Maybe I should have clarified.

[325and735]

In the Vtech vs BMW post when I very kindly asked that the word retard not be used, maybe I should have clarified why. I would love to post my daughter's website to really explain why but I don't feel comfortable posting her pictures here now. I have a daughter who was born with Down Syndrome, meaning she will have some form of mental retardation. I didn't think I was asking a lot that people not use that word. Your kids are going to hear it and later use it to tease my daughter or some other innocent child.

Are there any African American people on this board??? Would you accept it if people started using "niger" (yes I know that is spelled wrong, otherwise it will delete it.) as a slang word meaning stupid???

I didn't think so, thank you for you complete and utter disrespect of my gorgeous little girl.

I guess this is why I keep my family sheltered...because assholes like you just can't even respect an 18 month old little girl by not using a simple word. I'm terribly sorry that using stupid, or bitch, ect would have been so incredibly hard. Maybe you need a reality check.

For the record, no I don't like the word Mongoloid or Idiot either...but retard seems to be the one most widely used and accepted. I wonder what would happen if I started calling people nigers when they used the word retard.

And, the correct term is Developmentally Delayed.

And to the dumbass who said no offense to the Mentally Ill...that would be using the word Psycho, the word retard is offensive to the people with Mental Retardation.

I should know better than to try and come to a car board...it's just a bunch of testosterone running around trying to look all hard.

Fine, have your fun. I just HOPE that one day one of you has a child with Mental Retardation and gets to know the pain of having your child come home and tell you they were called a retard in school. Or, your child gets into a horrible accident and ends up with Mental Retardation...then maybe you'll understand how incredibly insensitive and immature all of you were.

And to think that I'm probably younger than 90% of the people on this board.

That's pathetic.

 

[deutsch100]

I could not agree with you more. There are some really great people on this board, but there a few young (and maybe old), insensitive, ignorant pricks too.

I'm sorry you and your family were subjected to painful words. Just don't blame the entire board....for the most part we are an awesome bunch. I do understand...just a while back...I was called a c*ck sucking Nazi and a member of the Luftwaffe just for replying/writing in German. If every person who speaks or writes German is a Nazi...then we have a big problem...like 200 million Nazis worldwide. I mean come on....grow up.

Stay on board!!! Have a great weekend!!!

 

[325and735]

Thank you, at least there is one decent person on this board. Good thing my sister doesn't come here...she lives in Austria and speaks fluent German.

THANK YOU, very much. I will have a great weekend with my little girls.

 

[///M SPEED]

That is truly sad to hear you and your family were disrespect in that manner 325and735 especially when you kindly asked, in the beginning, to refrain from using a word of that nature. Like deutsch100 stated above please don't think this entire board is of the same bad character. There truly are some great people here with wonderful knowledge, but occasionally you will come across some bad seeds. I personally wish your daughter and family well. I have two young children and would never want them subjected to that kind of treatment......

 

[325and735]

Thank you again, it is very refreshing to know that not everyone on this board is this way. That certainly doesn't mean that I will be staying here, but it does make me feel better.

Thank you.

 

[andreyiv]

Yeah man, even though I didn't do any of what you or deutsch100 mentioned I am sorry for all the people that did anything like you two have mentioned. I guess some people I just immature, whether they be 16 or 60 years of age. You do have a great weekend and don't let anything like that bother you, the next time something like that happens and the person starts laughing, know that he is just laughing at his immaturity.

 

[BMWdude]

"member of the Luftwaffe just for replying/writing in German"

Are you referring to my post about the Luftwaffe re-grouping? If so, then you got me all wrong. That comment was not aimed at you or any other German speaking person in any way, it was a joke aimed at the article (the airline company), sorry if I gave the wrong impression.

 

[325and735]

Thank you, I do know how immature people are...I just didn't know there was any actual mean people on this board, thank you for not being one of them.

 

[theBMWenthusiast]

That is truly sad to hear you and your family were disrespect in that manner 325and735 especially when you kindly asked, in the beginning, to refrain from using a word of that nature. Like deutsch100 stated above please don't think this entire board is of the same bad character. There truly are some great people here with wonderful knowledge, but occasionally you will come across some bad seeds. I personally wish your daughter and family well.

i was not in the original thread, mainly becuase i dont know much about engines, but i would like to reiterate what ///M SPEED said...seeing that he wrote it so well...remember that there are good people on the board...hope you and your family have a great weekend

 

[deutsch100]

"member of the Luftwaffe just for replying/writing in German"

Are you referring to my post about the Luftwaffe re-grouping? If so, then you got me all wrong. That comment was not aimed at you or any other German speaking person in any way, it was a joke aimed at the article (the airline company), sorry if I gave the wrong impression.

