for saying something like the word “retarded” while actual threats to humanity rise in power

That one is such a sad phenomenon. I recently saw it in a community I’m in: “Crazy”. If the word was once derogatory towards a group of people, I’d say it has long since lost its teeth, while the stigma it used to express continues to exist independently of individual words. Words have power, but fighting words is useless if the power goes unchecked and self-destructive if other, worse powers grow while you’re distracted.

That’s not to say you shouldn’t be mindful with your language, but maybe focus on the bigger issue first. I’m personally not a fan of people casually calling things autistic that aren’t, because I’m autistic and my need for clear, unambiguous language compels me to have certain specific terms keep their specific meaning. If you misuse it, I might bring it up (as a personal opinion type thing, I’m just as prone to error or misunderstandings as anyone else), but I wouldn’t attempt to “take you down” or anything over it while we’re both fighting people that do worse than just misuse language.