Latest news with #MontclairStateUniversity
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
The ‘r-word' is back. How a slur became renormalized
EDITOR'S NOTE: This article features language that may be hurtful to readers. On an April episode of 'The Joe Rogan Experience,' the host used a slur within the first 45 seconds of the show. 'The word 'retarded' is back, and it's one of the great culture victories,' Rogan said with a laugh in the April 10 episode of his über-popular podcast. 'Probably spurred on by podcasts.' A few months earlier, on January 6, Elon Musk used the word in response to a Finnish researcher who called Musk the 'largest spreader of disinformation in human history.' Use of the slur more than doubled on X, the platform Musk owns, in the two days after he made that January post, researchers from Montclair State University found. More than 312,000 subsequent posts made on X in that span contained the r-word, wrote co-author Bond Benton, a professor of communication at the New Jersey university. The buck didn't stop there, Benton said. Throughout 2025, influential public figures like Rogan, Musk and Kanye West have used the r-word on platforms where millions can see and hear them. (West most recently used the term in March to refer to Jay-Z and Beyoncé's twins, though those X posts are now deleted.) Since Musk's January post, the online prevalence of the r-word is 'absolutely getting worse,' Benton told CNN. Rogan, Musk and West are likely using the word to get a rise out of people and draw more eyes to their content, Benton said. But by using a term that has historically been used to disparage and diminish people with disabilities, they're renormalizing the slur among followers and fans who interact with their posts, he said. Musk, Rogan and West haven't responded to CNN's requests for comment. The resurgence of the r-word is symptomatic of a graver problem — the 'apparent death of empathy,' said Adrienne Massanari, an associate professor at American University who has studied how the far-right uses tech to grow its influence. 'What you're seeing now, people's masks are off,' Massanari said. 'This is not just misunderstanding but the mischaracterization and demonization of communities. The use of that kind of language is signaling a shift, a desire to sort of push the envelope.' Push the envelope too far, she said, and the harm spills out into all marginalized communities. The r-word's surging popularity is just the latest effort in a movement to normalize hate, she said. The r-word has never really gone away, Massanari said — many people still use the word in private, and controversial far-right influencers and some members of the former 'dirtbag left' podcast scene alike have used it for years to rile up followers and appeal to edgy comedic styles. But most people 'were comfortable with the word retreating from normal discourse,' after years of campaigns designed to end use of the slur, Benton said. 'There was a reason these words are no longer being used,' Massanari said. 'They weren't productive. They weren't helping. They are actively harming communities.' The r-word, initially, was meant to replace words that had become pejoratives. Introduced in 1895, 'mental retardation' became the preferred term among psychologists, supplanting the diagnostic labels 'imbecile,' 'moron' and 'feebleminded,' said Lieke van Heumen, a clinical associate professor in disability and human development at the University of Illinois, Chicago. The r-word was intended to be a 'neutral' term, van Heumen said. But people with disabilities then were still largely disregarded and treated as lesser members of society, regularly institutionalized in dangerous environments and even forcibly sterilized without their consent. Under those conditions, the r-word eventually warped into a slur and an insult, she said. 'When disability is framed as a lack, limitation or loss, it reinforces the idea that people with disabilities are inherently incapable,' van Heumen told CNN. 'This framing is used to justify their exclusion from everyday life, as if they are missing what it takes to participate. Such language is not harmless — it influences public attitudes, informs policy decisions and ultimately affects how people with disabilities are treated.' The chorus to retire the r-word grew louder in the 1970s, van Heumen said, as people with disabilities advocated for their right to participate fully in society and end the use of ableist language. Nearly 40 years later, the 'Spread the Word to End the Word' campaign encouraged young people in particular to quit using the slur to insult their peers. The federal government signaled its support to end the use of the r-word with 2010's 'Rosa's Law,' named for a young girl with Down syndrome, which updated all federal laws to use 'intellectual disability' in place of 'mental retardation.' The legislation stated that the term and its 'derivatives,' including the r-word, were 'used to demean and insult both persons with and without disabilities.' Sophie Stern, a 22-year-old choreographer and actress from Arizona, has Down syndrome and is a member of the Arizona Developmental Disabilities Planning Council. For years, she's confronted classmates who've said the r-word in front of her, even petitioning to have the word removed from a script. But she's hearing the word more often now than she did in school, she told CNN. And it doesn't make her any less upset to hear it, even if it's not directed at her. 