Overly Sensitive People on the Internet.

1777

I just saw this. What a load of ****e, honestly. With some people you've gotta walk on egg shells constantly lest they have a hissy-fit.

Are the young generation of people in the highly developed western world just way too sheltered? It seems they've been brought up to believe the world should unquestionably be a happy-land utopia for everyone at all times, and anything that contradicts this whatsoever leads them to become deeply "offended". It's cognitive dissidence gone off the rails basically.

I've traveled extensively to Latin American and Asian countries, and from what I've seen the citizens there don't seem to suffer from this problem. Their approach seems to be more so to try and make the best of life for what it is, not what they've been delusively brought up to think it should be.


Maybe these people just need a good kick up the arse.

Agree?

Cookie_Monster

Everybody is too sensitive on the internet, you can't be sexist, racist, anti-religion, anti-emigration, anti-immigration, pro/anti abortion or even just hate people for being different anymore...

Chuck Stone

When I were a lad we got a kick in't arse for breakfast and punch in't face for dinner.

Annasopra

Thats quite a good video

BBDBB

1777 wrote: »

I just saw this. What a load of ****e, honestly. With some people you've gotta walk on egg shells constantly lest they have a hissy-fit.

Are the young generation of people in the highly developed western world just way too sheltered? It seems they've been brought up to believe the world should unquestionably be a happy-land utopia for everyone at all times, and anything that contradicts this whatsoever leads them to become deeply "offended". It's cognitive dissidence gone off the rails basically.

I've traveled extensively to Latin American and Asian countries, and from what I've seen the citizens there don't seem to suffer from this problem. Their approach seems to be more so to try and make the best of life for what it is, not what they've been delusively brought up to think it should be.


Maybe these people just need a good kick up the arse.

Agree?

nope, I agree with the vid, its how it should be. Whilst I recognise some elements of truth in what you say, there are a few individuals who are overly sensitive, there are significantly more who arent sensitive enough to the impact of their words and are too eager to make things personal and abusive.

HalloweenJack

There are some overly-sensitive people on the internet but to use an anti-bullying video as the basis for that argument is ridiculous.

Overly-sensitive people might take offence at anything that's said, whether it be abuse or not. Bullying upsets people because it is vindictive, personal, near-constant mental and/or physical abuse.

The two situations are not remotely comparable, even if this is AH.

padd b1975

Reported.

hollster2

BBDBB wrote: »

nope, I agree with the vid, its how it should be. Whilst I recognise some elements of truth in what you say, there are a few individuals who are overly sensitive, there are significantly more who arent sensitive enough to the impact of their words and are too eager to make things personal and abusive.

Agree with this overly sensitive you didnt mention op the teenagers who have taken there lives over the last couple of months over cyber bullying i think the video is good should be more to try stop this.

EmptyTree

1777 wrote: »

I just saw this. What a load of ****e, honestly. With some people you've gotta walk on egg shells constantly lest they have a hissy-fit.

Are the young generation of people in the highly developed western world just way too sheltered? It seems they've been brought up to believe the world should unquestionably be a happy-land utopia for everyone at all times, and anything that contradicts this whatsoever leads them to become deeply "offended". It's cognitive dissidence gone off the rails basically.

I've traveled extensively to Latin American and Asian countries, and from what I've seen the citizens there don't seem to suffer from this problem. Their approach seems to be more so to try and make the best of life for what it is, not what they've been delusively brought up to think it should be.


Maybe these people just need a good kick up the arse.

Agree?

eh?? There's a world of difference between people who take offence every time someone has a different opinion to them and people who are the specific targets of individuals who use the internet as a platform to deliberately cause offence on an on-going basis.

seamus

Seeing as you don't understand the difference between being bullied and being offended, then I'm not surprised you don't seem to understand the point of the video.

danniemcq

A good example is the "most retarded thing you have done thread". 99% of the posters if not more have no issue but there are a handful of people who are hurt by the thread title.

The thing is i often looked at that thread an not once did i see retarded as anything other than stupid. I have personal experience with mentally challenged people in my family but that thread was not about them or anyone like them it was about stupid things you had done. The negative conentations with the word "retarded" was never crossed most people minds past the i'm an eejit bit.

I know some people are affected a lot more than i am and may take some offence but taking the power out of the word (ie take the negative meaning and making it more "normal") is surely a greater good.

