CAPs #3 Claire London

To think before you speak is such a good thing to practice in today's world.  You really never know who is listening and who you could offend by words you may think are harmless.  When talking with a group of friends it is very easy to place labels on those who differ from us.  We use labels to refer to other people (Martin & Nakayama 2013, pg. 245).  A label that is loosely used and that I feel strongly about is the word "retarded".  This word can be used to describe a person with mental disabilities and some times this word is thrown out to describe someone who acts immaturely with no ties to a mental disabilities.  "While mental retardation is not a bad word, when used to describe someone or something you think is bad or stupid it becomes another thoughtless hurtful word" (The R Word Campaign).  When we label someone with an actual mental disability with the word "retarded", we are placing a label on them that is more than offensive.

While some people argue that there is no meaning behind the word, mental retardation is an actual disease.  To retard means to slow down, just as the mind is a little slow for people carrying the extra chromosome.  This disability is not bad and these people are not bad, but when labeled with the word "retard", then it is BAD.  To use such a hurtful word could be harmful to the directed individuals, it could also be offensive towards their families as well (The R Word Campaign). Susan Luthren, mother of special needs child says "....[they need to know] that somebody is listening, that it affects them and hurts them" (CNN, Banning the 'R' Word).  She also says that when we are speaking to these people with disabilities, we need to speak to the person and not their ability.  In other words, we can't just place the label on them as if they are nothing more.  To build on that, it is completely wrong to use the word loosely in every day conversation.  There are thousands of other words we can use other than the word "retard" that don't indirectly relate to this special group of people. 

Susan Luthren and her son, Travis rally in South Carolina to ban the R word. You can watch the video HERE!

According to The Washington post,  in 2010 nearly 6,000 people have signed a pledge that states, "I pledge and support the elimination of the derogatory use of the r-word from everyday speech and promote the acceptance and inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities."


In every social position we stand, we can help support this campaign.  We never really know who we are affecting by our words.  If you talked to me once would you know that my best friend and sister has Downs Syndrome?  In terms of intercultural communication, it is important to know that placing harmful labels on someone else could actually affect the labels we can make for ourselves and the social positions in which we stand.  While communicating with all walks of life we must remember that many words have their own meanings to different people.  You may not think twice about it, but to others like this mother supporting her child and ME it could mean the world with one little world.

                                                                    Kelli and I

Felty, Rick and Wanda. (2013). "When you say "retarded" someone hurts". Retrieved from
http://therword.org/

CNN. (2014). Banning the 'R' Word. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/us/2010/03/24/dnt.banning.the.r.word.wltx.html

Fairman, Christopher M. The Washington Post. (2012). The Case Against Banning the Word 'Retard'. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/11/AR2010021103896.html