'It still hurts my feelings,' she said. Celebrities used to apologize when they were 'caught' using the r-word. Khloe and Kim Kardashian both issued statements when they used the slur in clips shared on Instagram in 2018. LeBron James apologized at least twice for letting the r-word slip in postgame interviews in 2011 and 2014. Author John Green said in 2015 that he shouldn't have used the word in his popular YA novel 'Paper Towns,' in which it appears in a quote from a teenage character. Today, whether it's 'Silicon Valley tech bros' or far-right figures, people who use the r-word online appear to share a motivation — 'the appeal of transgression,' said Julie Ingersoll, a professor of religious studies at the University of North Florida. Many people who use the r-word know it will anger people who disagree with them, Ingersoll said — it's a way of 'owning the libs.' 'I think that they are flaunting their ability to offend and confront,' she said. 'Why do you need that word? If it bothers other people, why wouldn't you just pick a different word?' Content designed to provoke outrage is often more likely to court engagement — from both supporters and those who disagree, Benton said. Engagement guarantees visibility, and if the r-word is more visible online, it'll eventually become less jarring for users to encounter, he said. 'Clicks are the currency in the commerce of social media,' Benton said. 'And if I put up content where the r-word is prominently used, I can just guarantee there's going to be a few thousand replies.' Platforms can end up 'rewarding' controversial content that draws sustained attention, said Brandon Harris, an assistant professor at the University of Alabama who studies content creators, especially those in the 'manosphere.' 'Being controversial is more profitable than being kind to people,' Harris told CNN. Inconsistent guidelines and enforcement on what constitutes hate speech also makes it easier to get away with using hurtful terms, Harris said. X and Spotify didn't respond to CNN's requests for comment on their hate speech guidelines, but neither platform allows attacking other users based on disability, among other characteristics. Content that violates these rules is sometimes removed, demonetized or made less visible, both companies have said. X does allow users to post 'potentially inflammatory content' and encourages users to block or unfollow other users whose content offends them. Spokespeople for Meta and YouTube said their platforms do not allow the r-word to be used to mock a person's disability, but the word is not banned outright on either platform. The agitators using such language don't necessarily need to believe the things they say, Harris said — intent doesn't matter when the outcome normalizes the casual use of a hurtful term. A spike in online use of the r-word would be harmful on its own. But even more concerning is what the slur's return represents, Massanari said. 'These are never just about the words,' she said. 'The words are standing in place for a whole symbol.' What's happening now, where notable people are using the r-word in posts on X or on podcasts, is a 'classic testing of the waters,' Massanari said, when influential people who get paid to agitate see how far they can push the line. 'These communities come out to denigrate, to make fun of, to demonize the most marginalized,' she said. The r-word will almost certainly not be the last slur to reemerge on popular platforms, from popular users, Benton said. And when the line is continually pushed, it can take people to 'the worst spaces imaginable,' he said. 'The term itself — the casual use of it — is a problem,' he said. 'The normalization of it will allow even more problematic terms to be normalized.' Other hurtful words are already being used to harm other marginalized people, Harris pointed out. Republican Rep. Nancy Mace earlier this year repeatedly used an anti-transgender slur in a House Oversight Committee hearing. CNN reached out to Mace about her use of the word. In response, her communications director said, 'While you tiptoe' around hurting feelings, the congresswoman 'is standing up for women and girls.' 'We're now using language that promotes cruelty, and not just cruelty but casual cruelty — where you just offhandedly don't think about it and dismiss someone's humanity,' Harris said of using slurs like those lobbed at trans people and people with disabilities. Seeing how the r-word proliferates offline is the 'next threshold' to cross, Benton said. Some people likely never stopped privately using the r-word, he said, but if people who aren't protected by wealth, fame or political affiliations use the word at their workplace or in social settings, they could face punishing consequences. Many people are actively pushing back against the r-word when they encounter it. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who has a son with Down syndrome, earlier this year called out Kanye West, ''Christian conservatives'' and 'popular newbie-conservative women' for 'thinking it's hip to ramp up use of the 'R' word.' 'Please unfollow me & know that my disrespect for you is insurmountable,' she wrote on X in March. 'The Brady Bunch' star Maureen McCormick, who's also a Special Olympics ambassador, said that Joe Rogan celebrating the resurgence of the r-word 'ignores the terrible hurt' the slur causes people with disabilities. 'This is not a victory,' she wrote on X, prompting more than 8,000 replies from supporters and detractors alike. 'It is a regression.' Engaging with users who post the r-word to court outrage and online engagement can cause well-meaning people to fall into a trap of rage bait, Benton, Harris and Massanari cautioned. But there must still be resistance against reintegrating the r-word into regular speech, they said — a conversation most effective when it's had offline, person to person. 'We have to continue to have courage, to have these conversations and these moments of resistance to say, 'We don't appreciate what you're doing, we don't share your values,'' Harris said. Sophie Stern, the dance teacher from Arizona, has a word of guidance for anyone who wants to pick up the r-word: 'Don't.'
