-ism. The fan didnt say the refs were like your child or anyone else who is actually retarded.
(Developmentally disabled) the terms are interchangeable in meaning when discussing a person clinically and not so much as a general euphemisms.
Idiot, dumb,Stupid..its all the same..
I undersrand that the term has been hijacked and its not pc. I dont care for pc under any situation.

The bigger question is why would you be offended?

I dont get offended when im called tall,bald,blind,male,etc

I dont get offended if called smart or any other accurate descriptor. I use to be skinny and still am i guess and my feelings use to get hurt when people made fun of my skinnineas.i got over it
I also learned to distinguish the difference when someone was stating a fact about me. "Hey CC you sure are skinny." No other intention but as an uttered observation vs.
Hey"skinny boy if youbstand sidewsys and stick out yoir tongue you"re a zipper" ""hey you've got a couple steings hanging from your shorts..oops..sorry those are your legs"
Etc

I certainly never was offended if someone called someone else a anything that was also a descriptor of me, even if meant negatively toward the other person.

Intent matters


You wouldn't be upset if someone came up and said "hey your daughter has downs? She is so awesome...etc etc or 'what do you do, my daughter has downs too.. ."

IMP. You likewise shouldn't be upset at someone saying "hey,your daughter is retarded? She is awesome for..."
. "Hey my daughter is retarded too."
"How do you....?"

How many times have you said to someone "are you.blind?"or "are you deaf?"

Take a second and realize that there is no difference and as a blind guy who isnt offended by those, if i took the same stance as being offended for someone else even at someone being called retarded then I would be offended and rightfully so at the blind or deaf comments. .

I would ask you to examine those statements and your usage and apply the fact when you used them you weren't personally attacking a population, or any individual within that pipulation, but were taunting just a particular individual. Perhaps you may SEE things differently.

Its just a hijacked term imo. Intent matters