[wittyreference]

Because it’s bad to be stupid. People are ashamed to be stupid because it’s a shortcoming. There is no world in which we can value a trait (intelligence) and not feel proportionately bad about its crippling deficiency. Pretending otherwise is some combination of being purposely obtuse and condescending.

[rovolo]

> People are ashamed to be stupid because it’s a shortcoming.

So you are saying that people should be ashamed to be "special-needs" or "retarded"?

"Retarded" is not the same thing as stupid. You are using a similar but distinct concept as a stand-in for stupid. For example, I've heard people who were being socially awkward called "autistic" as a pejorative. They did not have autism, but they were being socially awkward because the two concepts are distinct. You can say it's bad to be stupid or bad to be a dork, but by using "retarded" or "autistic" in this way you're saying this group of people exemplify these traits and are thus "bad" themselves.

[Y_Y]

> So are you saying...

The answer to such a question is pretty much always no. (cd. Betteridge's Law)

Being (developmentally) retarded is a a way to be stupid. There a lots of other ways each with their own merits. People with intellectual disabilities aren't inherently bad, or morally bad, or necessarily worse that any person without a diagnosable disorder. That said, the whole idea is that the typical process of cognitive development is slowed or stalled on the way from baby to adult. This has undeniable disadvantages and, all else being equal, nobody should want it.

My feeling is that you must mix empathy with empiricism, and be brutally honest about the practical facts, while obviously not extending that to any unfounded personal judgements.

[rovolo]

> People with intellectual disabilities aren't inherently bad, or morally bad, or necessarily worse that any person without a diagnosable disorder ... all else being equal, nobody should want it.

When you call someone r-, you are saying they are bad because they are acting like someone with intellectual disabilities. You are asserting that it's okay, because nobody should want to have an intellectual disability.