If you’re not aware of Oz Squad, go check us out. In sort (from the site):
We are an elite group of active, compassionate bloggers dedicated to educating the public about Down syndrome. We aren’t here to bully or whine, and we aren’t pushing a political or religious agenda. We’re simply here to take a stand whenever we encounter something cruel or insensitive or inaccurate about our children, brothers, sisters and friends.
Our latest mission? Our very own Sarah Palin. It is our intention to impress upon her how important it is that she understand the connection we see between the insulting use of the word “retard” and Trig, so that she is better able to articulate our position on this issue.
With that said:
Dear Miss Palin,
My mom typically encourages me to speak for myself, so she thought writing to you from my perspective would hit your heart a bit more effectively than speaking to you mother to mother.
My name is MeMa and I am five years old. Just like your son, I have Down syndrome.
From the time my mom became my mom, she has worked to assist me in being all that I can be. She is encouraging, dedicated and a strong advocate for me. She wants me to see myself as I am, a capable individual who can do anything she sets her mind too, even if it takes me a bit more time than it would other people.
She wants other people to see me that way as well.
Do you understand how the word “retard” works against what my mom and I are trying to show society?
If you look at The Urban Dictionary, you will see what the word “retard” means to society:
A person born with a mental condition and therefore has to work a million times harder to be able to do simple things (such as learn and communicate) that we take for granted. On top of this, a retard will usually suffer a lot of ridicule from society because people fear what they do not understand. The people who choose to make fun of the mental retarded tend to be complete morons and cannot comprehend that these people have feelings and emotions just like anyone else.
I find it amusing that saying somebody has cancer would not be taken as a joke and yet, using another disease such as mental retarded as an insult is common among society, and many do not realize that it is very offensive and that there is something seriously wrong about it.
You are a bright woman. You have to see this word is no longer a medical term. I have heard it from the teenager serving me my lunch at a restaurant. I highly doubt he is in medical school, but I can bet you money that he “diagnoses” his friends as “retard” all the time.
When he saw me, he blushed and got embarrassed. He blushed even more when my mother explained to him why we don’t like that word and how offensive and demeaning it is. I hope he never says it again.
My mom stood up for me. Because of her, maybe the next time someone comes into that restaurant, they won’t hear the word “retard” while they’re eating.
When I do some things, my mom laughs. Like the time I put on my bikini top and decided to fill the sink and wash dishes at two in the morning. Or when I climbed onto the counter and had a potty accident while I was up there, because I was too busy eating my snack to get down and go to the bathroom.
Sometimes people laugh at me for other reasons. Because I look differently than they do. Because I’m slow and it takes me longer to do some things. Sometimes, when this happens, my mom will hear someone mumble “retard” under their breath. I doubt they are referring to my medical diagnosis of Down syndrome.
My mom used to ignore it. She didn’t want to make a scene.
But now I’m older. I’m questioning how things work and why the world is as it is. I want to know WHY it’s time for bed and HOW the coffee maker works. I want everyone to be my friend and I don’t understand when someone doesn’t want to play with me.
And soon enough, I will want to know why people call me a “retard”. I will want to know what that means. And when she tells me, my feelings will be hurt, because it’s not a nice word. It doesn’t define who I am or my extra chromosome.
I wonder what you will tell Trig the first time HE hears the word and asks you what it means? More importantly, I wonder how he will FEEL when someone shows him that you, his mom, feel the word is appropriate for use, no matter how much it hurts people. People like Trig.
My mom tells me you’re an important person. Whenever she sees you on a magazine cover, she shows me pictures of your little boy, who has Down syndrome just like me. If you’re on so many magazine covers, that means lots of people hear your name. Lots of people listen when you talk.
I’d like to ask you to do me a favor. Can you please tell people that the word “retard” isn’t a good word? Can you tell them how hard my mom and I fight for me to be seen and treated just like everyone else?
Can you help us teach people how hurtful and insulting the word is? Can you help us educate the masses?
Maybe, just maybe, one day more people will understand how hard we fight to be seen as “normal” and not “retarded” and they won’t use the word “retard”.
Maybe you can help Trig and I be seen as the individuals we are and not some ugly, outdated label.
Thank you for taking the time to listen to me and consider my thoughts and feelings.
Yours Truly,
MeMa
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