Since I was a child, growing up with cerebral palsy, I have put up with and, worse yet, witnessed others putting up with derision from schoolyard bullies, so-called satirists and politicians. Is such speech protected by the First Amendment? Certainly it is. Free speech, however, is a two-way street. If you are going to claim the right to utter the word, don’t pretend to be foggy about its meaning.

The R-word is a slur based on the rankest forms of prejudice, fear and stereotyping, and everyone from kindergartners to those in high positions knows it. If you want to use the word, use it. But if you are an adult, don’t try to shield yourself from criticism by claiming that those who challenge your words and your intent are just being “politically correct” when they call you out for being what you are — a bigot.

The First Amendment does not discriminate between those who are entitled to its protections.

Bob Williams, Washington

The writer was commissioner of the Administration on Developmental Disabilities in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from 1993 to 1997.