Author Archives: Stop The R Word

The Word You Used to Be Able to Say on FX

From; http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2010/06/the_word_you_used_to_be_able_t.html

Louis C.K. was on The Daily Show last night to promote his new FX show, Louie. In addition to making Jon Stewart laugh much harder than he did the studio audience, he explained that there are three words he can’t say on FX, two of which got bleeped out, and one of which is “retarded.” This puzzled both C.K. and Stewart, and it puzzles us as well — we know FX did not always have a ban on the word, as evidenced by the October 2007 episode of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, “Sweet Dee Is Dating a Retarded Person,” which, you can see for yourself, was not operating under any linguistic strictures. Perhaps this very episode inspired a letter-writing campaign that forced FX to institute a new policy? Or perhaps, as Jon Stewart implies, unlike The Daily Show, FX really doesn’t want Sarah Palin to hate it.

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Agencies ending use of term ‘mentally retarded’

By Chris Ramirez
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, June 20, 2010

Government agencies have been renaming themselves to drop the words “mentally retarded” from offices that serve people with special needs.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_686865.html


Name Change at Agency to Remove ‘Retardation’

By JANE GOTTLIEB
Published: June 7, 2010

ALBANY — For the second time in a year, New York legislators are considering changing the name of one of the only state agencies in the country with “retardation” still in its title.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/08/nyregion/08name.html?src=me&pagewanted=all

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Brother leads effort to erase ‘R’ word at school

Fourth-grader, whose sister has a developmental disability, wants people to know ‘it hurts when they say that word’
http://www.oxfordpress.com/news/oxford-news/brother-leads-effort-to-erase-r-word-at-school-694164.html

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Free Resources Available To Make Your Voice Heard

Remember, we have many free resources available for you to download and use here: http://therword.org/donations-accepted/.  We’ve just added some business card sized “Pass it on!” and “Let Them Know” cards that you can download and use to let someone know that you find the ‘r’ word offensive.

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Changing a Word to Benefit Everyone

Changing a Word to Benefit Everyone

“If I can get just one person to have that awareness and to make that change then I consider that a success.”

My mother worked at Sandhills Children’s Center, a developmental day-care center that provides ­inclusive services to children with special needs. So I have been around children with different levels of ­abilities since before I could walk.

The “R-word” (retarded) was never part of my vocabulary. As a child, I remember friends using it, but I never got the significance of how hurtful and derogatory it could be until I was an adult and working for First In Families and The Arc.

I was at Carowinds with a group for one of the many social/recreational activities The Arc offers throughout the year. A few of us were standing in line for one of the rides, behind a group of teenagers who were joking around when one of the kids called another one the R-word.

The executive director of The Arc, Wendy Russell, politely looked at the group and said, “You really shouldn’t use that word. It is mean and offensive to people with disabilities.” Nothing more was said.

That had a tremendous impact on me because I was with an individual who had a disability and understood what they were calling each other.

For most people, the use of the R-word isn’t meant to be offensive, but in fact it is hate speech. Like many other derogatory and dehumanizing terms, it sets the stage for more severe outlets for prejudice, harm and abuse. Our language reflects how we think, and how we think affects our actions toward people.

Ever since that day at Carowinds, I set as one of my personal goals to ­educate people about not using the R-word. If I can get just one person to have that awareness and to make that change then I consider that a success.

Michelle Bauer
Southern Pines

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R-Word Campaign Celebrates 3rd Year

April 2010 is the third anniversary of the first R-Word Campaign Web site promoting a national grass-roots effort encouraging those who find the ‘r’ word offensive to stand-up and make their voices heard.  http://therword.org/about-this-site/ Thank you all for joining in this effort!  You are making a difference!

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The R-word is a slur based on the rankest forms of prejudice, fear and stereotyping,

How to talk about disabilities
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/17/AR2010021704712.html

What is glaringly missing from the debate over the epithet “retard” in The Post [” ‘Retard’: The language of bigotry,” op- ed, Feb. 15] is the voice of anyone with a disability who spent a lifetime enduring such garbage.

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.

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The ‘r’ Word is the new ‘n’ Word

When this happened there was outrage;

http://www.tmz.com/2006/11/20/kramers-racist-tirade-caught-on-tape/

When this happened, people laughed;

What’s the difference?
or let Comedy Central know how you feel about Dana Gould @ http://www.comedycentral.com/help/questionsCC.jhtml
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Texas Senator Introduces Legislation to Eliminate the “r-Word”

Senator Zaffirini needs your support, please e-mail her at;
http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/members/dist21/Dist21.htm#form

Use Respectful Language: Eliminate the “R-word”
by State Senator Judith Zaffirini, Ph.D.

Wednesday (March 3) is National “Spread the Word to End the Word” Awareness Day, offering us a rich opportunity to focus on using respectful language for persons with intellectual disabilities by eliminating the “R-word.”

Our efforts were bolstered recently when an American Psychiatric Association review panel unveiled proposed revisions to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, an influential guidebook in the mental health field. One recommended change favored by the panel is particularly overdue: eliminating all variations of the word “retarded” and replacing them with respectful language referencing persons with intellectual disabilities.

The “R-word” is extremely hurtful and demeaning to persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and its use presents significant barriers to community inclusion. State governments are recognizing this belatedly and are progressing toward the universal use of respectful language: Several states voted recently to remove the R-word from statute. Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate is considering Rosa’s Law, a bill to eliminate the terms “mental retardation” and “mentally retarded” from federal health, education and labor laws.

Texas should not lag behind. In 2009 I authored legislation that would have required all variations of the word “R-word” to be removed from Texas statutes. Although SB 1395 was heard by the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, it was never scheduled for a vote. I plan to re-file this respectful language legislation for the next Texas Legislative Session that will convene on Jan. 11.

When it comes to treating persons with respect, Texas should lead by example, and our leaders should too. Recently high-level advisors to Gov. Rick Perry and President Barack Obama were criticized deservedly for using the R-word inappropriately. This is not a partisan issue. It is a matter of human decency. Eliminating the R-word from our everyday and legal language would reflect our commitment to the ethic of respectful reciprocity, or what many of us know as the Golden Rule: Treat others the way you would like to be treated. Equally important, it also would reflect the Platinum Rule: Treat others the way they would like to be treated. These rules are not only the way we should live our lives, but also are the best approach to public policy.

Sadly, removing outdated and disrespectful language in statutes and in dense psychiatric tomes can take a long time. The revisions to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, for instance, will be the first in 10 years, and the process is not yet complete.

Fortunately, no legislation has to be passed for us to start eliminating the R-word from everyday speech. We can start immediately by talking with our friends and family and by participating in the National “Spread the Word to End the Word” Awareness Day on Wednesday.

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