• R-word can be hurtful • Judge criticism doesn’t belong on opinion page R-word can be hurtful When some people say the R-word, retard(ed), they might not think it’s insulting, but it is. That’s why the campaign, “Spread The Word To End
• R-word can be hurtful • Judge criticism doesn’t belong on opinion page
R-word can be hurtful
When some people say the R-word, retard(ed), they might not think it’s insulting, but it is. That’s why the campaign, “Spread The Word To End The Word,” takes action to spread the message about how hurtful using the R-word can be.
The campaign gets people to pledge to “stop saying the R-word as a starting point toward creating more accepting attitudes and communities for all people.” This year, the annual Spread The Word To End The Word took place nationally on Wednesday.
It is not too late for you to make a commitment and pledge to eliminate the R-word from your vocabulary. The R-word might not seem offensive to people that say it, but it’s a very disrespectful thing to someone who has or knows someone with intellectual disabilities. Retarded went from being a medical term to being an insult, a form of bullying and another word for dumb or stupid. And it has to stop. Words are just as hurtful as physical harm.
Please join me in taking the pledge to end the use the R-word at www.r-word.org/.
Javiera Rojas, Unified Partner, Special Olympics Hawaii, Lihue
