The "R" word.
:)
I'm tired of hearing everyone say "retarded"! It seems like people use it as a normal word. "You're retarded!" "That's retarded!" I'm sick of it. I know most people don't mean it offensively, but I feel offended. I'm offended because my cousin Jacob is autistic. He is the sweetest boy ever, as most autistic children are. I love him dearly and when I hear this term used negatively it hurts. I just wish people could be more considerate, but I know that is very unlikely, even in our world today. It is truly sad how people take words and make them ugly and hurtful. I hope that everyone who reads this will be a little more careful about what they say.
I was also wondering if anyone else here knows someone with autism.
Corvus
i taught special education students for 10 years. i couldn't get them to stop calling each other the "R" word. i was mortified the first time i heard it thrown around. i am hoping that the R word fades away in the next ten years, along with the phrase "that's so gay."
Yeah, me too. It's ridiculous.
xoxo- Brook
Waaah! you beat me to making a thread about it! I think its stuipid because people..I know use it when they get angry, and its like, what do you think people who are actually mentaly retarded think about that? Can you guess how much that freaking hurts them? *even me using it in proper context makes me feel wrong*
And,Corvus,
People using the word gay like that makes me SO MAD!! Like, again, what do people who are actually gay, *or whatever* what do they think? I've met a couple of people online in that category and they are the strongest, hardest to get through, and nicest people in the world!( And I consider one of the mentioned one of my best online friends. I seriously love her. -but not like THAT-) noone deserves having a term that describes them thrown around like that!
Grr. im so riled up now.
Hdoddles
we have this thing at school called the brookfield party and we welcomed into school brookfields specail needs school. we all dress up as characters to make the day very nice for all the lovely children. I cared for a child with severe specail needs and I too get truly upset when people use the R word in polite conversation. Its when you meet such wonderful children and care for them for a day you realise theres nothing funny about calmly using the R word for fun. At the end of the day it isnt a politically corect term and Its just not funny. thanks for bringing up this subject Im glad somebody has.
Felecity W.
My husband works with "persons with mental disabilities" The organization uses this term because it puts the PERSON before the disorder, therefore recognizing they are human before you recognize the disease/disorder they are handicapped with.
I have noticed that most people will stop using the term if you explain why you are offended, because it's rude, in-considerate, and degrading. It is hard to be politically correct because new terms are always being introduced as previously "politically correct" terms are now considered offensive.
Even though most people described as "retarded" most likely wouldn't notice the actual term, they would definitely notice the TONE in which the word is said. I think this is where the real issue lies, in giving people the respect they desearve whether they possess their full mental capacity or not.
Ariel B.
I was in a brainstorming session with the Harry Potter Alliance (google it) and Imagine Better and in the near future, they want to attack this particular issue.
I admittedly say the "r" word out of sheer habit. It took me a LONG, LONG time to stop saying that things are "gay" as a negative thing because of how popular it is. I have tons of gay friends and it was still really, really hard. I'm trying to stop saying the "r" word.
I don't have anyone close to me who is autistic or otherwise handicapped, but I've met some wonderful people who are. There are ways to say to knock it off without being rude, like "you shouldn't say that" or "what if someone who IS retarded is around?"
I am confident that the percentage of people who say it will decrease in the near future. Along with people who are racist, sexist, homophobic, etc., there will always be negative people who are too ignorant to stop. I think we all just need to be a little more aware.
KellBell
i completely agree with you. it's also when people say something is "gay" and calling people "jew" or saying they can't do something because of gender. i would like to tell people to stop being rude and using these kind of words but no one would listen
Shay
My mother worked with special needs kids for ages, so I'm really hoping that teenagers will soon see that using the term "retard" is not okay.
Gay, faggot and likewise terms are also abused by teens. Makes me want to hit someone, but deep down, I know that violence is not the answer.
I'm really sick of teens who always act like it's okay be assholes, and think that, in spite of their asshole-ness, everyone needs to treat them like gold as if they're entitled to something. I'm dreading going into high school.
KellBell- I HATE it when people say that someone is a "Jew" for something bad! It makes no sense. And, by the way, the guy who created you, you know, GOD, His Son was a Jew. By the way. Not trying to get into a religious debate, but that's just what I want to tell people when they say that!
Shay, just so you know...It's definitely not just teenagers.
Ariel B.- yeah, my friend is jewish and everyone says "hey jew" or something. it kind of bothers me, i mean, she has a name, dont call her based on her religion. i dont know, i just think people have names, they should be used and not called other names
Wow, I wasn't expecting anyone to really respond! I think it's awesome how so many people care! I don't get why people use "gay" as an adjective. I've never used it and don't get how something can be "gay". I believe most people use these words to describe things because they aren't smart enough to come up with a good adjective. It is really easy to just go along with it and start the bad habit of saying these hurtful things, so I'm glad I'm not the only one here who steps away and realizes this isn't right. I wish more people would think for themselves and be considerate. I wish these people who think saying "retarded" in a negative way is funny could meet someone with special needs. I wish they could see how sweet and nice these people are. I wish they could hear how ignorant they sound. I hope in the near future that there will be more awareness. Thank you all for sharing. I feel a lot better and relieved to know there are still good-hearted people out there. 
at our school, there are the special needs kids along with all the other students. sometimes in spanish or other classes, we hear a screaming like sound come from the hallway the special needs kids are. it really makes me mad when when people in my class start laughing at that.
I think it is ironic that "gay" began as a word to describe happy/merry so technically it was an adjective and now that society uses the word differently, as a noun it is still being used as an adjective. When I hear someone say "that's gay" I ask how it's funny. It always gets a puzzled look, because most people have only ever heard it used to describe homosexuals.
ahaha, Felecity, I had the same thought.
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