The “R” Word

I very rarely use the word “hate”,  but I HATE the “R word”.

According to about.com,

The R-word is a euphemism for retard and retarded, words that are considered offensive and disrespectful when used to describe or insult individuals with intellectual disabilities or to insult people, places, and things by comparing them to individuals with intellectual disabilities.

I am not a confrontational person but if someone uses that word in my presence, I will tell them to stop.  When I ask someone to not say “retarded”, they’ll often say, “I didn’t use it in that context.”

Honestly, I think it just shows ignorance.  People throw around the term, “retarded” in such a casual manner I sometimes wonder if they even realize what they are saying. Is that word really that deeply rooted in their vocabulary?

After seeing this video a friend posted on Facebook about two little boys trying to tell others that same message  , I decided that I had to share it and spread the word as well.

The Special Olympics started a campaign at http://www.r-word.org asking people to pledge to stop using the R-word, “Spread the word to end the word” because, “Retard” is retarding the progress towards true acceptance.