I've noticed this as well, and I have no idea where it's coming from. If you see this on Beehaw, please report it, though, we're definitely not okay with slurs of any kind.

This is interesting to think about because I might be one of the last generations of people who existed physically with one another more often than we would text or message one another. Since my old man hat is on, back in my day if you let one fly like this there were immediate social consequences. Everyone would go silent and look at you in disapproval and the person who was really invested in expunging the word would, at that moment, explain why saying that word was unacceptable. The person who said it of course wouldn't have a change of heart, but they would learn that if they wanted to participate socially they would have to watch their language.

Now that it costs $100 to leave the house and most socialization takes place behind in a non-rich communication medium there isn't really a consequence like there used to be. In most online "communities" no one is actually in community with one another and have no reason to be pro-social other than wanting to be pro-social. Trolling has always been a problem, but now that more of the population in general is communicating primarily on the channels where trolling is happening, trolling is now a political and social problem.

You're not imagining it.

I've seen it (and many other ableist slurs) used far too often, especially for a site that is generally supposed to be more left leaning (which tbf isn't saying much when it comes to combatting ableism because we seem to have very few true allies) but is also full of tech-bros, who love punching down at others based on perceived intelligence, and who also have quite a lot of crossover with 4chan type cesspits, so sadly it isn't unexpected.

I call it out it when I see it, and generally block and report, but what I find most frustrating is that mods throughout lemmy/fediverse (again, even on the most supposedly left leaning instances like lemmy.ml) just ignore the reports and don't remove the comments (I know people are busy, I don't expect instant action, I give it a week or two in general before I check the modlog).
I've had to block several large communities, most that I'm actually interested in (mostly tech and science related, again, places where people love feeling superior based on perceived intelligence), because I get the message - making people like me feel safe and included isn't a priority in those spaces, so I refuse to occupy them.

Whether the privileged group accept it or not, that is the result of using slurs - making already marginalised people feel unwelcome and excluded.

And when they tell me not to be so easily offended, I link this (or maybe this or this) with the full knowledge that they will probably never read it, but with the hope that someone else might, and that it might make them reconsider their use of certain words (though I don't hold my breath in anticipation of society at large giving a shit).

The US is fascist now. Lots of inappropriate stuff us making a comeback.

It's breaching out of the edgy circles into normie culture again, I think

I don't see it. But then, I haven't been on Reddit for almost a whole year now and by all accounts, it's devolved into a right-leaning, bot-filled shitbox even more than it was when I left. The WSB crowd never had a problem with that word before, and by now those are the only type of user truly left there that isn't some kind of AI.

What word are you referring to?

We know that moderation standards have gotten worse, recently. Pick a random big web community hosting company, and it's likely find that they have laid off big parts of their content moderation team, in the last 24 months.

In spite of the evidence of both my professional expertise, and simple observation; I have received many assurances that AI is definitely picking up the slack.

I say this as some defense of the average human. The algorithms and staff that pair us with each other online for communication have undoubtedly gotten substantially worse, recently.

It's possible that the average living human has not actually gotten worse... Okay, I'll admit, I think they totally have. I think all that lead paint expose "that didn't hurt us" is finally kicking into full force for many of us.

Edit: I see some correlation - the average CEO getting scammed into bad AI purchases is the right age for the lead explanation...

I have been noticing and pondering this as well.

My only thought is that perhaps, although it was shamed for a while, the people who used it at it's peak have continued to use it in private settings. But now their children are of age that they are comfortable spouting it on the Internet and in person, thus bringing out anyone else who wants to say it, whether just to make people uncomfortable or they grew up with it, or otherwise don't know any better or haven't learned empathy

I don't know exactly why its usage would come up more frequently again. But I feel bad because when I grew up, the word was used frequently, and I never made the connection to it being offensive.

I'm always terrified I'm going to say it or something else that could hurt someone or offend them. Like I wouldn't want to make someone feel bad because I'm being foolish.

On the flip side, I've never been one to let words hold so much power over me. I feel like words and language are very flexible, and so words don't bother me unless I know someone intentionally is trying to be rude towards me.

But again, that's just me, and I know for others that's not the case. So, I'm always trying to be mindful. I guess what I'm trying to say is that some people using it might not realise how it can make others feel. So try not to take it all to heart. Hopefully, it's just a phase that will pass soon enough.

Edit: one thing I have noticed is as political tensions have risen over the past decade, I feel like I've seen way more discourse online in general. I suppose that could just be a coincidence. It could be just due to more people having access to the internet overall. One thing I found when I used reddit a lot, was that sometimes young people could be the rudest and most hurtful. I sometimes wonder if it's just due to a developing brain and the emotional fluctuations people can get in their teens? I don't know

I'm not seeing it... but it might be due to Reddit having become the R word for me, never having been into T (𝕏), refusing to go on TT or D, and FB still having wide whack-a-mole word filters (main issue being flerfers, and "praise God for the AI stairs" kind). Haven't seen it on the fediverse yet, but that might be due to curation.

Yep, I see it on Lemmy all the time, often from Shit.just.works users.