Why you can’t say the r-word

It’s not what you think.

The consensus answer for why you can’t use the r-word in polite society is that it is taboo to make fun of another’s immutable features. It is unfair, or at least impolite, to make fun of a short person for being short since there is nothing reasonable they can do to change it, a general sentiment that we should only deploy shame where it can affect cha…