CNN
3 days ago
- General
- CNN
The ‘r-word' is back. How a slur became renormalized
EDITOR'S NOTE: This article features language that may be hurtful to readers. On an April episode of 'The Joe Rogan Experience,' the host used a slur within the first 45 seconds of the show. 'The word 'retarded' is back, and it's one of the great culture victories,' Rogan said with a laugh in the April 10 episode of his über-popular podcast. 'Probably spurred on by podcasts.' A few months earlier, on January 6, Elon Musk used the word in response to a Finnish researcher who called Musk the 'largest spreader of disinformation in human history.' Use of the slur more than doubled on X, the platform Musk owns, in the two days after he made that January post, researchers from Montclair State University found. More than 312,000 subsequent posts made on X in that span contained the r-word, wrote co-author Bond Benton, a professor of communication at the New Jersey university. The buck didn't stop there, Benton said. Throughout 2025, influential public figures like Rogan, Musk and Kanye West have used the r-word on platforms where millions can see and hear them. (West most recently used the term in March to refer to Jay-Z and Beyoncé's twins, though those X posts are now deleted.) Since Musk's January post, the online prevalence of the r-word is 'absolutely getting worse,' Benton told CNN. Rogan, Musk and West are likely using the word to get a rise out of people and draw more eyes to their content, Benton said. But by using a term that has historically been used to disparage and diminish people with disabilities, they're renormalizing the slur among followers and fans who interact with their posts, he said. Musk, Rogan and West haven't responded to CNN's requests for comment. The resurgence of the r-word is symptomatic of a graver problem — the 'apparent death of empathy,' said Adrienne Massanari, an associate professor at American University who has studied how the far-right uses tech to grow its influence. 'What you're seeing now, people's masks are off,' Massanari said. 'This is not just misunderstanding but the mischaracterization and demonization of communities. The use of that kind of language is signaling a shift, a desire to sort of push the envelope.' Push the envelope too far, she said, and the harm spills out into all marginalized communities. The r-word's surging popularity is just the latest effort in a movement to normalize hate, she said. The r-word has never really gone away, Massanari said — many people still use the word in private, and controversial far-right influencers and some members of the former 'dirtbag left' podcast scene alike have used it for years to rile up followers and appeal to edgy comedic styles. But most people 'were comfortable with the word retreating from normal discourse,' after years of campaigns designed to end use of the slur, Benton said. 'There was a reason these words are no longer being used,' Massanari said. 'They weren't productive. They weren't helping. They are actively harming communities.' The r-word, initially, was meant to replace words that had become pejoratives. Introduced in 1895, 'mental retardation' became the preferred term among psychologists, supplanting the diagnostic labels 'imbecile,' 'moron' and 'feebleminded,' said Lieke van Heumen, a clinical associate professor in disability and human development at the University of Illinois, Chicago. The r-word was intended to be a 'neutral' term, van Heumen said. But people with disabilities then were still largely disregarded and treated as lesser members of society, regularly institutionalized in dangerous environments and even forcibly sterilized without their consent. Under those conditions, the r-word eventually warped into a slur and an insult, she said. 'When disability is framed as a lack, limitation or loss, it reinforces the idea that people with disabilities are inherently incapable,' van Heumen told CNN. 'This framing is used to justify their exclusion from everyday life, as if they are missing what it takes to participate. Such language is not harmless — it influences public attitudes, informs policy decisions and ultimately affects how people with disabilities are treated.' The chorus to retire the r-word grew louder in the 1970s, van Heumen said, as people with disabilities advocated for their right to participate fully in society and end the use of ableist language. Nearly 40 years later, the 'Spread the Word to End the Word' campaign encouraged young people in particular to quit using the slur to insult their peers. The federal government signaled its support to end the use of the r-word with 2010's 'Rosa's Law,' named for a young girl with Down syndrome, which updated all federal laws to use 'intellectual disability' in place of 'mental retardation.' The legislation stated that the term and its 'derivatives,' including the r-word, were 'used to demean and insult both persons with and without disabilities.' Sophie Stern, a 22-year-old choreographer and actress from Arizona, has Down syndrome and is a member of the Arizona Developmental Disabilities Planning Council. For years, she's confronted classmates who've said the r-word in front of her, even petitioning to have the word removed from a script. But she's hearing the word more often now than she did in school, she told CNN. And it doesn't make her any less upset to hear it, even if it's not directed at her. 