The R Word is Never Acceptable

The great U.S. Supreme Court Justice and American civil rights hero Thurgood Marshall once wrote that the plight of persons with developmental disabilities was not unlike a “regime of state-mandated segregation…that in its virulence and bigotry rivaled, and indeed paralleled, the worst excesses of Jim Crow.”
Despite progress, though, it is undeniable that Americans with developmental disabilities still remain second-class citizens in the eyes of the law and our fellow human beings. Those with developmental disabilities are rarely heard from in our popular culture or social policy or political dialogue. Part of this tragic injustice is the ridicule of the developmentally disabled, and there is no greater symbolic gesture of this ridicule than the accepted use of the word “retarded” in day-to-day speech.

Intelligence Insults Should Insult Our Intelligence

Came across a Raise the Hammer, a website run by a group of Hamilton, Ontario, citizens who believe in their city's potential and are willing to get involved in making the city a more vibrant, livable, and attractive place to live and work. 

Moron. Idiot. Imbecile. Feebleminded.

No, I'm not quoting a Python skit. I'm listing some clinical classifications, no longer in use, except as socially acceptable descriptors of individuals with whom we may disagree, or whose expertise we doubt.

Retarded.
As in, "That's retarded."
Socially acceptable? That depends. If you're a comedy host for the CBC (Clash of Comedy website in Canada), apparently it is.

Arizona Removing 'R' Word from Statutes

Former Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner and his family were among the roughly two dozen individuals who attended a ceremonial bill signing in Gov. Jan Brewer's office Thursday, celebrating passage of legislation that removes the words "mental retardation" and "crippled" from state statutes.
Special Olympics Arizona brought the issue to the attention of lawmakers. It is part of a larger nationwide effort called "Spread the Word to End the Word." According to the Special Olympics website, the campaign aims to eliminate the use of the word "retarded" from the everyday vernacular, calling it both demeaning and offensive.

Tracy Morgan Drops the 'R' Word

Tracy Morgan may want to invest in a bus, because his apology tour may not be over just yet.
The Arc, a nonprofit advocacy group serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, is the latest organization demanding an apology from the comedian for remarks he made during his stand-up routine Saturday—his first performance since his infamous antigay rant.
This time Tracy ranted about "retarded kids" and "cripples." Oh boy.

'Glee' Stop R-Word Campaign Grabs Attention with Use of Ethnic Slurs

Confession: I had a preview of this PSA months ago. I thought it was brilliant, powerful and certainly had shock value to grab viewers' attention. Most important, the message was compelling and clear with strong call-to-action. However, I thought it would never air on any television station or network (clearly I was wrong about that. The PSA will be shown on "a majority of their(Fox) cable channels and regional sports networks, MTV, USA Network, Oxygen Network and Turner networks including TNT, TBS, truTV and CNN," according to the campaign's website. because of the use of ethnic slurs. It certainly has people talking. Share your thoughts.

There are some words you just don't hear on network television - and a public service announcement airing during last night's "Glee" used them all.
The uncensored video, filmed as part of the Spread the Word to End the Word campaign to put a stop to the use of the R-word, featured men and women of different minorities firmly telling viewers it is never acceptable to use a slur.