In much the same way i can take jokes about family members despite having family members who have passed on without taking offence.

For example if i meet someone in the pub and there is craic going and someone makes a joke about "your ma/da/sister/brother" whatever unless they specifically say danniemcq your dead ma/da/sister/brother was a c*nt then i would take offence.

What i often find online is that people who take the most offence are often the most offensive in other ways. For example someone on facebook i know recently posted about how he didn't like a certain type of jokes. Scroll down through his timeline and he is bitching and complaining about those black c*nts etc.

Wibbs

seamus wrote: »

Seeing as you don't understand the difference between being bullied and being offended, then I'm not surprised you don't seem to understand the point of the video.

I agree 100%. The problem comes with drawing the line in the grey area. EG take your post S, not within a parsec of being offensive and you'd want to be a swivel eyed quarterwit, on acid to think it was bullying. However imagine the OP was particularly sensitive to criticism, they might see your post as dismissive and suggestive of them being thick. Obviously it's not, but you see what I mean.

Put it another way, I would suggest that not understanding the difference between being bullied and being offended can go both ways. Hell I've seen more than a few people who can't tell the diff between discourse/rebuttal and offence.

Duggy747

I agree to an extent that a lot of people tend to get overly offended these days, usually on other's behalf, but I don't think that anti-cyberbullying video was the right choice for your rant.

Czarcasm

Wibbs wrote: »

I agree 100%. The problem comes with drawing the line in the grey area. EG take your post S, not within a parsec of being offensive and you'd want to be a swivel eyed quarterwit, on acid to think it was bullying. However imagine the OP was particularly sensitive to criticism, they might see your post as dismissive and suggestive of them being thick. Obviously it's not, but you see what I mean.

Put it another way, I would suggest that not understanding the difference between being bullied and being offended can go both ways. Hell I've seen more than a few people who can't tell the diff between discourse/rebuttal and offence.

Filing that away in my "insults that shock people into silence" folder

ColeTrain

Tbf there are a lot of overly sensitive people on the internet. I'd find it very hard to get offended on here, mainly because my identity is somewhat protected.

But it's different if you're a teenager nowadays and you're being bullied/harassed over social media sites. That's something our generation didn't have to deal with and tbh I can only imagine a teenager being bullied over the internet and then having to face the perpetrators the next day in school. There has been a few tragic cases recently of kids taking their lives over this so I don't see any harm in raising awareness.

Wibbs

ColeTrain wrote: »

But it's different if you're a teenager nowadays and you're being bullied/harassed over social media sites. That's something our generation didn't have to deal with and tbh I can only imagine a teenager being bullied over the internet and then having to face the perpetrators the next day in school.

This in a big way. I am sooooo glad I missed that. I, along with everyone I knew, made mad, funny, cringeworthy mistakes as a teen. God I wanted to hide away in the depths of Alaska a couple of times, wearing a red face that would have heated the average family home for a week. I was was even embarrassed for others more than once. Back in them days of parchment and candlelight the embarrassment would last a week maybe two for a real howler, but it rarely followed you around and hand on heart today I can't recall with any great focus any particular incident that caused me such grief. Nowadays all it requires is some mong with a camera phone and facebook, to pickle that for future generations. You could carry one incident for a very very long time. Plus human nature being what it is, we like to label people. It gives us comfort in a weird way. In the past you could rebrand yourself, but today that is sooooo much more difficult. Hell it's difficult for adults, for teens it's a bloody minefield.

That's before we get next nor near actual bullying. Again there is a tendency in human nature to point at some people, to put the focus on them in both good and bad ways. We also tend to like being part of a group a clique. The interweb can really exaggerate that tendency and so it does with bullying. I don't blame the kid with the camera phone, or often the kids caught up in the meme of bullying kid X or kid Y. They're kids FFS. They may come across as adult at times, but they are still kids. Being a bit daft is what kids are for.:) The problem is that it's so terribly difficult to hide from that.

Yea no way would I like to be a kid/teen today, nor for that matter a parent of one. Kudos to both who can get through it.

davet82

after watching that video anybody else getting an overwhelming urge to bully?

flanders1979

I love the expression "Tough sh1t". Its not used enough these days. Its a great way to deal with the overly sensitive.