Yes, it did appear that it was aimed at German speakers. Thank You for clarifying that...BUT...you do need to stop associating Germany with Nazi. German airline re-organizations, New trains being built, car companies etc, etc...are not associated with the 3rd Reich. Just remember that when you make "harmless" remarks or "funny" remarks connecting Germany and Nazism....you are creating new wounds and making it harder for a country and people to dis-associate with a dreded period of history that was 60+ years ago!!!

Thanks for speaking up.....that was cool

 

[epj3]

I know what you mean - they had the IU 13 developmental classes at my high school and they forced us to accept them - which is a very good thing. The word "forced" really isn't even that good to use, they got us to accept them and realize that they are people who will be valuable to society some day.

But you have to remember that nobody here is using it in that kind of way. I don't remember ANYONE making fun of the handicapped kids at school, at all. I live in an area where 1/3 of the kids are hicks, 1/3 are preppy kids with TONS of money, and the other 1/3 are like me - that's neither of those. Not even the rich kids made fun of them. Yes, people called each other "retarded", but it is slang. Nobody ever calls mentally challenged people "retard" or anything of the like (Except for the Association for Retarded People – which you will probably become familiar with?)

I'm not saying it is okay to use, but the majority of people here – especially tool fan – don’t mean any harm by it. It’s just slang. If someone called me a retard for doing something clumsy, it wouldn’t mean anything negative to those who are mentally challenged. Again, I’m not saying it’s right – I just want to clarify that 99% of the time when you hear it, it is not meant to offend ANYONE. It’s the same as saying “You did something dumb” when used as slang. Anyways, I hope you don’t think low of the people who used it – I know they’ll respect that someone here DOES take offense to it, and that’s fine.

Hope your weekend is great, and I hope your daughter grows up and makes you proud (I’m sure she will.)

 

[xLibelle]

<- bad character


...but no disrespect to you or your daughter

 

[MyHarley]

EPJ said it best, everyone can guarantee that no harm was meant from some of the guys.........Tool Fan is one of the most respected and mature members on this board, as well as Bryan who has adopted twins and is a big advocate for children in foster care and with disabiliites. In this day and age when everything is politically incorrect, some of us use terms that have been around for 40+ years and only use these words as a form of slang. I am trying to wean myself of the three following sayings. I never thought about their meaning, just something I have heard all my life and I use them frequently, but trying to change my habits, but no disrespect was ever meant. Also, I have been called bitch many times in my life, but as long as I can count at least 10 white teeth showing with the smile when they say it, I'm cool.......

I am free, white and over 21 (interpretation - dont tell me what to do).

Jap Slap (interpretation - it rhymes and I want to slap somebody up side the head)

I'm looking for a deaf, dumb and mute man. (interpretation - its better if they dont try to understand me)...........that's really bad huh??

This is a good board with a lot of good people, stick around and you'll see for yourself. Being a board member with the least amount of testosterone, I can attest to the respect that is shown. We all have our moments. One long b/s thread doesnt ruin the whole bunch, read up on the political threads and you'll see many politically incorrect terms. This doesnt make it right, we just have a ways to go from using slang terms.

 

[NZL]

Well I have two minds on this topic...
Firstly I definitely agree that we need to treat people with respect, no sense in being deliberately insulting. And I don't mean the occasional ribbing that goes on "hondas suck" or whatever I mean the personal, vindictive nasty sh!t.

But removing the use of normal everyday words from this entire board?? I think thats too far. Personally I think 'political correctness' has gone WAY too extreme these days. There must be thousands of people who frequent these boards, and I'm sure we all come from dozens of different countries & cultures. I'm sure some of us have disabilities or families members that do.

We can't censor every darn little thing we say in fear of offending somebody.

How about we just inject a bit of common sense eh?

 

[codex57]

I agree with NZL. This political corectness stuff has gone way too far. Ok, your daughter has Down Syndrom. Now we know exactly why you object. But give me a break. This is not the same as calling a black person a "niger." When you have to give a technical definition of why a word is offensive, particularly one that won't even get censored on network TV, you gotta give people a break. Then, you start wishing people have mentally retarded children? That about takes care of any sympathy you're trying to garner. You're as low as those "assholes" you were trying to deride.

