Outrage ... the toy will not go on sale in UK

THE launch of a new Transformers character called Spastic has been scrapped after fans vented fury over the name.

The new robot toy was ditched after US maker Hasbro was left stunned by the outcry in Britain over the insulting term.

Bosses of the US toy firm - unaware of how offensive the word is regarded here - were shocked at the anger the name sparked when they proudly revealed the toy on its website.

Scrapping the UK launch will be a big blow to Hasbro, as it was expected to be one of 2011's big sellers.

But the company insisted the toy will go on sale with its original name in the US as planned in January.

Last night Hasbro said: "We intended no offence by the use of the name Spastic. It will not be available via traditional retail channels in Europe, including the UK."

The word "spastic", regarded as derogatory in Britain, is used to describe people suffering severe forms of cerebral palsy with reduced control of their muscle movements.

It is used widely in the US as a casual term for clumsiness or an overexcited person.

The latest Transformer in the hit series - the basis for the blockbuster films starring Shia LaBeouf - was part of the Power Core Combiners 2011 Wave 2 range.

In US slang the word spastic is often shortened to "spaz" - and has been used in TV show Friends and by golfer Tiger Woods, although they were only criticised for using it in Britain.

Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3237465/Transformers-toy-called-Spastic-is-banned.html#ixzz15n9o2V9f

Dunno, I always thought it meant slightly retarded in an overexcited way. its not hugely derogatory but yes, mildly so.

Dunno, I always thought it meant slightly retarded in an overexcited way. its not hugely derogatory but yes, mildly so.

they used to have the ' Spastic Society ' Charity shops in the UK, but due to PC, these where chaged to ' Scope ' ( not sure if it stands for anything )

Dunno, I always thought it meant slightly retarded

from the Urban Dictionary

1. spastic [/url] Someone who walks with their head angled 30-45 degrees to the side, one of their arms in a crooked position, their feet turned inwards (like Kevin Spacey in The Usual Suspects), walking down a street, with the occasional noise (like that dude in Cube) "Errrrrahhhhhhhh".

Whenever Dave did something stupid, we'd do the spastic impression on him "Errrrrahhhhhhhh".

Us Brits are the masters of doing insulting impressions such as the spastic and wanke_r impression.

Spastic = window licker

totster

Are you calling me a spaz?.......

This toy sounds perfect for my two nephews. Where can I get one?

I recall Tiger Woods, in the halcyon days before the recent problems, falling into the linguistic trap of using the word [or the 'spaz' short form I can't recall] in the American sense and then having to rapidly apologise for the offence caused outside the US [not just UK].

Interestingly even in the US disability groups took that opportunity to point out that despite its wide use that it was also a cause of offence in the US.

Surprised that Hasbro fell into this trap to be honest.

Regards

Don't be too hard on Hasboro. Maybe Google doesn't work where they are.

they used to have the ' Spastic Society ' Charity shops in the UK, but due to PC, these where chaged to ' Scope ' ( not sure if it stands for anything )

It has nothing to do with being PC, but because the term Spastic was being increasingly used as a derogatory term and the new name Scope was chosen to encompass a wider grouping.

It is derogatory and is used by those with little imagination or by those who should know better.

Outrageous or not, I can't imagine why anybody would want to call a toy spastic at all. Does the word have another meaning that I'm not aware of?

^ The suggestion is that in the US it is simply a term for someone who is clumsy or maladroit. But as I noted that is not a universally held opinion.

Regards

back in the 50s I was about 9-10 y/o and in the reception area of the YMCA in Pasadena..a group came in with a disabled cerebral palsy associate and I stared as his affliction was severe...he didn't like me to stare and attacked me, he was a teenager and quite a bit larger than me...

a small tutsi was attacked by a large enraged spastic at the YMCA in late 1950s southern California...

later at the YMCA I wandered into the boxing area where I was jumped by hooligans who put gloves on my hands and pushed me into a ring with a tough kid who was my same size who proceeded to whup the shit outta me...I was supposed to 'spar around' when I didn't know the first thing about boxing...

my parents were later surprised when I declared that I never wanted to go down to the 'Y' again...the smell of communal showers is horribly evocative

they used to have the ' Spastic Society ' Charity shops in the UK, but due to PC, these where chaged to ' Scope ' ( not sure if it stands for anything )

"95% of Political Correctness is simply good manners" (AA Gill).