Chocoholic84

Jeez OP, over-sensitive much? :P

I agree with the vid...anything that tries target bullying is a good thing in my book.

hollster2

1777 wrote: »

I just saw this. What a load of ****e, honestly. With some people you've gotta walk on egg shells constantly lest they have a hissy-fit.

Are the young generation of people in the highly developed western world just way too sheltered? It seems they've been brought up to believe the world should unquestionably be a happy-land utopia for everyone at all times, and anything that contradicts this whatsoever leads them to become deeply "offended". It's cognitive dissidence gone off the rails basically.

I've traveled extensively to Latin American and Asian countries, and from what I've seen the citizens there don't seem to suffer from this problem. Their approach seems to be more so to try and make the best of life for what it is, not what they've been delusively brought up to think it should be.


Maybe these people just need a good kick up the arse.

Agree?

What do you think ciara pugsley and erin and shannon gallaghers family would think of what you wrote DISGUSTING!

ScumLord

I find it hard to sympathise with people who get too rapped up in what's said on the internet. There could be a number of reasons why I find it hard. One is it's just words on an internet, it doesn't compare to the physical and mental abuse my generation got when we were young. There was a certain amount of comradery amongst kids because the bullies were the teachers and it was no better at home. Of course that just bread a disdain for any form of athority.

There's also the time I joined the internet way back before even 56k modems where popular and the internet was the same back then but every body seemed to enjoy letting lose under the anonymity, but I guess that anonymity is somewhat gone these days. My point being the internet is what it has always been and the newcomers just can't handle it. I think if you set up a safe place on the internet for kids they would still want to go into the more dangerous places and put themselves in the firing line of abuse.

I do think that kids today are too mollycoddled and just aren't prepared for the horrible world. I certainly don't want to see it return to anything like it was in my day but at the same time I don't think we've done the younger generation any favours by being to soft on them.

Society has changed a lot and it will probably take another generation for us to adapt to the new ways of living.

Lone Stone

manner's go out the window with some people when they are online. Im not easily offended but some time's some random ass can make my blood boil.

danniemcq

Lone Stone wrote: »

manner's go out the window with some people when they are online. Im not easily offended but some time's some random ass can make my blood boil.

I think that when online you are exposed to so many more people that you might not get on with in real life each having different opinions you will often meet people that make you quite angry. Like that annnoying twat in the pub shouting and spilling his drink.

A mixture of that and trolls will make anyones blood boil!

castletownman

Lone Stone wrote: »

manner's go out the window with some people when they are online. Im not easily offended but some time's some random ass can make my blood boil.

I don't think it's limited to the internet unfortunately. It's become an almost weekly event of hearing of racist abuse from the terraces during the football. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who has let my emotions get to me during a GAA match, point in case being when my GAA club plays our fiercest rivals.

Thing is I absolutely refuse to believe that racism in sport is worse now than it was say twenty years ago, it's just the prevalence of Twitter as a news source, and a few idiots on it, that brings it into the spotlight more. In this overly-PC world we live in today, one cannot say or do anything in jest without it being blown completely out of proportion.

danniemcq

hollster2 wrote: »

What do you think ciara pugsley and erin and shannon gallaghers family would think of what you wrote DISGUSTING!

was that comment directed at any of them on a personal level?

Did op mention their names?

Did op seek out their families?

Anyone could be offended IF they actively look for it OP is making a comment about a topic.

are we not allowed to discuss German Policy in WW2 incase Jewish people get offended?

ScumLord

castletownman wrote: »

Thing is I absolutely refuse to believe that racism in sport is worse now than it was say twenty years ago,

Of course it's not, the fact is despite the hysterics of the mob everything is better now than it was 20 years ago.

hollster2

danniemcq wrote: »

was that comment directed at any of them on a personal level?

Did op mention their names?

Did op seek out their families?

Anyone could be offended IF they actively look for it OP is making a comment about a topic.

are we not allowed to discuss German Policy in WW2 incase Jewish people get offended?

no he didnt but everyones allowed to there opinion im was just giving an example of how bad cyber bullying can go and dont think the video he put and what he said appropriate!!

Caliden

Where's that Stephen Fry quote about someone being 'offended'...

Madam_X

Caliden wrote: »

Where's that Stephen Fry quote about someone being 'offended'...

Oh the one that translates as "I can say what I like but I'll take exception to abusive comments directed at myself"?

