Eliminate the R-Word
It disgusts me how littered our generation’s vocabulary is with words and phrases that insult, embarrass and offend others. Telling someone that the shirt they are wearing is “so gay” or that the girl sitting beside you is “such a slut” are slurs that were used in excess just a short time ago, but are now rolling off of the tongues of less teenagers thanks to a heightened awareness of the harmful implications they have. However, society is failing to recognize one word that offends close to 15% of the population every time it is used: retard (“Disability Overview”).
Some people argue that “retard” is a dictionary-defined word and therefore is an acceptable term to be used, but I disagree. The word “retard”, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is a verb used to describe “slowing down the development or progress of something” (“Merriam-Webster”). Somehow, we have not only changed this word from a verb to a noun and an adjective, but we have also managed to mess up its meaning. A word that used to mean slowing down the development of something is now used to describe a person with developmental disabilities and more commonly, as a synonym for words like stupid, idiot, and moron. It astonishes me when I hear this word used in an insulting manner in public with absolutely no negative reaction from those around. I remember last semester a boy in my second period class told the teacher “Question 3A in the textbook was retarded”. The teacher reacted the same way that many other people would have. He laughed. You may disagree, but I wholeheartedly believe that the outcome of that situation would have been entirely different if the boy said that question 3A was a fag. So why do we ignore the fact that the use of the word retard is just as derogatory as any other word that insults a person’s sexuality or race. Either we just don’t care that we are offending others or we simply don’t realize that we are. Having a best friend with Down syndrome makes this issue personal to me. Mackenzie is one of the greatest blessings I have received and will ever receive in my life. She is caring, humble and full of happiness. She is most definitely not stupid. She is not an idiot, nor is she a moron. The next time you refer to someone acting foolishly as a retard or make retard jokes, understand that you are not only offending people with disabilities, but also everyone who knows and loves someone with one.
Works Cited
Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster. Web. 13 Apr. 2016.
"Disability Overview." Disability Overview. Web. 13 Apr. 2016.
It disgusts me how littered our generation’s vocabulary is with words and phrases that insult, embarrass and offend others. Telling someone that the shirt they are wearing is “so gay” or that the girl sitting beside you is “such a slut” are slurs that were used in excess just a short time ago, but are now rolling off of the tongues of less teenagers thanks to a heightened awareness of the harmful implications they have. However, society is failing to recognize one word that offends close to 15% of the population every time it is used: retard (“Disability Overview”).
Some people argue that “retard” is a dictionary-defined word and therefore is an acceptable term to be used, but I disagree. The word “retard”, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is a verb used to describe “slowing down the development or progress of something” (“Merriam-Webster”). Somehow, we have not only changed this word from a verb to a noun and an adjective, but we have also managed to mess up its meaning. A word that used to mean slowing down the development of something is now used to describe a person with developmental disabilities and more commonly, as a synonym for words like stupid, idiot, and moron. It astonishes me when I hear this word used in an insulting manner in public with absolutely no negative reaction from those around. I remember last semester a boy in my second period class told the teacher “Question 3A in the textbook was retarded”. The teacher reacted the same way that many other people would have. He laughed. You may disagree, but I wholeheartedly believe that the outcome of that situation would have been entirely different if the boy said that question 3A was a fag. So why do we ignore the fact that the use of the word retard is just as derogatory as any other word that insults a person’s sexuality or race. Either we just don’t care that we are offending others or we simply don’t realize that we are. Having a best friend with Down syndrome makes this issue personal to me. Mackenzie is one of the greatest blessings I have received and will ever receive in my life. She is caring, humble and full of happiness. She is most definitely not stupid. She is not an idiot, nor is she a moron. The next time you refer to someone acting foolishly as a retard or make retard jokes, understand that you are not only offending people with disabilities, but also everyone who knows and loves someone with one.
Works Cited
Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster. Web. 13 Apr. 2016.
"Disability Overview." Disability Overview. Web. 13 Apr. 2016.