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.
My uncles were retarded due to Rh incompatability before they understood about Rh Factor. They called themselves retarded, our family called them that, it doesn’t sound wrong or deragotory to me.