Retarded. A word that by many is used daily. It carries no affliction or worry to them. It’s a way to make fun of your friends when they say something out of the ordinary, or what you call your phone when it isn’t working right. It would be a lie to say that most of the current generation hasn’t used this word in such a fashion at least once in their life. It, like many other words that came before, has changed from a medical definition to unintentional slang. Imbecile, moron, idiot, retard. All once were medically and professionally acceptable definitions of a disability. Definitions seem to change just as fast as life does. People mold terms into something else, and with time what once was neutral in meaning, becomes negative and stigmatized. So why are definitions so important to us, if all they do is constantly change?

As people we categorize others in a way that makes us more comfortable. Through time society has helped us to do this on a larger scale. Race, gender, socioeconomic status, height, weight, and intelligence are all examples of how we break down those that surround us.