I was being deliberatly harsh, but I think it's largely true.
I don't blame her in the slightest for what she's trying to do, I may well do the same in that position.
However, the least of her problems is the fact that some use the word "retarded" to mean something derogatory and even getting rid of the word will not prevent any predjudice or problems her son will endure. In fact, it's probably her that the word will hurt and not him -- he'll not likely hear it or understand ehat it means to her.
She has my upmost sympathy but I disagree with her on this and beleive she's doing it because she's mourning not because it will make a difference.
Edit: There is also a world of difference between taunting a disabled person with a term and directing it towards someone who is not. If you took the words "retard" and "mongol" out of use tomorrow then people would use other ways to insult disabled people if that was their goal.
(Me, I'm not... in any way intoxicated, Wed 7 Mar 2012, 23:00, Reply)