'It still hurts my feelings,' she said. Celebrities used to apologize when they were 'caught' using the r-word. Khloe and Kim Kardashian both issued statements when they used the slur in clips shared on Instagram in 2018. LeBron James apologized at least twice for letting the r-word slip in postgame interviews in 2011 and 2014. Author John Green said in 2015 that he shouldn't have used the word in his popular YA novel 'Paper Towns,' in which it appears in a quote from a teenage character. Today, whether it's 'Silicon Valley tech bros' or far-right figures, people who use the r-word online appear to share a motivation — 'the appeal of transgression,' said Julie Ingersoll, a professor of religious studies at the University of North Florida. Many people who use the r-word know it will anger people who disagree with them, Ingersoll said — it's a way of 'owning the libs.' 'I think that they are flaunting their ability to offend and confront,' she said. 'Why do you need that word? If it bothers other people, why wouldn't you just pick a different word?' Content designed to provoke outrage is often more likely to court engagement — from both supporters and those who disagree, Benton said. Engagement guarantees visibility, and if the r-word is more visible online, it'll eventually become less jarring for users to encounter, he said. 'Clicks are the currency in the commerce of social media,' Benton said. 'And if I put up content where the r-word is prominently used, I can just guarantee there's going to be a few thousand replies.' Platforms can end up 'rewarding' controversial content that draws sustained attention, said Brandon Harris, an assistant professor at the University of Alabama who studies content creators, especially those in the 'manosphere.' 'Being controversial is more profitable than being kind to people,' Harris told CNN. Inconsistent guidelines and enforcement on what constitutes hate speech also makes it easier to get away with using hurtful terms, Harris said. X and Spotify didn't respond to CNN's requests for comment on their hate speech guidelines, but neither platform allows attacking other users based on disability, among other characteristics. Content that violates these rules is sometimes removed, demonetized or made less visible, both companies have said. X does allow users to post 'potentially inflammatory content' and encourages users to block or unfollow other users whose content offends them. Spokespeople for Meta and YouTube said their platforms do not allow the r-word to be used to mock a person's disability, but the word is not banned outright on either platform. The agitators using such language don't necessarily need to believe the things they say, Harris said — intent doesn't matter when the outcome normalizes the casual use of a hurtful term. A spike in online use of the r-word would be harmful on its own. But even more concerning is what the slur's return represents, Massanari said. 'These are never just about the words,' she said. 'The words are standing in place for a whole symbol.' What's happening now, where notable people are using the r-word in posts on X or on podcasts, is a 'classic testing of the waters,' Massanari said, when influential people who get paid to agitate see how far they can push the line. 'These communities come out to denigrate, to make fun of, to demonize the most marginalized,' she said. The r-word will almost certainly not be the last slur to reemerge on popular platforms, from popular users, Benton said. And when the line is continually pushed, it can take people to 'the worst spaces imaginable,' he said. 'The term itself — the casual use of it — is a problem,' he said. 'The normalization of it will allow even more problematic terms to be normalized.' Other hurtful words are already being used to harm other marginalized people, Harris pointed out. Republican Rep. Nancy Mace earlier this year repeatedly used an anti-transgender slur in a House Oversight Committee hearing. CNN reached out to Mace about her use of the word. In response, her communications director said, 'While you tiptoe' around hurting feelings, the congresswoman 'is standing up for women and girls.' 'We're now using language that promotes cruelty, and not just cruelty but casual cruelty — where you just offhandedly don't think about it and dismiss someone's humanity,' Harris said of using slurs like those lobbed at trans people and people with disabilities. Seeing how the r-word proliferates offline is the 'next threshold' to cross, Benton said. Some people likely never stopped privately using the r-word, he said, but if people who aren't protected by wealth, fame or political affiliations use the word at their workplace or in social settings, they could face punishing consequences. Many people are actively pushing back against the r-word when they encounter it. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who has a son with Down syndrome, earlier this year called out Kanye West, ''Christian conservatives'' and 'popular newbie-conservative women' for 'thinking it's hip to ramp up use of the 'R' word.' 'Please unfollow me & know that my disrespect for you is insurmountable,' she wrote on X in March. 'The Brady Bunch' star Maureen McCormick, who's also a Special Olympics ambassador, said that Joe Rogan celebrating the resurgence of the r-word 'ignores the terrible hurt' the slur causes people with disabilities. 'This is not a victory,' she wrote on X, prompting more than 8,000 replies from supporters and detractors alike. 'It is a regression.' Engaging with users who post the r-word to court outrage and online engagement can cause well-meaning people to fall into a trap of rage bait, Benton, Harris and Massanari cautioned. But there must still be resistance against reintegrating the r-word into regular speech, they said — a conversation most effective when it's had offline, person to person. 'We have to continue to have courage, to have these conversations and these moments of resistance to say, 'We don't appreciate what you're doing, we don't share your values,'' Harris said. Sophie Stern, the dance teacher from Arizona, has a word of guidance for anyone who wants to pick up the r-word: 'Don't.'
