Today is March 31, 2009.
Today is the day I beg you to End The R Word.
End the stereotypes.
End the hatred.
End the hurt.
End the uneducated use of a word that has absolutely no use in the English language any longer.
Take the pledge and make a difference.
This is the face of my daughter.
This is the face of someone who has been labelled “mentally retarded”.
When I hear the word “retard”, it hurts. You may or may not be talking about my daughter. You may or may not be talking about someone like her. You may be using it in a flippant way, thinking it causes no harm.
Well, you’re wrong.
This word hurts. It stings. It makes parents cringe. It makes individuals with disabilities feel as if all they have worked for in being treated equally has been taken away and landed them right back where they were…retarded.
Take away the pain and sting of this word by eliminating its use.
You can make a difference.
Don’t use the word.
Encourage others to not use the word.
Tell people how offensive it is when you hear it.
Tell them it hurts.
Tell them it demeans.
Tell them it needs to end.
You can do it. I can do it. We can all do it together.
And we will!
“They say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.”
-Andy Warhol
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