End the R-Word
31 March 2009
Dear friends,
Today, 3-31-09, is a special day that has been set aside to honor those with special needs. There is a movement going around the world to end the use of the R-Word (retard). Today I am inviting you to join this group and, by doing so, take the R-Word pledge. That simply means that you will not use the R-Word, not even about yourself. It also means that you will teach your children to do the same and, hopefully, take a stand when you hear the word used. Please be a part of this historic day by joining, and inviting others to join as well!
Take the opportunity to pledge to end the derogitory use of the r-word.
Are people still doing that? I remember when I was in sixth grade we were taught how hurtful the word could be.
I think the campaign picked up steam due to a line in the movie that has Ben Stiller, Robert Downy Jr. et al, (I’ve forgotten the name, temporarily). But, the line uses the R word, and it really set off a firestorm among the special needs community – so much so that they called for a boycott of the movie.
“Tropic Thunder” – I knew it’d come to me if I didn’t try to sit & think about it!
When I started working at the school in 1966 there was a class that was designated the MR (mentally retarded)class. That was even the way it was listed on the rolls. The part that bothered me the most was the fact that often the students enrolled in the class were not children with mental/emotional needs but were just socially deprived. I remember the teacher gettng permission to purchase a dishwasher so he could teach the children about dishwashers, etc. Some of those kids came from such disfunctional families they knew very little about the outside world.