CNN
3 days ago
- General
- CNN
The ‘r-word' is back. How a slur became renormalized
EDITOR'S NOTE: This article features language that may be hurtful to readers. On an April episode of 'The Joe Rogan Experience,' the host used a slur within the first 45 seconds of the show. 'The word 'retarded' is back, and it's one of the great culture victories,' Rogan said with a laugh in the April 10 episode of his über-popular podcast. 'Probably spurred on by podcasts.' A few months earlier, on January 6, Elon Musk used the word in response to a Finnish researcher who called Musk the 'largest spreader of disinformation in human history.' Use of the slur more than doubled on X, the platform Musk owns, in the two days after he made that January post, researchers from Montclair State University found. More than 312,000 subsequent posts made on X in that span contained the r-word, wrote co-author Bond Benton, a professor of communication at the New Jersey university. The buck didn't stop there, Benton said. Throughout 2025, influential public figures like Rogan, Musk and Kanye West have used the r-word on platforms where millions can see and hear them. (West most recently used the term in March to refer to Jay-Z and Beyoncé's twins, though those X posts are now deleted.) Since Musk's January post, the online prevalence of the r-word is 'absolutely getting worse,' Benton told CNN. Rogan, Musk and West are likely using the word to get a rise out of people and draw more eyes to their content, Benton said. But by using a term that has historically been used to disparage and diminish people with disabilities, they're renormalizing the slur among followers and fans who interact with their posts, he said. Musk, Rogan and West haven't responded to CNN's requests for comment. The resurgence of the r-word is symptomatic of a graver problem — the 'apparent death of empathy,' said Adrienne Massanari, an associate professor at American University who has studied how the far-right uses tech to grow its influence. 'What you're seeing now, people's masks are off,' Massanari said. 'This is not just misunderstanding but the mischaracterization and demonization of communities. The use of that kind of language is signaling a shift, a desire to sort of push the envelope.' Push the envelope too far, she said, and the harm spills out into all marginalized communities. The r-word's surging popularity is just the latest effort in a movement to normalize hate, she said. The r-word has never really gone away, Massanari said — many people still use the word in private, and controversial far-right influencers and some members of the former 'dirtbag left' podcast scene alike have used it for years to rile up followers and appeal to edgy comedic styles. But most people 'were comfortable with the word retreating from normal discourse,' after years of campaigns designed to end use of the slur, Benton said. 'There was a reason these words are no longer being used,' Massanari said. 'They weren't productive. They weren't helping. They are actively harming communities.' The r-word, initially, was meant to replace words that had become pejoratives. Introduced in 1895, 'mental retardation' became the preferred term among psychologists, supplanting the diagnostic labels 'imbecile,' 'moron' and 'feebleminded,' said Lieke van Heumen, a clinical associate professor in disability and human development at the University of Illinois, Chicago. The r-word was intended to be a 'neutral' term, van Heumen said. But people with disabilities then were still largely disregarded and treated as lesser members of society, regularly institutionalized in dangerous environments and even forcibly sterilized without their consent. Under those conditions, the r-word eventually warped into a slur and an insult, she said. 'When disability is framed as a lack, limitation or loss, it reinforces the idea that people with disabilities are inherently incapable,' van Heumen told CNN. 'This framing is used to justify their exclusion from everyday life, as if they are missing what it takes to participate. Such language is not harmless — it influences public attitudes, informs policy decisions and ultimately affects how people with disabilities are treated.' The chorus to retire the r-word grew louder in the 1970s, van Heumen said, as people with disabilities advocated for their right to participate fully in society and end the use of ableist language. Nearly 40 years later, the 'Spread the Word to End the Word' campaign encouraged young people in particular to quit using the slur to insult their peers. The federal government signaled its support to end the use of the r-word with 2010's 'Rosa's Law,' named for a young girl with Down syndrome, which updated all federal laws to use 'intellectual disability' in place of 'mental retardation.' The legislation stated that the term and its 'derivatives,' including the r-word, were 'used to demean and insult both persons with and without disabilities.' Sophie Stern, a 22-year-old choreographer and actress from Arizona, has Down syndrome and is a member of the Arizona Developmental Disabilities Planning Council. For years, she's confronted classmates who've said the r-word in front of her, even petitioning to have the word removed from a script. But she's hearing the word more often now than she did in school, she told CNN. And it doesn't make her any less upset to hear it, even if it's not directed at her. 