Frankly, "asshole" and "bastard" are offensive terms too. But they're slang. Using "irritating person" or "person born out of wedlock" is just ridiculous, as is using "cognitively disabled." Fighting over the word "retard" is, well, retarded. You're mentally retarded to be fighting over that. What's that? Yes, I do see the word "retard" in the proper term of "mentally retarded." The intent behind "retard" is offensive, not the word itself. That's how I know that you're taking this political correctness too far.

 

[Chesty Bonds]

Maybe we should just chill out a little here... While i think codex57 has a very valid point there are instances where people who suffer for various reasons can complain (fairly) about what they might perceive as discrimination etc, etc.

Personally i dont see how using the word 'retard' is particularly offensive but i think we all have to respect the fact that if someone objects to the term being widely used then perhaps we should make an effort to refrain from saying it. Or, we could just do what we know all of us love, and thats talking BMW.

 

[Kirby]

I should know better than to try and come to a car board...it's just a bunch of testosterone running around trying to look all hard.

Fine, have your fun. I just HOPE that one day one of you has a child with Mental Retardation and gets to know the pain of having your child come home and tell you they were called a retard in school. Or, your child gets into a horrible accident and ends up with Mental Retardation...then maybe you'll understand how incredibly insensitive and immature all of you were.

I can understand your sensitivity to terms that have personally impacted your life, and your natural reaction to pass judgement. But why lash out at the entire community here? You've passed judgement on several hundred people who were not involved in the thread.

As your child matures, you will have many challenges to face. I have two great, normally developed kids, but I have personal experience with a child with Down's syndrome. Don't be so quick to think that everyone will ridicule your child, read what can happen to the contrary.

Brad (not his real name) was born with Down's syndrome. His family attends our church. He is a year or so younger than my daughter and goes to the same school, so I had the opportunity to talk to Brad and interact with him. His family chose to expose him to as much of normal society, based on evidence that "mainstreaming" can help development of Down's children - and take the risks of teasing, etc. ALL children will get teased, whether it's hair color, size of nose, complexion, speech, shoe size, etc.

Brad always had a passion for music. The Jr High school band director decided to take Brad into the band - to play bass drum in 7th grade. To make a long story short, Brad was quickly embraced by all the band members as one of the gang, and ultimately by the entire school community as a very special person - someone who made his dream come true despite numerous challenges. Five years later, Brad now plays in all the concerts, marches in parades, travels to out of state competitions, eats french fries at football games just like all the other kids. Everyone in the band sees him as their brother, and if anyone even appears to be teasing him, the others remedy the situation immediately.

My point? His family has said that the decision to mainstream Brad was the best thing in his life. You mentioned that you shelter/plan to shelter your daughter. Consider the hundreds of wonderful friends and and growth/learning experiences your daughter could miss, because of your fear of a few people teasing her - teasing which would still happen if she was "normal". Think about it.

 

[epj3]

Good post as always Kirby.

 

[MrElussive]

Uhh....I don't think that when some members (including myself) use the word "retard", we're disrespecting your daughter. You only have 7 posts here, nobody knows you personally at all yet. Why don't you actually give the forum a real chance before you lash out and go apeshit because we used that word....none of us knew your personal life and I'm sure none of us would have said it if we DID know that about you and your daughter.
I think you're not really angry at the board and you're just venting....nobody here is out to insult you and your daughter dude....and you just assume that everybody else's lives here are completely 100% problem-free, but that's just not true (I'm not implying that I am in a similar situation as yours or any type of situation, but everybody has their own problems).

 

[Wadula]

@ 325and735
First of all I understand that you feel this uncomfortable when approached with this kind of lingo. I can even understand that you get angry about it.
Sorry, but what i can not understand, is that you get that personal. Not from a perspective that I feel offended by it, but simply as it corrupts your own position. A person asking for an indeed very high level of maturity and political correctness (to pick up a word already used) you act quite immature. Don´t get this wrong, but the next time you make a point like this, stay objective to stay credible.

@ the luftwaffe thingy...(who ever wrote it)
My peronal opinion is, that I simply do not take anything personal regarding Nazis and the 3rd Reich. To make it clear, It is never to be forgotten and shall never ever be repeated in total or parts. All roots leading to a development like that are to be stoped.
BUT, Yes I am german and NO I have no personal relation to that history. Just because I am german it does not automatically mean that I feel hurt when the word nazi comes up. I mean, I make jokes about it myself (of course always knowing about the real truth and drama that lies beneath). So just go on and make your jokes for good times sake. I will chime in and laugh when funny. Sure is speak for myself only, but I have a feeling a lot of people think the same way.