It was replaced by "mental retardation". We all know how that term evolved in kind.
Many people now use "disabled" (including this list's suggestions), but that is now often seen replaced by "differently abled". If I were a betting man, I'd say that in 5 years even "differently abled" will be co-opted by the crude and become offensive.
It is an endless treadmill.
>'Retarded' used to be a medical term, now it's a 4chan term, so it needs canning.
That's exactly Doug's point. Soon enough terms like "neurodivergent" might become offensive when it's co-opted by people in general, e.g., "you're such a neurodivergent", "you're a neury", etc
I didn't think it would actually happen, but the endless treadmill is being proven again and again. I would also bet that "differently abled" is absolutely considered offensive by the end of this decade.
Another poster pointed out that “non verbal, non vocal” is actually a better burn than the one it’s replacing.
I mean, this list already did a 180 on:
> Instead of African-American
> Consider using Black
Ableist and privileged, magic words to bring anything down.
You can also get more specific. For example, we all know that white people suck. When white people do a good thing, they're white saviors. Or center themselves. When they're quiet, it's white silence. When they get angry, white fragility. When they learn about other cultures, cultural appropriation. Even when being bloody on time for a meeting that's "whiteness".
It's a divisive, anti-progress, hateful, cynical death cult.
Obligatory Louis CK reference:
I already encountered it in this way