At the risk of being burned at the stake....

Why is retarded not politically correct? I guess I wouldn't wholly consider it accurate, when I think of a good context for the word retarded I think of: backed off, turned down, something of that nature. More along the mechanical lines. Its in no way demeaning, it could be used in a demeaning manner, but that has nothing to do with the word it self or what it describes. Does saying Mentally Challenged or Mentally handicapped somehow soften the blow of the truth? Will these terms at some point become as publically unacceptable as retarded if overused? Giving a condition a different name doesn't make it any less tradgic.

Would it have been different had the poster used more P.C. language? The point is that we facelessly argue one another and on certain points nothing can be gained or won, there by making us act or appear much less intelligent than we are.