Denis W. Veteran Posted September 20, 2013 Veteran Share Posted September 20, 2013 Thanks to our country's bilingualism (on consumer products anyways), things like this can just happen: Soft drink giant Coca-Cola is apologizing after an Edmonton woman found the words "You Retard" inscribed inside a cap on a bottle of Vitamin Water recently. "Very, very unfortunate that this happened," said spokesperson Shannon Denny. "We apologize to our consumers for this." The words are part of a promotion for Vitamin Water where random French and English words are printed on the caps, she said. "Retard" is a French word meaning late. "The chances were so slim through this random process," said Denny adding that not anticipating the potential word pairings was a mistake. "The promotion has been cancelled," Denny said. "We are stopping production of all of the bottles using those caps with words. And any caps we have within our inventory are being destroyed." Picture in source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/coca-cola-apologizes-for-offensive-bottle-cap-message-1.1861022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcfan Posted September 20, 2013 Share Posted September 20, 2013 they are right. you are a retard for buying vitamin water. +E.Worm Jimmy, WAQT, Hum and 9 others 12 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshall Veteran Posted September 20, 2013 Veteran Share Posted September 20, 2013 What kind of social life does this woman have if she's offended by a bottle cap calling her a retard. :/ WAQT 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denis W. Veteran Posted September 20, 2013 Author Veteran Share Posted September 20, 2013 What kind of social life does this woman have if she's offended by a bottle cap calling her a retard. :/ Apparently one of the complaints mentioned in tonight's newscast had a disabled daughter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abecedarian paradoxious Posted September 20, 2013 Share Posted September 20, 2013 My Toyota pickup is offended since when manifold vacuum is reduced its ignition timing is retarded. It is only happy and advanced when exactly the right amount of air enters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshall Veteran Posted September 20, 2013 Veteran Share Posted September 20, 2013 Apparently one of the complaints mentioned in tonight's newscast had a disabled daughter. Ahhh, that makes a little more sense then. Shame on me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Raze Subscriber² Posted September 20, 2013 Subscriber² Share Posted September 20, 2013 Tu es en retard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redfish Posted September 20, 2013 Share Posted September 20, 2013 "Retard" is a French word meaning late. Means the same thing in English, re?tard verb (used with object) 1.to make slow; delay the development or progress of (an action, process, etc.); hinder or impede.verb (used with object) verb (used without object) 2. to be delayed. noun 3. a slowing down, diminution, or hindrance, as in a machine. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/retard?s=t Because the English is derived from the French, retard late 15c., from Fr. retarder (13c.), from L. retardare (see retardation). The noun is recorded from 1788 in the sense "retardation, delay;" from 1970 in offensive meaning "retarded person," originally Amer.Eng., with accent on first syllable Journalists need to learn English. Charisma and neo1911 2 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakem1 Posted September 20, 2013 Share Posted September 20, 2013 Means the same thing in English, re?tard verb (used with object) 1.to make slow; delay the development or progress of (an action, process, etc.); hinder or impede.verb (used with object) verb (used without object) 2. to be delayed. noun 3. a slowing down, diminution, or hindrance, as in a machine. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/retard?s=t Because the English is derived from the French, retard late 15c., from Fr. retarder (13c.), from L. retardare (see retardation). The noun is recorded from 1788 in the sense "retardation, delay;" from 1970 in offensive meaning "retarded person," originally Amer.Eng., with accent on first syllable Journalists need to learn English. It's also a derogatory term for disabled people as you well know. The woman was right to object because the message is offensive and Coca Cola should have been more careful when producing the messages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torolol Posted September 20, 2013 Share Posted September 20, 2013 You RT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hum Posted September 20, 2013 Share Posted September 20, 2013 .... found the words "You Retard" inscribed inside a cap on a bottle. In some cases, the printing is accurate. :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertch Posted September 20, 2013 Share Posted September 20, 2013 They also had one that said douche, which means shower in French. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techbeck Posted September 20, 2013 Share Posted September 20, 2013 Am I the only one who found that funny? Hum 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zlain Posted September 20, 2013 Share Posted September 20, 2013 You lost time drinking your cola to read this message. I see no cause for complaint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redfish Posted September 20, 2013 Share Posted September 20, 2013 It's also a derogatory term for disabled people as you well know. The woman was right to object because the message is offensive and Coca Cola should have been more careful when producing the messages. I'm not saying she didn't have a right to complain. Just saying only the combination of the words "you" and "retard" is what makes it sound like it has the derogatory meaning. I've seen articles that have suggested the word, in any context, is derogatory, when its not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neufuse Veteran Posted September 20, 2013 Veteran Share Posted September 20, 2013 this is as dumb as candy makers having to stop calling small candy bars "midget sized" and have to change it to "fun sized"..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATLien_0 Posted September 20, 2013 Share Posted September 20, 2013 Doesn't retard in French mean late? Were they just trying to say your late? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_dandy_ Posted September 20, 2013 Share Posted September 20, 2013 So according to the article, the promo just picks some random combination of French and English words. If she finds this word combination offensive, I say she should be provided with the entire word list the system is choosing from, and then be made to manually review and mark every single combination of words she thinks qualifies as offensive, so the system can pick another combination. After a few hours of this, I'd like to know whether she thinks this is still a worthwhile endeavor, or she should just move on with her life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skwerl Posted September 20, 2013 Share Posted September 20, 2013 My French is rusty. Is there a way to say "stupid whiny old ######" in French? "Vache" doesn't seem to cut it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason S. Global Moderator Posted September 20, 2013 Global Moderator Share Posted September 20, 2013 Am I the only one who found that funny? no. it's hilarious :laugh: Hum 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torolol Posted September 21, 2013 Share Posted September 21, 2013 My problem here is with the parents. They should be teaching their children to be strong and not to let silly words hurt them. Instead they're teaching thrm to become victims about things that werent directed at them and weren't even used in a hurtful offensive context.well, learning to 'become a victim' has its perks: they feel entitled to sue for anything, and perhaps gain monetary benefits by doing so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leesmithg Posted September 21, 2013 Share Posted September 21, 2013 they are right. you are a retard for buying vitamin water. You are ''late'' for buying the water or are you being offensive to disabelled adults and children? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neo1911 Posted September 21, 2013 Share Posted September 21, 2013 "You sortie" out by yourself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Raze Subscriber² Posted September 21, 2013 Subscriber² Share Posted September 21, 2013 C'est la vie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fizza Posted September 21, 2013 Share Posted September 21, 2013 Why can't Australia have these promotions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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