Attacking Words

"You're so retarded!"
"Indians!"
"That's so gay!"

These are some examples of "attacking words." They're words used for no other purpose than to offend and attack others. Dumb, stupid, idiot, etc are also a few words, however, they aren't as offensive as the three I mentioned above.

As we know, the term "Indian" used to describe a group of people we now call, "Aboriginal Peoples." "Retarded" has been used as synonym to "stupid" or "dumb." Lastly, the word "gay" means happy or lately, being a homosexual.
Nowadays, these words have gathered other meanings. The word "Indian" is pretty much taboo due to being insulting to the Native people and the word "retarded" is referring to people that have mental illnesses. The word "gay" is now used to describe a situation that sucks, such as, "I died in my game? That's so gay."

How do you guys feel about words like these being thrown around in the wrong context? Should you use them properly? Should you use them in the context they're thrown in nowadays? Or should you just avoid using them entirely?

There are many other words and phrases out there like these so don't hesitate to share your thoughts!

It's at the point where they're simply colloquial phrases. For the most part, people do not use them for derogatory purposes. In that sense, I will go so far as to say that these words have lost some of their "impact". In the case that they're actually used to attack, of course it's extremely inappropriate, especially when used outside of context, but I've come to accept these phrases as everyday phrases and words, however sad that may be.

In situations where it's good to avoid using those words (most of the time), you should avoid using those words. Personally I'm not offended by someone else using those words, but if you say something like "school is so gay" and/or using the other f word in front of a gay person, of course they'll be offended.

Adding onto Silais' thought, a word shouldn't be something you should take with attack anyway. If the words are considered attack words, you or some other party is taking offense to it. You are your own person and you aren't under a label like 'girl' or 'retard' or anything else. Don't give them the power to 'attack' you with their words, man.

Even if the idea behind what they say is aggressive or insulting. Go about your life and show em how awesome you are - prove em wrong and make them feel stupid.
And if not for them, do it for yourself. Words don't mean jack.

Silais said:

It isn't the words themselves that carry the attack; it's the idea behind it. A person could call me retarded with a smile on their face and project to me that they're simply joking; I can feel that emotion and thus I do not perceive that word to be negative. However, if someone were to say "You're just a girl!" with anger and force behind it, I would feel offended; not because of the word "girl" but because of how it was used. In this way, any word can be an attack word—it just depends on how the person says it and in what context.

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What about something over the internet where it's hard to gauge a person's intonation or intent? Even when they use proper grammar and spelling it can be hard sometimes to know if someone is joking or not. Really, it's hard to know sometimes even in person. And there are the jerks who will say mean things, use "attack words," and always say "I'm just joking. Don't be so serious. Etc."

I mean, we can take this advice:

MilkFlavored said:

Go about your life and show em how awesome you are - prove em wrong and make them feel stupid.
And if not for them, do it for yourself. Words don't mean jack.

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But what about someone who can't quite stand up for themselves that way? A younger kid, someone who's been bullied, or just can't for whatever reason.

People that say "I'm just joking. Don't be so serious. Etc." are just as jerky as those who say "attack words". These people have their way of telling other people what to do. I don't think words are nearly as significant as attitude.