Good post, but one thing,
phatboi408 said:
Plus this can lead into bantering....role playing etc...
I could just imagine the role playing of the retard.
"Fine, I get to be the retard this time. But your the retard next time."
Personally, I had a discussion about this very thing with my girlfriend about agreeing with a person if they are making fun of you. I said that you should take responsibility for it and then turn the joke around on them.
I always call my girlfriend "the brains of the operation." and she feels good about herself, but I always neg her about it. Like if she does something, "I can't believe that you are the brains of the operation. What does that make me the retard or something."
comic_relief