PC war on words -" retarded "

          Now the name " Department of Mental Retardation " is PC

    controversial - almost as offensive as the Confederate flag.

    Again and again in news ( see Boston Globe, page B2 , Feb.15 -

    " Activists protest agency name " ) we read about well meaning

    muddle heads who think that by changing a word - like " retarded " -

    you can change the unpleasant reality behind it.

          My dictionary defines " retarded " : " slow or backward

    in mental or emotional development ". It is derived from

    the Latin. Clearly it was first used as POLITE alternative to

    stupid, moronic ... imagine a " Department of Idiocy " !

           As the agency spokeswoman pointed out " retardation " is

    just a " clinical definition " . Of course we can always come

    up with a fresh word for an old thing. The Oxford Dictionary

    is hardly niggardly with  synonyms!

         Perhaps a born poet can find many words that just

    sound vulgar and insulting. But many words - unoffensive

    to foreign ears - acquire a negative connotation.

          In due time " a person of color " will sound just

    as contemptuous as the taboo N- word.