will be a vertibale cornucopia of joy…
Seems some of the professionally-offended are cheesed off at the makers of the movie “Tropic Thunder” due to repeated uses of the word “retard:”

You’ve seen the trailers. Tropic Thunder, a big budget summer comedy by DreamWorks Pictures, is due out August 13. But here’s something the trailers don’t point out: Ben Stiller plays a role that leans heavily on the term “retard.”There are those who view the word “retard” as offensive and demeaning, and think it fuels social stigma against vulnerable people.

Already disability advocates are registering dismay about the language on the image above – “Once upon a time … There was a retard” – and conferring about how to address it.

But for the estimated 14.3 million Americans with cognitive disabilities and their families, such arguments may be problematic. These people share a history of segregation and exclusion, and report that what many call the “R-word” reinforces negative social attitudes just as surely as racial, ethnic and sexually oriented slurs do.

Peter V. Berns, executive director of The Arc of the United States, said yesterday that the organization would reach out to the studio in an effort to screen the film. The 140,000-member organization represents people with intellectual and developmental disabilities across the country, and its mission includes promoting and protecting their civil rights.

“What we are seeing already is a cause of great concern,” he said. “People with intellectual and developmental disabilities have had a lot of pejorative labels assigned to them over the years. I’d like to think that we as a society are getting past that, but we are seeing one after the other examples that this is not the case.”

DON’T BE A RETARD! Buy My Stuff. Or just plain Give Me Money.