It seems to be fashionable to say "Get over it, you have a choice to be upset" - yeh sure, let's deflect responsibility onto the person who's on the receiving end. All that "free thpeech" moaning is the same - it gets forgotten that free speech goes both ways.
You don't always choose to be offended. We all know there are moan-bags who find offence in anything, but it's becoming such that those with genuine grievances get lumped in with the latter.

I find it very suspect when people complain about people being over-sensitive - screams "I want to be allowed be a dick!" to me. And they're the very people who get uppity when people disagree with them, let alone insult them.

danniemcq

Caliden wrote: »

Where's that Stephen Fry quote about someone being 'offended'...

“Getting offended has become some sort of a skill, counterproductive to useful discussion. It’s really a by-product of people trying to ‘win’ a debate versus having a real dialogue. In some people’s minds, you can win if you’re able to successfully brand your opponent as offensive.”

Madam_X wrote: »

Oh the one that translates as "I can say what I like but I'll take exception to abusive comments directed at myself"?

It seems to be fashionable to say "Get over it, you have a choice to be upset" - yeh sure, let's deflect responsibility onto the person who's on the receiving end. All that "free thpeech" moaning is the same - it gets forgotten that free speech goes both ways.
You don't always choose to be offended. We all know there are moan-bags who find offence in anything, but it's becoming such that those with genuine grievances get lumped in with the latter.

I find it very suspect when people complain about people being over-sensitive - screams "I want to be allowed be a dick!" to me. And they're the very people who get uppity when people disagree with them, let alone insult them.

wouldn't go that far. if you (for example are gay and go to a comedian who makes a gay joke (frankie boyle for instance) there are things to consider.

You know what frankie boyle is like, you know what type of material he uses, you should also realise he isn't doing this to hurt anyone as he assumes that people are going to take what he says with a pinch of salt. if you are offended then you kinda need to get over it.

If however frankie came down into the audience and up to you yourself and shouted homophobic remarks at you then he is being a dick and you are in the right.

in much the same way like i said before if someone says a your ma/da/sister/brother joke in a group they should not feel in the wrong if someone has lost that relation. granted if it happened that morning or whatever a sorry for your loss i didn't realise is appropriate (been on both sides of this one) and when the offended sees that no harm was meant then well ... where is the harm?

ScumLord

Madam_X wrote: »

I find it very suspect when people complain about people being over-sensitive - screams "I want to be allowed be a dick!" to me. And they're the very people who get uppity when people disagree with them, let alone insult them.

It's not just that, people do get upset over things they really have no need to get upset over. I've often gotten friends to claim down just by asking them "why does that persons opinion matter so much to you?" In the vast majority of cases they realise that the random person that threw an insult their way means nothing them.

It's like if I was in a toilet cubical and picked a name out of thin air and wrote "so and so" is a prick on the wall of the cubical. Sooner or later someone with that name is going to see that message. Should they get offended? That's how much weight I'd put in an insult from someone I don't know.

No person can avoid these things, it's impossible. You have to learn how to deal with these kinds of people without breaking down.

Yellowblackbird

hollster2 wrote: »

no he didnt but everyones allowed to there opinion im was just giving an example of how bad cyber bullying can go and dont think the video he put and what he said appropriate!!

No that's not at all the point you were making. Have a read back at your post if you can't remember. You were trying to guilt trip him mentioning the dead girls.

Agricola

Society in the west is gone soft. Its all about "feelings" and "my opinion" and "respect my right to blah blah blah"
What these facebooking, twittering manbabys need is to be packed off to a good aul war. If they come back from that they wont spend their time worrying about what some tool online thinks of them.
Fúck, Ive to go. Mammy has the dinner ready.

ScumLord

Agricola wrote: »

Society in the west is gone soft. Its all about "feelings" and "my opinion" and "respect my right to blah blah blah"

But only your own feelings and opinions matter. Even if they're wrong your entitled to have them and feel hard done by if you have to entertain other peoples opinions.

Madam_X

Madam_X wrote: »

Oh the one that translates as "I can say what I like but I'll take exception to abusive comments directed at myself"?

It seems to be fashionable to say "Get over it, you have a choice to be upset" - yeh sure, let's deflect responsibility onto the person who's on the receiving end. All that "free thpeech" moaning is the same - it gets forgotten that free speech goes both ways.
You don't always choose to be offended. We all know there are moan-bags who find offence in anything, but it's becoming such that those with genuine grievances get lumped in with the latter.