'It still hurts my feelings,' she said. Celebrities used to apologize when they were 'caught' using the r-word. Khloe and Kim Kardashian both issued statements when they used the slur in clips shared on Instagram in 2018. LeBron James apologized at least twice for letting the r-word slip in postgame interviews in 2011 and 2014. Author John Green said in 2015 that he shouldn't have used the word in his popular YA novel 'Paper Towns,' in which it appears in a quote from a teenage character. Today, whether it's 'Silicon Valley tech bros' or far-right figures, people who use the r-word online appear to share a motivation — 'the appeal of transgression,' said Julie Ingersoll, a professor of religious studies at the University of North Florida. Many people who use the r-word know it will anger people who disagree with them, Ingersoll said — it's a way of 'owning the libs.' 'I think that they are flaunting their ability to offend and confront,' she said. 'Why do you need that word? If it bothers other people, why wouldn't you just pick a different word?' Content designed to provoke outrage is often more likely to court engagement — from both supporters and those who disagree, Benton said. Engagement guarantees visibility, and if the r-word is more visible online, it'll eventually become less jarring for users to encounter, he said. 'Clicks are the currency in the commerce of social media,' Benton said. 'And if I put up content where the r-word is prominently used, I can just guarantee there's going to be a few thousand replies.' Platforms can end up 'rewarding' controversial content that draws sustained attention, said Brandon Harris, an assistant professor at the University of Alabama who studies content creators, especially those in the 'manosphere.' 'Being controversial is more profitable than being kind to people,' Harris told CNN. Inconsistent guidelines and enforcement on what constitutes hate speech also makes it easier to get away with using hurtful terms, Harris said. X and Spotify didn't respond to CNN's requests for comment on their hate speech guidelines, but neither platform allows attacking other users based on disability, among other characteristics. Content that violates these rules is sometimes removed, demonetized or made less visible, both companies have said. X does allow users to post 'potentially inflammatory content' and encourages users to block or unfollow other users whose content offends them. Spokespeople for Meta and YouTube said their platforms do not allow the r-word to be used to mock a person's disability, but the word is not banned outright on either platform. The agitators using such language don't necessarily need to believe the things they say, Harris said — intent doesn't matter when the outcome normalizes the casual use of a hurtful term. A spike in online use of the r-word would be harmful on its own. But even more concerning is what the slur's return represents, Massanari said. 'These are never just about the words,' she said. 'The words are standing in place for a whole symbol.' What's happening now, where notable people are using the r-word in posts on X or on podcasts, is a 'classic testing of the waters,' Massanari said, when influential people who get paid to agitate see how far they can push the line. 'These communities come out to denigrate, to make fun of, to demonize the most marginalized,' she said. The r-word will almost certainly not be the last slur to reemerge on popular platforms, from popular users, Benton said. And when the line is continually pushed, it can take people to 'the worst spaces imaginable,' he said. 'The term itself — the casual use of it — is a problem,' he said. 'The normalization of it will allow even more problematic terms to be normalized.' Other hurtful words are already being used to harm other marginalized people, Harris pointed out. Republican Rep. Nancy Mace earlier this year repeatedly used an anti-transgender slur in a House Oversight Committee hearing. CNN reached out to Mace about her use of the word. In response, her communications director said, 'While you tiptoe' around hurting feelings, the congresswoman 'is standing up for women and girls.' 'We're now using language that promotes cruelty, and not just cruelty but casual cruelty — where you just offhandedly don't think about it and dismiss someone's humanity,' Harris said of using slurs like those lobbed at trans people and people with disabilities. Seeing how the r-word proliferates offline is the 'next threshold' to cross, Benton said. Some people likely never stopped privately using the r-word, he said, but if people who aren't protected by wealth, fame or political affiliations use the word at their workplace or in social settings, they could face punishing consequences. Many people are actively pushing back against the r-word when they encounter it. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who has a son with Down syndrome, earlier this year called out Kanye West, ''Christian conservatives'' and 'popular newbie-conservative women' for 'thinking it's hip to ramp up use of the 'R' word.' 'Please unfollow me & know that my disrespect for you is insurmountable,' she wrote on X in March. 'The Brady Bunch' star Maureen McCormick, who's also a Special Olympics ambassador, said that Joe Rogan celebrating the resurgence of the r-word 'ignores the terrible hurt' the slur causes people with disabilities. 'This is not a victory,' she wrote on X, prompting more than 8,000 replies from supporters and detractors alike. 'It is a regression.' Engaging with users who post the r-word to court outrage and online engagement can cause well-meaning people to fall into a trap of rage bait, Benton, Harris and Massanari cautioned. But there must still be resistance against reintegrating the r-word into regular speech, they said — a conversation most effective when it's had offline, person to person. 'We have to continue to have courage, to have these conversations and these moments of resistance to say, 'We don't appreciate what you're doing, we don't share your values,'' Harris said. Sophie Stern, the dance teacher from Arizona, has a word of guidance for anyone who wants to pick up the r-word: 'Don't.'
