this post was submitted on 12 Jan 2026
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"Words that I use as insults cut people deeper than I probably intended. Clearly it's their fault for getting cut by them rather than something I could be introspective about."
That's how you sound. Sound like an asshole if you want, but don't be surprised if people treat you like one in turn. That's all I'm saying.
Excuse me. But I find the word asshole to be demeaning, please check your privilege before using such hurtful language.
Or, failing that, maybe just grow the fuck up and accept that insults are meant to be insulting you fucking moron.
This is the issue with arguing because something made you mad rather than understanding what the other person is saying and then responding in a way that makes sense.
Asshole isn't a slur. It's an insult because it compares the target of the insult with something that is dirty and spews only filth.
A slur is a slur because it compares the target of the insult with a member of a lower caste in society, implying that the target is of the same value as those society has dehumanized. When you use a slur, you reinforce that that caste designation is correct and worthy of scorn. That you think that people are less valuable for belonging to that caste and that that belief is good.
So, when you use a slur as an insult, it tells those around you that you're an asshole. But it also tells members of that caste that you think of them as subhuman and, therefore, you're not safe to be around.
So, to reiterate my point, you can talk like an asshole if you like, but don't be shocked when people treat you like one.
Being a moron, by the clinical definition, is a negative trait. It means you have a very low level of intelligence. I am equating your intelligence to being very low, specifically within the range that would be considered a "moron". It's asinine to claim that it's not a negative quality. Although some people exist that fall within that terminology, that doesn't make it a non-negative quality, and comparisons to that quality are not immediately an insult toward the groups that possess them.
If you call something stupid, are you insulting stupid people? How about when you say something is dumb?
If someone asks you to repeat yourself 5 times and you say "What are you, deaf?", are you insulting deaf people?
If a referee at a sports game makes a terrible call and you say "Is the ref blind?!", are you insulting blind people?
Or maybe these comparisons are simply because we, as a society, recognize these traits as being detrimental. So when someone acts in a manner that calls into question their faculties, we make the comparison that perhaps they possess one of these detrimental qualities. So when you act like a moron, and people call you a moron, it's not an insult to morons everywhere. It's just an insult to you.
Compare that to things like racial slurs. Those are different because by using them as an insult, you are insinuating that race itself is a negative trait.
Yes, those things are insulting to the people who belong to that group. There's an entire style of joke where the setup and punchline is "what are you, ____?" And when the person responds yes, the original speaker is chagrined. Almost like inferring that someone is lesser because they have different capabilities is a shitty thing to do. Who'd've guessed?
But really the only difference between these and slurs is impact. Those groups that are impacted are the ones who decide if they're slurs.
Well... not really. It's the zeitgeist that really decides the difference between the two. Some group gets a little too shitty with using a word as an insult and it can expand into a cultural slur. I mean, that's how the Euphemism Treadmill operates. Some word is determined to be naughty by the zeitgeist, so the group that was using the naughty word switches to another word, implying it has the same meaning, which just adds another word to the naughty list. Sometimes words that were naughty stop being naughty because people stopped being shitty with them. It's the way of living languages, railing against it just makes you seem childish at best.
And I didn't say shit about "moron". Keep up, please.