The "R-word"

What do you think of when you hear the “R-word”? After many years of people using the word “retard” or “retarded” to describe something that they think is dumb, ignorant, or un-cool, an attempt to end the slurs against mentally challenged people. March 31 is now being deemed the “national day of awareness” to spread the word to stop the use of the word “retard”. I think that it is going to be hard to get people to stop using the word, just because so many people use it unconsciously without even thinking about the meaning of the word. The president of the U.S. even made a reference to the Special Olympics when talking about his bowling skills. If someone so highly educated and influential makes this kind of mistake and didn’t think of the people that were a part of such an important event. These people give hope to a lot of people with disabilities and show them that their disability does not define what they can and cannot do. I think it would be good if this would work. I also think that it is a very unrealistic goal to have if you think you are going to stop the use of the “R-word” completely. The truth is, most people do not think about other people when they make comments like that. Good luck to the individuals involved, maybe they will inspire people to stop using other hateful language.


check it out

I know it is wrong to use the word “retard” or “retarded”, but why can’t I stop myself from saying it. I am one of those people who unconsciously say it without even thinking who it offends. What makes it even worse for me is that I have a cousin that is mentally challenged, which should make me feel even worse when I say it. I want to say I need to stop saying the word, but it would be very hard to stop myself. I have problems with little sayings like that, for instance I say Jesus Christ a lot, when something bad happens.

To be honest when I first saw this article I didn’t even know what you meant by the R-word until I started reading to find out you were talking about “retard.” I will admit myself that I use the word and I’ve tried to break the habit but it’s just one of those things that keep coming out of my mouth. People sometimes say things they don’t mean in the sense that hurt other people’s feelings that really are retarded or gay. By any means, I do not mean to offend people. Having a National Awareness Day could help and it could not help. I feel like it’s a habit that people have to break on their own and have to refrain from saying themselves. But it doesn’t hurt to try and have an awareness day.