spread the word to end the word

when i was in middle school, i worked on the school's yearbook.  i believe the theme was something about the "x generation".  after hearing and noticing actions of fellow students, i sat in my room one night and wrote an article i wanted to submit to the yearbook.  all around me, kids were striking their chests with a limp wrist making a moaning sound like they were someone with a severe disability.  at the same time, the word retarded was running rampant, used in all types of conversation.  as the brother of a loving and caring sister with down syndrome, this was extremely hurtful to me.  these people were openly and blatantly offending me and those that i loved.

the word retard means "to delay, or slow."  decades ago, it was also used to describe someone with a mental disability.  since then, those in the medical and educational fields have changed the term to reflect the times.  ('differently abled' is now the most accepted and utilized term.)  in music, ritardando describes the gradual slowing in tempo.  in french, it means late or delayed.  but many people in our society have turned it into an offensive word referring to someone acting in a stupid manner.

spread the word to end the word is a national campaign to encourage people to pledge to stop using word retarded.  in 2009, at the special olympics global youth activation summit, a group of youth with and with intellectual disabilities created the end the r word movement.

i sometimes have difficulty pointing out the offensiveness of the r-word to someone in conversation, but all my friends know how much i despise the word.  my closest friends have erased the r-word from their vocabularies, and i urge you to as well.  take the pledge to end the r-word here.

and check out this PSA: