“But it’s not a big deal. It’s not like I’m prejudiced against challenged people.”
Prejudice? Not necessarily. But insensitive and discourteous? Maybe.
Believe me, I too used that word plenty, and by that word, I mean the “R-word.” It was the word everyone used- middle school jargon you might say, but it really had me thinking when a close friend once whispered, “Could you not?” We were all on the couch at a birthday party where that word was being thrown around left and right. We all looked at her confused as to why she would try and condemn a word we all kept in our close vocabulary, but with the nod of her head, the conversation proceeded with that very word remaining in near proximity.
That night I lay in bed wondering why on earth she would have said that. It was not like we were swearing like sailors. Then, I slowly began to comprehend the definite consequence. That was a word used to describe actual people. People that had feelings. People that knew someone like me or my friends had once exploited that word for our own utilization. According to Merriam-webster, the definition of retarded is: “slow or limited in intellectual or emotional development or academic progress.” This was a word that was to be applied when there is an actual human being with an emotional or intellectual handicap not for when we converse about how awful the latest movie was. Sure there are other legitimate definitions of retard: the slow decrease of an object or the even musical application, but by no means was the word ever intended to be relevant for the uses many employ it for.
Words can hurt, and after reading, "I Am the Person You Hurt When You Say the R-Word," by John Franklin Stephens from a blog by the Huffington Post, I have never more wanted to take a word back.
The R-Word is not a positive and enjoyable word when used in the context many think it is. It really hurts. This article is not to criticize those who, like me, have exercised this word, but by informing others or simply asking one person to not use the R-Word can go a long ways because people who are actually mentally or physically retarded are people too. They have feelings; they can hear what we say and they also wish we would stop using the R-Word as our go-to choice when describing something negatively.
