The MAGA right’s weird obsession with the slur word ‘retard’

… [A] woman posted a photograph on social media of a purple hat she had knitted …. The cozy scene was accompanied by a single sentence: “This hat is an hour behind schedule thanks to influencer retards.”

The proud knitter, Harmeet K. Dhillon, is also the assistant attorney general overseeing the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. …

For decades now, the “R-word” has been regarded as a slur against people with intellectual disabilities — a word to be avoided. Yet it has had a striking resurgence ….

“The word ‘retarded’ is back,” … Joe Rogan declared in April, describing its return as “one of the great culture victories.” 

Advocates say it isn’t surprising …. “You’ve got the president of the United States using that word,” Dr. Amy Hewitt [the director of the Institute on Community Integration at the University of Minnesota] said. “So why are we surprised?”

…

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Nicole LeBlanc, … an advocate who has autism and an intellectual disability, said she had noticed how the word had returned as a common, everyday insult. 

“It makes me want to run, hide and curl up into a ball,” she said.

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