India.com
16-05-2025
- Business
- India.com
Ashutosh Bhatt: Driving Innovation at the Intersection of AI and Applied Data Science
Industries are embracing a paradigm shift that has been driven mainly due to evolving artificial intelligence. Ashutosh Bhatt has proved how he has an immense contributor to this immaculate change with his immense expertise in bringing together modern machine learning frameworks and classical computing principles. Bhatt, with the primary goal to improve and transform how organisations throughout the globe interact with the data, be it something smaller like algorithm design or bigger tasks of business analytics has shown how this can have a significant real-world impact. Bhatt started his pursuance of academic excellence by securing a degree in from Maharishi Dayanand University. In his engineering days he focused on interlinking his software fundamentals with the exponentially rising machine learning concepts. To further understand and deliver a rounded result he pursued a Master's in Business Analytics from Montclair State University. Owing to this endeavour was he able to leverage his learnings on AI to solve large-scale businesses and operational problems. Bhatt has researched and authored multiple peer-reviewed papers that boast not only technical depth but applied relevance as well. This impressive work has granted him an audience on the international stage. His paper, 'Foundations of Artificial Intelligence', published by the International Journal of Technical Research and Applications (IJTRA), provides an extensive and thorough introduction to AI's theoretical underpinnings and its growing applicability across sectors. In 'Advance Cache Memory Optimization (ACMO),' published in IJIRT, Bhatt draws focus on hardware-level output improvements— a defining intersection of systems engineering and intelligent computing. His third major work, 'Neural Network in Data Mining,' disintegrates complex datasets to understand and discover patterns with the utility of neural architectures that brings about his evolving interest in adaptive learning mechanisms. Bhatt's professional ladder has been key evidence in highlighting his ability of bringing theory to real life. At Reckitt, a global consumer good giant, he is tasked with providing a pivotal support in decision-making at scale. He achieves stellar results by employing high-impact data systems that help in analytics framework. Preceding this, at Dukaan, an exponentially growing Indian startup, he held an innate position in building intelligent automation solutions to assist small businesses grow their digital presence — an endeavour that proved beneficial to thousands of ventures during a time of crucial importance of transformation. While maintaining his technical prowess, Bhatt has devoted timed as a peer reviewer for the International Journal for Multidisciplinary Research (IJFMR), where he critically evaluated submitted research papers. His devotion to the work as a reviewer and a judge is not only evidence of his expertise but also a reflection of his invigorating influence among his academic peers and professional AI communities. Bhatt is also a felicitated member of globally respected professional organisations that include the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), Association for Computational Linguistics (ACL), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and the International Association of Engineers (IAENG). These organisations not only recognise his influence in the field of AI but also provide a global podium to connect with innovators and peer researchers around the world. His academic and professional work have been appreciated with the Indian Young Researcher Award, embracing his preceding but extremely valuable contribution to AI and data science. This laude throws light on his extreme results in a field where competition is intense and excellence is rare. Bhatt promotes a standing commitment to sharing his research and knowledge with the world. His published papers are available to a vast audience of young students, educators and professionals looking to escalate on the ladder of AI and data science. With AI expanding so quick, Bhatt with his keen stance on building a strong foundational understanding and real world emphasis has made his work relevant. As Artificial intelligence expands into daily lives on common folks influencing how we think and act, Ashutosh Bhatt is providing to a future that is equipped not only with intelligence but also humility. Focusing on solutions that are precise, ethical and scalable, he has appropriated his value as a practitioner who is as fluent in the language of data as he is in the future grammar of the same. Industry Leadership and Professional Impact Ashutosh Bhatt's stellar career is studded by series of high-impact roles in well versed and tech-driven organisations, where his expertise in Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics has been pivotal to solving complex business challenges and driving innovation. At Reckitt, a global leader in consumer health and hygiene, Ashutosh provides a key and pivotal role by imbuing AI into machine learning to provide excellent output in global operations. He has been involved in: Developing predictive analytics models that have keen emphasis and reliance on market trends and consumer behaviour across global markets. He has led important initiatives that helped Reducing lead times and operational inefficiencies by embedding AI in CDP automation Meticulously designing and timely deploying machine learning pipelines that increased productivity and decision accuracy at scale by automating the critical reporting process. His work at Reckitt has been crucial in data-driven decision-making at the executive level, solidifying his presence and role in the shaping of global strategy. While being part of the team at Dukaan, a quick-growing e-commerce startup, Ashutosh was not only a critical support pillar but also the driving force behind the idea of AI-assisted enhancements to the works. His contributions included: Building and deploying a personalized recommendation engine that increased customer retention and sales conversion by a measurable margin. that increased customer retention and sales conversion by a measurable margin. Led the initiative of the development of automated fraud detection models that safeguard