Actually it is quite amazing that people always find so much offense in words.
Retarded, handicapped, challenged, special, different, special ed, special needs, additional needs, negro, black, colored, african-american, waitress, server, attendant, doorman, maid, house keeper, custodian, environmental services....
People are looking for reasons to be offended. Any word can become a derogatory term if used for the wrong reasons. Bad people will always find ways to be bad. If you are so easily offended, then you may not be far removed from your derogatory belief of the meaning.
Is it liberalism, socialism or politically correctness that drives this crazyiness? I don't know, but I never mean any offense by any term I use. I try to use the most definitive term to describe something, unfortunately someone may take offense to the term and make a big deal of it. It does not change anything except that I then know how low their threshold is.
DISCLAIMER: No offense intended in this post.
