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Meaning of Words: Stupid, Dumb, Ignorant, foolish and Retarded

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Are you Stupid, Dumb, Ignorant, foolish or Retarded? I had an interesting conversation with my children and some teens the other day. I asked them what the following words meant to them: Stupid, ignorant, dumb, foolish, and retarded. It was really fun to watch them try to explain each word and how the discussion quickly became an argument over how each word basically meant the same thing - you are calling me stupid, that I am not smart. After one or two minutes had passed I politely interrupted and I said: “I believe that you guys are all ignorant of the true meaning of each word I presented you with.” They all turned to look at me, each with a disgusted look on their face. I asked them “What, what did I say?” My daughter was the first to speak up – “I am not stupid!” As I tried to keep a straight face I asked her “when did I call you stupid?” “Just now, you said I was stupid...” My daughter’s friend hastily jumped into the fray “Yeah, you just called us all stupid.” She sa