the platform from malicious activity, guaranteeing user trust and security. that safeguard the platform from malicious activity, guaranteeing user trust and security. Closely working and supervising the product team in integrating natural language processing (NLP) into customer service chatbots, exponentially improving response time and user satisfaction. Ashutosh's tenure at the young Venture defined how advancing data science and AI can ensure a business growth and operational efficiency like no other. Especially for startups in a fast paced delivery competition. A Commitment to Industry Advancement Beyond his full-time responsibilities, Ashutosh Bhatt is deeply committed to advancing the broader field of Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics. He serves as a peer reviewer for the International Journal For Multidisciplinary Research (IJFMR), where he evaluates cutting-edge research in machine learning, data science, and system optimization. He has ensured a technical brilliance and irrefutable integrity in academia of the work that has been published during his involvement. Ashutosh's prolific works have earned him valued endearment and memberships in globally respected professional bodies including AAAI, ACL, IAENG, and IEEE — a laude reserved for professionals who deliver substantial contribution to their domains. In recognition of his academic and industrial impact, he received the Indian Young Researcher Award, an honour that solidifies his influence on AI research and innovation in India and abroad. 'I believe that responsible AI and data science should be accessible, explainable, and globally scalable,' Ashutosh says. 'My aim is to help organizations make truly intelligent decisions based on robust systems, not just surface-level insights.' Ashutosh's journey — from engineering in India to advanced analytics in the U.S. — offers him a unique lens on global technology challenges. The models and platforms he has developed are not only used across e-commerce and consumer goods sectors, but are becoming part of critical infrastructure for decision-making in multi-national operations. Whether it's optimizing product pipelines or developing fraud detection engines, his systems help organizations harness data to act intelligently despite increasing global privacy and operational constraints. 'The AI systems we design today will define how enterprises adapt to future markets,' he reflects. 'That's what drives me — building scalable, intelligent frameworks that can lead industries into the next era.'
Daily Mail
12-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
College students are left stunned after receiving mysterious package from their late professor
An eccentric Florida professor arranged for her secret fortune to be divided up among her favorite students in a shocking post-mortem act of generosity. Cris Hassold, a former professor at the New College in Sarasota, Florida, mailed 31 graduates a mysterious package more than a year after she died at 89. Hassold was described as an unapologetically unconventional woman who was full of surprises. And when she died in July 2020, the quirky educator had one final trick up her sleeve - distributing most of her $2.8 million estate among the students she loved the most. Nicole Archer, now a professor at Montclair State University in New Jersey, was rendered speechless when she learned Hassold left her $100,000 in August 2021. 'I truly, honestly believed that I read it wrong,' Archer told The New York Times. 'I remember following the number with my finger, making sure I understood how many zeros it was.' Archer, 49, said she knew Hassold had planned on leaving her something, but she assumed that meant a beaded bracelet or enough cash to foot the bill at dinner. As stunned as she was opening up the letter about Hassold's gift, dozens of other people were just as surprised. Hassold had chosen 36 people - 31 of which were old students of hers - to leave her money too, as she hardly had any family, the NYT reported. The amount she offered up varied depending on how close she was with a particular student and how much she believed they needed. Documents shared by the executor of her estate revealed she gave away payments ranging from $26,000 to $560,000. 'She wanted to give as much away as she could,' Ryan White, who was in Hassold's class in 2003, said he realized when he received about $26,000 from her. The 45-year-old stayed in touch with Hassold long after college, mowing her unruly 'nightmare' of a lawn and sorting through her disorderly home. Katie Helms, 47, who graduated from New College in 2003, also was allocated $26,000 from Hassold. The money helped soften the financial blow of a surgery she had to have. Hassold developed close ties with her students, who got to know her inside and outside of the classroom. With hardly any family of her own, she 'adopted' the young adults in her classes, who welcomed her attention and affection with open arms. They had even taken on errands of the frugal elderly woman, whose home was cluttered and hoardered. 'She didn't have a family, but we were her family,' White told the Times. 'She adopted us, and we adopted her.' Hassold spent 50 years teaching art history at the famously liberal college, challenging her students with heaps of homework and dense reading materials. Andrea Bailey, 47, the director of the nonprofit organization American Women Artists, recalled a time she was humbled by the brutally honest educator over an analysis of a van Gogh painting. 'Her conclusion that the woman in "The Straw Hat" is an aristocrat is simply wrong,' Hassold reportedly wrote on Bailey's academic file in 1995. 'I do not understand how she could have read about the works and gotten it so muddled.' But beyond her harsh exterior was a kind and nurturing educator who valued the aspirations of her students. 'I'll never get the kind of acknowledgment from my parents that I got from her,' Helms told the Times while choking up. 'I think about her almost every day.' Hassold retired in 2016 when she was 85 years old. Four years later, she had a stroke and collapsed in a grocery store. While recovering from this medical emergency, White organized a GoFundMe to raise money to send her flowers every few weeks. But as she was recovering, she took a critical fall that left her needing hospice care. She died shortly after that.
