Today is “Spread the Word to End the Word Day”
This in via e-mail yesterday from the Lucas County Board of Developmental Disabilities:
Spread the Word to End the Word
The use of language can reinforce prejudice and discrimination. That is why removing the word “retard” from our common vernacular is so important. Across the country on Wednesday, March 3, 2010, organizations that assist persons with disabilities will be participating in the effort to raise the consciousness of society about the dehumanizing and hurtful effects of the “r” word during the second annual commemoration of Spread the Word to End the Word Day.
“Use of the ‘r’ word is a reminder of the many negative stereotypes that mask the true talents and capabilities of people with disabilities,” said Lon Mitchell, Public Information Manager with the Lucas County Board of Developmental Disabilities.
In 2009, the Ohio legislature, recognizing the demeaning nature of the “r” word, unanimously approved Senate Bill 79 removing the term mental retardation from the name of county boards of mental retardation and developmental disabilities.
Senate Bill 79 assured Ohio citizens that the term mental retardation would not be in the vocabulary of state and county agencies.
The public awareness campaign adopted by many of the state’s county boards, Disable the Label, is designed to recognize the abilities of everyone rather than defining groups of people with a label, said Mr. Mitchell.
The Lucas County Board of Developmental Disabilities is providing transportation for many self-advocates to attend a rally at the Ohio Statehouse on March 4 that officially designates March as Developmental Disabilities Month.
The celebration of DD Awareness Month reinforces the fact that once we focus on abilities, we call can be more productive and comfortable with each other. By welcoming people with disabilities as equal partners – in the workforce, in schools, and in neighborhoods – we all benefit,” said Mr. Mitchell.
But I don’t want to end the world…
March 3rd, 2010 at 3:11 pmlol – Thank you Jack, clearly I did want to end the world today
March 3rd, 2010 at 3:21 pmWell, that’s just retarded
March 3rd, 2010 at 3:26 pmIt will never put the “end to the word”. Everyone makes big noise about a word
that has been around for ages and no matter what it will always be here and
used by many people. They believe that it is stigma just as
many do with many other words.
Why don’t they get involved in all the other issues that are important and
effect peoples daily functioning and existence.
Maybe we need to take all the words
March 3rd, 2010 at 5:39 pmpeople use, take them out of the dictionary and start a new world-wide
language? That sounds like fun. I have some new ones already!
I agree that this word offends so many. The best thing we can all do in our every day lives is to react to it when someone uses it around us. I’ve done that my whole life and no one has ever gotten mad at me over it.
They use God’s name as a curse or the ‘n’ word etc. and I just say that I don’t like that and it upsets me. I have never had anyone react any other way than positively. One starfish at a time.
March 4th, 2010 at 4:05 pmkateb Says:
“They use God’s name as a curse or the ‘n’ word etc. and I just say that I don’t like that and it upsets me. I have never had anyone react any other way than positively. One starfish at a time.”
I have never used fowl language or God’s name as a curse and I have been
telling people that I have never talked
like that and so I do not need to listen to it from anyone else.
Some try to stop when they catch themselves using it around me but many others just even more use the fowl language.
So, as I stated some people will always use this word as many others and it will
March 4th, 2010 at 7:22 pmgo on until the end of time!
Sarah Palin was right ? Perhaps she was . She critisized Rahm Emmanual in his use of the ‘r’ word.
March 7th, 2010 at 2:06 pmit’s interesting that I see people posting the “r” word and the “n” word, but have no trouble at all posting f**king, or freaking, or a**hole, etc. It would be fairly pleasant if people could convey their emotions and feelings without resorting to profanity. When people only take offense at what offends them personally and do not consider others it makes them much less interesting to converse with. One of the really good things about GCJ is that I don’t see all of the flaming rhetorical attacking insulting posts, and the ego driven experts that appear on SB. As for legislating the use of any word in or out of public usage, good luck. I don’t think this deserves much time. Politicians should simply remove it from offcial departmental names and be done. Of course anything is an opportunity to pander to a voter base?
March 10th, 2010 at 5:26 amThat’s just plain reta… diculous. Yeah, ridiculous..
March 10th, 2010 at 10:18 am