4 Responses to "Ban the R Word!"
August 14, 2008 at 10:34 pm
Thanks for your comment on my blog post on “The ‘R’ word
I am actually not in favor of “banning the r word”. Unlike the n word [about African Americans] or the k word [about Jews], “retard”, in both its verb and noun forms is uniquely useful.
ORIGIN late 15th cent.: from French retarder, from Latin retardare, from re- ‘back’ + tardus ‘slow.’
It has a stronger connotation than “slowed down”
“Progress toward passing the bill was retarded by the filibuster against it.”
Rather than a ban, I like Jenna Glatzer’s pledge, My Words Matter
I pledge that I will not use the words “retard” or “retarded” to mean “stupid.” I understand that this is hurtful to people who have disabilities and people who love them, so I will be careful with my words. I will also try to remember to pay attention when other people use these words, and I’ll ask them to stop.
That is something that teachers in the 4-9th grades can use and actively teach. It is my sense that those are the grades when the word is the most used in its offensive sense.
As for lack of response….
1. It is mid-August. Lots of folk are on vacation
2. The flurry of posting and commenting started about 6 days ago. I surmise that folks are moving on to the next issue.
Anyway, glad to make your acquaintance.
August 15, 2008 at 6:47 am
“I pledge that I will not use the words “retard” or “retarded” to mean “stupid.” I understand that this is hurtful to people who have disabilities and people who love them, so I will be careful with my words. I will also try to remember to pay attention when other people use these words, and I’ll ask them to stop.”
I really like that, thanks for sharing Liz.
And yeah, I am a bit behind in blogging about this. 
jennifer, thanks for the visit and the input. I love the idea of a march for awareness of disability-related issues!
August 16, 2008 at 6:56 am
Thankfully here in the UK i hardly hear that word. I hope when the film comes out here it is not revived.
The pledge is a good idea.
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August 14, 2008 at 5:49 pm
I want to know how we could mobilize the disability community to take further action. Would anybody be interested in putting together a march in New York. This goes much further than a word or a silly movie. We need to mobilize and convince the so-called able-bodied community that we deserve stuff like equal employment rights. equal pay, affirmative action. complete inclusion in schools,complete intergration into the media and disability studies and sensitivity in schools. How can we do this?
10,000 people marched in Paris…why can’t we?