Special Olympics takes on use of 'R-word'

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cnn.com/2009/LIVING/03/20/obama.special.olympics/index.html

By Jessica Ravitz
CNN

(CNN) – An unexpected and sudden spotlight on the Special Olympics, an organization that for more than 40 years has served and honored those with intellectual disabilities, comes less than two weeks before the nonprofit launches a new campaign: Spread the Word to the End the Word.

Special Olympics is running a campaign to stop the use of the “R-word.”

March 31 is being billed a “national day of awareness,” a call to Americans to recognize and rethink their use of the word “retard,” or as the organization would prefer, the “R-word.”
 
Well the only reason why retard took on a negative meaning was because people started using it negatively. If they think of another word then the same thing will happen.
 
In about thirty years, “special” will be considered “offensive”. It will be the “completely normal” Olympics.
 
RainDown said:
Well the only reason why retard took on a negative meaning was because people started using it negatively. If they think of another word then the same thing will happen.
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Perhaps so, but at least the label would not be applied to persons who are disabled. Don’t such persons have enough problems without being mocked?
 
CapIV said:
In about thirty years, “special” will be considered “offensive”. It will be the “completely normal” Olympics.
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Among kids these days, “special” is pretty much offensive already. 🤷
 
CapIV said:
In about thirty years, “special” will be considered “offensive”. It will be the “completely normal” Olympics.
Click to expand...
lol it already is considered offensive. After someone does something stupid or embarassing refer to them as “special” and see what their reaction is. I can guarantee they are offended. Fact is, no one wants to be mentally handicapped, retarded, or “special”. It will always be offensive to someone who is of higher intelligence than that.
 
Give it another 30 to 40 years, special will seem so offensive, and people will have forgotten about the ‘r’ word. Then the term of choice will switch.
 
Probably so.

The irony is, many of the special needs kids don’t have the capacity to understand “insults” or the subtle use of the word “retard”. I suppose we can learn something from that. 😉
 
Well, I for one, think this is a good idea. That is why I posted the article. I am disabled since birth and appreciate that people are trying to do something to promote sensitivity.

It is not okay to use the n-word and more and more any comment against homosexuality is becoming “hate speech”. Why shouldn’t the disabled have the same protections as other groups do?
 
Because the n-word was originally used out of contempt, and the r-word wasn’t? (correct me if I’m wrong)
 
Re the term “special” - my sweetie and I were at the library and we saw a whole wall full of books about raising “Exceptional kids”. He pointed them out to me and said, “Hey, they’ve got a lot of stuff on gifted kids.”

He was quite surprised when I pointed out that exceptional means mentally handicapped, not gifted. Like someone else said, the word “special” has now taken on negative connotations, and seems to be getting replaced by “exceptional”. (OTOH, gifted brain damaged kids are called Twice Exceptional, so perhaps it’s actually used for both ends of the spectrum?)

I haven’t heard anyone use the word “retarded” since I was a kid. Even when I was a teenager, that was offensive. The word “slow” was used a lot. I have an uncle who never matured past about the mental age of 12 or so, and he was always called “slow”.

I should point out, though, that, like in some other things, I try to call people what they want to be called. I put those words in quotations not to indicate that I disagree with their use, but to set them apart from the rest of the sentence.
 
They are going about this the wrong way. The problem isn’t with the word, the problem is with how people use it (if there even is a problem to begin with). Changing the word will not accomplish anything, as people will simply adopt a new one. What they need to do is change peoples’ attitude, not their vocabulary.
 
CapIV said:
In about thirty years, “special” will be considered “offensive”. It will be the “completely normal” Olympics.
Click to expand...
Lol, this is true already. Call somebody special enough and they know what’s happening.
 
Just today in my Sunday school class I witnessed “special” being used the way “retard” used to be, namely in a negative and insulting way. The child took it offensively as well; I wonder if someone had called him “retarded” if he would have even known to be offended. 🤷

Peace and God bless!
 
Welcome to NewSpeak. George Orwell is laughing himself silly (can I still say that?) in his grave.

DaveBj
 
MarieCB said:
Re the term “special” - my sweetie and I were at the library and we saw a whole wall full of books about raising “Exceptional kids”. He pointed them out to me and said, “Hey, they’ve got a lot of stuff on gifted kids.”

He was quite surprised when I pointed out that exceptional means mentally handicapped, not gifted.
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Actually he was quite correct in that people who are blessed with crosses to bear are indeed gifted.
 
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