NBC News is blaming Rogan and Elon for people using "retard" again

quote:

---

In a recent episode of his highly influential podcast, Joe Rogan declared what he sees as the latest triumph in the cultural battle over language: the return of the “R-word.”

“Every time I see people that disagree with any that’s happening, any gigantic world events, it’s one of these retarded shows where they’re screaming,” he said April 10 on an episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience,” before he interrupted himself to go on a quick rant about the word.

“The word ‘retarded’ is back, and it’s one of the great cultural victories that I think is spurred on, probably, by podcasts,” he added.

Rogan is right, at least to those in some circles.

Once relegated to the cultural dustbin, the so-called R-word has made a resurgence in recent months, used most commonly by people in right-leaning and anti-political correctness worlds, some of whom have tried for years to bring the slur from the social media undercurrents back into the mainstream.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk now frequently uses the word on X to disparage everyone from a Danish astronaut to Ben Stiller. In March, Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, used it in questioning the mental capacity of Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s twins, only to later issue an apology. The FX show “English Teacher” included a bit about how “the kids are not into being woke” and they’re “saying the ‘R-word’ again.” And a recent Netflix comedy special invoked the word repeatedly.

While its use has percolated in the comedy world for years, only recently has the word — and discussion of its return — become more normalized. That is fueled in no small part by a sense that the tide has turned both culturally and politically against those seeking to keep the word out of the popular lexicon. But the battle lines are not as clear as one might think, with even some on the left softening their stance on the slur’s rebrand while some on the right — most notably former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin — decry its return.

---

quote:

---

And it is not just right-leaning voters who are using the word. Business Insider reported that some liberal-identifying people are using it, among other canceled words, in response to feeling overly self-censored by the fear of saying something non-inclusive.

Robbie Goodwin, 33, a comedian and podcaster who identifies as an anti-Trump social Democrat, said he has used the word in his comedy to describe something dumb but never to describe a disabled person or to hurt anyone’s feelings.

But in the last year, Goodwin said, he has noticed people abusing the word, and he believes the joke is going away, partly because Rogan and Musk are using it as a signifier of their culture war.

“I never try to offend anyone, and it feels like they are getting off on the fact that it’s offending someone and triggering the libs,” Goodwin said in an interview, adding that he is “grossed out” by Rogan’s comments about the word’s supposed cultural victory. “I found myself using it less now, because I see unfunny people using it. It’s so cringe.”

---