Help Us End the R-Word
 

Special Olympics is designating next Tuesday, March 31 the day to “Spread the Word to End the Word.” Help end the use of the slur “retard”.

For more information and to join the campaign, visit their website. They've got info, blog buttons, and everything else you can imagine.

Thanks in advance for considering helping.

Saying retard is so gay!

I saw that guy on Bonnie Hunt. I think a lot of words that used to be common use are now politically incorrect and should be gone from our everyday vocab.

In this case, the word itself doesn't (and shouldn't) be banned from our language; just the usage in this case.

I was just at a Special Olympics planning session for the upcoming Games in Orange County (as usual, I am volunteering) and there was no mention of this. I will have to ask my contact about it.

Okay, I'll play devil's advocate. While I don't condone making fun of disabled people, I feel that the word is often an apt criticism of the presumptively abled--even though I think it more than say it. If we can't say "retard," may one/must one then say, "He repeatedly engages in conduct, the foolishness of which should be obvious to anyone of even borderline normal intelligence"? If we can say that, aren't we saying the same thing as "God, what a retard." If we can't say "retard," do we also lose "idiot" and "moron" and other terms that have at their root a specific definition of cognitive limitations?

No; we need those words to describe Moonliner

No. “Retard” is a slur. “Retarded” works in a developmental context to describe intellectual development. It's nicer and more accurate to keep the linguistic focus on the individual, not the disability.

Call my brother developmentally disabled, autistic, or impaired. Call him a "retard" and all bets are off.

I like "dumbass" for that.

Alright, I can get behind that.

eta - 3894's post, not Andrew's.


actually, Andrew's too.

Unfortunately, this is what happens when we use the appropriate words to describe you....

Kevy is a ***** rat ***** ***** ****** son of a ****** *******.