Speaking up about the real life impact

Last night I received an email from the SDS list serve and a link to an article from Salon about the "r" word.

I just sent a thank you note to its author because this is what speaking up about the real life impact of slurs is about. It saddens me when some people misunderstand but it doesn't stop me because someone has to speak up. This same philosophy applies to behaviors that are less than helpful in the community toward people with disabilities (check out the video two posts down).

The article is here. And thank you, Lawrence Carter-Long, for passing it along.

Here's a quote, but I hope you'll go read the whole thing.

Here's how it plays out in my world. The other day an electrician, not a tall guy, arrived at our fourth floor walkup complaining, jokingly, about all the stairs. "It's not easy for me and my midget legs," he said with a grin. Was he actually making fun of my sister-in-law, who is an achondroplastic dwarf? Of course not. Would he have said this to her face? No way. He probably didn't even know that the word "midget" is considered deeply offensive by many people with dwarfism. And yet, I cringed.

Ultimately, anti-"retard" activists are trying to do what I didn't do while that fellow fixed our ceiling fan: Say something. Or at least to get people, perhaps especially people like me -- who found the Simple Jack business hilarious precisely because we're so offended by "respectful" films like "Rain Man," and who are deeply aware of the power of words both to pinpoint and to prick -- to at least think twice about the insult's real-life impact.

"People are comfortable using 'retard' as a dis because in the past no one has stood up and said anything in numbers worth counting. Most marginalized groups come from places of family pride and tradition. They are able to stand strong together out of their heritage and make a statement. But people with intellectual disabilities, scattered through different families, are not part of a celebrated culture," says Williamson, who saw "Tropic Thunder" as equal parts outrage and opportunity. "I think today's high-tech world has finally allowed us to take a stand. Perhaps the word has continued to grow in popularity, since there has been no public pressure against it," she suggests. "Until now."