I find it very suspect when people complain about people being over-sensitive - screams "I want to be allowed be a dick!" to me. And they're the very people who get uppity when people disagree with them, let alone insult them.

Exactly. The very idea that you can choose to be offended/upset is absolute bollix. Some comments are just offensive and it's very hard not to let it get to you, even if you know the person is just a d*ck.

biko

I'm so hipsta I liked bullying before it was popular.

CollardGreens

The OP video, how silly! If someone is rude then ignore them. Kids take things so serious. It's the flipping internet, they should get a grip or turn it the heck off.

Madam_X

danniemcq wrote: »

if you (for example are gay and go to a comedian who makes a gay joke (frankie boyle for instance) there are things to consider.

You know what frankie boyle is like, you know what type of material he uses, you should also realise he isn't doing this to hurt anyone as he assumes that people are going to take what he says with a pinch of salt. if you are offended then you kinda need to get over it.

If however frankie came down into the audience and up to you yourself and shouted homophobic remarks at you then he is being a dick and you are in the right.

in much the same way like i said before if someone says a your ma/da/sister/brother joke in a group they should not feel in the wrong if someone has lost that relation. granted if it happened that morning or whatever a sorry for your loss i didn't realise is appropriate (been on both sides of this one) and when the offended sees that no harm was meant then well ... where is the harm?

Yeh exactly, it's about intention, but according to the "free speech/PC gone mad/people choose to be offended" brigade, even if the intent behind it is malicious and personal, it just needs to be "gotten over" and ignored... abdicating the responsibility from the person who is actually behind it, and moving it to the person on the receiving end, which I just don't understand. It's from the "People only let themselves be bullied" school of thought, which is kinda disturbing.
If they don't get bothered by it (which I'd doubt): fine, but where do they get off, demanding others feel the same way as they do?

clairefontaine

Madam_X wrote: »

Yeh exactly, it's about intention, but according to the "free speech/PC gone mad/people choose to be offended" brigade, even if the intent behind it is malicious and personal, it just needs to be "gotten over" and ignored... abdicating the responsibility from the person who is actually behind it, and moving it to the person on the receiving end, which I just don't understand. It's from the "People only let themselves be bullied" school of thought, which is kinda disturbing.
If they don't get bothered by it (which I'd doubt): fine, but where do they get off, demanding others feel the same way as they do?

Unfortunately the same people who often spout about free speech and the first amendment are the last to understand it. It is not absolute, even in the country that created it. For example, the famous example of crying fire in a movie theatre is not protected under it and neither is watching child pornography. It doesn't mean you can say whatever the hell you feel like saying.

The thing too about free speech, yes you can talk all you like but that doesn't mean others have to listen to you.

On the other hand, you have to develop a tolerance for ideas you might not like, but you don't have to take personal crap from people. And of course this is not school or work, on a message board, you don't have to be here, which makes it entirely different from social media stuff and facing those same kids in school every day.

P_1

There is a difference between avoiding something that may offend you and avoiding something offensive that is directed towards you personally.

Some folk would be wise to remember that.

hollster2

Yellowblackbird wrote: »

No that's not at all the point you were making. Have a read back at your post if you can't remember. You were trying to guilt trip him mentioning the dead girls.[/QUOT

NO I WASNT THATS WHAT THE VIDEOS ABOUT TO PREVENT CYBERBULLING AND THIS HAPPENED TO THESE GIRLS WHY WOULD I TRY TO GUILT TRIP SOMEONE ITS NOT HIS FAULT JUST THE WAY HES TALKING ABOUT IT YOU DIDNT READ MY POST PROPERLY WHAT YOUVE SAID IS RIDICULOUS

MadYaker

I THINK YOUR CAPS LOCK MIGHT BE BROKEN.

hollster2

MadYaker wrote: »

I THINK YOUR CAPS LOCK MIGHT BE BROKEN.

I was half way through when I seen caps was on lol Too lazy to do it again!!:pac:

Herb Powell

danniemcq wrote: »

A good example is the "most retarded thing you have done thread". 99% of the posters if not more have no issue but there are a handful of people who are hurt by the thread title.

The thing is i often looked at that thread an not once did i see retarded as anything other than stupid. I have personal experience with mentally challenged people in my family but that thread was not about them or anyone like them it was about stupid things you had done. The negative conentations with the word "retarded" was never crossed most people minds past the i'm an eejit bit.

