There’s a clear campaign against the mentally ill with the global rise of fascism. Lots of it shows up in anti homeless rhetoric, but you can see it in the MAHA and anti vaccination movements.
There’s no reason to use the word “r-tarded” to describe someone. As someone who’s worked with the intellectually challenged, it’s an insult to them to compare them with people who are willfully ignorant.
What the fuck kind of logic is this? We can’t magically make insulting language go away. If someone wants to use a slur, they will. People also don’t think “damn, if I didn’t have a word to insult this person that was insulting enough I’d punch them!” If people want to be violent they’re going to be violent.