"I use the word retard every day."
"A campaign against a word is retarded."
"Thicken up ur skin and stop taking this stuff so seriously!"
"Being called a retard is a common insult that is usually deserved by the recipient."
"To speak out against the use of just one word, simply because it's personal to you, is unacceptable."
These are some of the recent comments I've gotten on posts about how demeaning the word "retard" is. Last year, when I did that Twitter project where I tweeted at people who used the word retard, I got responses that were even more lovely.
Today is Spread The Word To End The Word Day, part of an ongoing campaign against the r-word created by The Special Olympics. As I write this, close to 250,000 people have signed a pledge against the word "retard." A kajillion more don't get what's so wrong. And so, I made this video.
Most people would never call a kid with cognitive disabilities a "retard" to his face (and if you are a person who would do that, step away from this blog and go search for your soul). If you wouldn't say the word to my child because you know it's offensive, you should avoid using it elsewhere, too. Either way, it's demeaning. Either way, it hurts my child.
Feel free to post the video on your blog, tweet it, Facebook it, beam it up to alternative life forms. It would mean a lot to me. No matter what, thanks for taking a look.
Ultimately, this isn't just about a word—it's about respect. It's about getting people to consider kids and adults with cognitive impairment equal members of society. It's not about censorship, either; it's about starting a conversation on how people can better treat Max and others like him.
Max has enough challenges to overcome in life without being haunted by ghosts of stereotypes past. As his mom, I want to give him every possible advantage. If asking people to not use a word could help my son in some way, you bet I'm going to ask.
Video created at Animoto
Today is Spread The Word To End The Word Day, part of an ongoing campaign against the r-word created by The Special Olympics. As I write this, close to 250,000 people have signed a pledge against the word "retard." A kajillion more don't get what's so wrong. And so, I made this video.
Most people would never call a kid with cognitive disabilities a "retard" to his face (and if you are a person who would do that, step away from this blog and go search for your soul). If you wouldn't say the word to my child because you know it's offensive, you should avoid using it elsewhere, too. Either way, it's demeaning. Either way, it hurts my child.
Feel free to post the video on your blog, tweet it, Facebook it, beam it up to alternative life forms. It would mean a lot to me. No matter what, thanks for taking a look.
Ultimately, this isn't just about a word—it's about respect. It's about getting people to consider kids and adults with cognitive impairment equal members of society. It's not about censorship, either; it's about starting a conversation on how people can better treat Max and others like him.
Max has enough challenges to overcome in life without being haunted by ghosts of stereotypes past. As his mom, I want to give him every possible advantage. If asking people to not use a word could help my son in some way, you bet I'm going to ask.
Video created at Animoto