Haha, I got a ban out of that ages ago for calling out some fella for being a sanctimonious cuunt, pretty much exactly what you said. Agree 100%

jugger0

The west is soft in general these days, back in the olden days young lads were running through hails of machine gun bullets to stab each other in the eye with bayonets, now we have nancy boys with skinny jeans and lesbian haircuts.

crazygeryy

yes they are all on boards.ie
they are called mods.

Scruffles

danniemcq wrote: »

A good example is the "most retarded thing you have done thread". 99% of the posters if not more have no issue but there are a handful of people who are hurt by the thread title.

The thing is i often looked at that thread an not once did i see retarded as anything other than stupid. I have personal experience with mentally challenged people in my family but that thread was not about them or anyone like them it was about stupid things you had done. The negative conentations with the word "retarded" was never crossed most people minds past the i'm an eejit bit.

I know some people are affected a lot more than i am and may take some offence but taking the power out of the word (ie take the negative meaning and making it more "normal") is surely a greater good.

In much the same way i can take jokes about family members despite having family members who have passed on without taking offence.

For example if i meet someone in the pub and there is craic going and someone makes a joke about "your ma/da/sister/brother" whatever unless they specifically say danniemcq your dead ma/da/sister/brother was a c*nt then i would take offence.

What i often find online is that people who take the most offence are often the most offensive in other ways. For example someone on facebook i know recently posted about how he didn't like a certain type of jokes. Scroll down through his timeline and he is bitching and complaining about those black c*nts etc.

boards/ah is not representative of society.
the problem with retard/retarded is that of course it will not offend many people who do not have direct experience with the effects of it,there is not enough awareness of how it impacts those of us with intelectual disability because we do not have the same level of ability to communicate awareness,express our issues and go and create the activism that gay people and people of whatever skin colour is the minority are able to do.

it doesnt matter what excuses people use,the reason retarded is used is because it is associated with our disability,people think theyre calling someone or something slow and/or stupid;they do not seem to realise what they are actualy doing is insulting those of us with the disability,not what they are directing the slur at.

we have been bullied,discriminated and judged through our entire lives with these labels, is it any wonder why we feel such lack of self worth when people kick up a fuss on here if racial or sexuality based slurs are used yet they casualy throw around a label which has major conotations and history involved for those of us with intelectual disability?
instead of assuming we are just being sensitive,perhaps find out why its offensive to those of us affected by it first.
am certainly not sensitive; am a user of self deprecating humour and go on sickipedia, but have been severely bullied entire life due to disabilities,was called various id slurs by teachers at school never mind the kids,and even now am still targeted on the internet because people have absolutely f-all basic manners/respect for us that they will give to our fellow users,we are dehumanised by these labels and its unfortunate that people are blind to it or dont want to see it.
many of us are not wanting to ban the word,its about creating awareness and making peopel realise we are human as well and dont deserve to be the butt of peoples bigotism and ignorance.

woud recommend speaking to mencap if want to find out how the term is damaging ,they had done a campaign on it a good while back.
woud also recommend a read of these-
http://www.mencap.org.uk/news/article/ofcom-misjudges-channel-4-viewers
a channel 4 poll showed three out of four people found the word retard offensive.

http://www.r-word.org/
a long campaign ran by the special olympics,lots of input from those of us with id or similar disabilities, have also got a story published on there.

ScumLord

Retard does actually mean to slow or hinder. If anything the word makes more sense in the way it's generally used as a slur against something or someone. It would be an insult if used against someone with a mental disability to describe their condition but I think the way it's being used in the general population is more in line with the actual meaning of the word and if anything it's popularity is pulling it away form a descriptive term for someone with a mental disability. In a generations time people just won't associate the word with any disability.

clairefontaine

ScumLord wrote: »

Retard does actually mean to slow or hinder. If anything the word makes more sense in the way it's generally used as a slur against something or someone. It would be an insult if used against someone with a mental disability to describe their condition but I think the way it's being used in the general population is more in line with the actual meaning of the word and if anything it's popularity is pulling it away form a descriptive term for someone with a mental disability. In a generations time people just won't associate the word with any disability.

No I think when people use it they are using it to tell someone they have chromosomal abnormalities. I would suspect that most people who use this word have no idea it means to slow down orginially.