Stop saying that word!

Respect is the new R-word. The old cringe-worthy one—you know it, you’ve heard it on the playground—has been recognized as demeaning and hurtful. Language is attitude!

The campaign to end its use, called, “Spread the Word to End the Word,” invites people to take a pledge of support and download free posters and resources at www.r-word.org.

Here's more on the R-word:

Watch an excellent five-minute video that shows why this is not just a matter of swapping euphemisms.
Here’s a fascinating NPR story about this campaign.
The Special Olympics campaign page

COMMENTS:

1 - 10 out of 16 Comments |Add your comment

Gail | 2010/02/03

I've worked with special needs students for over 30 years - it makes me so mad when I hear that r word being used for anything and everything!!

dj | 2010/01/24

It's about time we recognize that it is a disgrace to ourselves and others to use this word in speech for any reason whatsoever. Let's toss it out and use words that show we are human beings who care about each other.

Dwight | 2010/01/18

I tell my students that there are people who are retarded and how he thinks that person would feel if he heard him use that word.

Jim | 2010/01/07

Thanks so much for doing this. There is no real distinction between this slur and racial/sexist slurs. It is sad that this word has become acceptable to use.

sr. t | 2010/01/01

I support the initiative of stopping kids from using the "r-word," but I have to agree with another person that your article was very confusing. Maybe you were trying to get people to come to this site to figure out what the "r-word" was, but I think you could have put the word in your article to raise awareness more efficiently. I sometimes harp on the kids who called each other "retards" in my class because I have family members who are mentally retarded, but the word is so pervasive in middle school that sometimes I don't bother. I think it has a lot to do with the kids' parents, too -- what they teach their kids is appropriate or not appropriate to say.

jen | 2009/12/30

I have a sister with mental issues and have made the word a swear word on my bus. If the kids choose to use it I introduce them to my sister and ask them if they would like to call her that name in front of her. many of the parents on my bus have thanked me for the support in showing the kids what the difference is between the word in a phrase and the potental hurt behind it

cathy | 2009/12/21

I actually explained to my middle schoolers how IQ used to determine catagories of intellectual disability. When they throw around the r-word, I ask them if they really think that person has an IQ under 70.Better yet, if what they are talking about is inanimate, I point out the impossibility of it even having an IQ. Stops them every time!

s | 2009/12/19

"you know it"??? I actually didn't know it and had to spend much time trying to figure out what in the world you were talking about! Your article should have been more clear...or were you purposefully trying to confuse people?

Mimi | 2009/12/19

The boys in my class have a tendency to use the other R word too easily and too much. I have gotten to the point where, when they do use it, they have to look up the meaning in the dictionary, and write a paragraph on why the R word should not be used. Not always effective, but they do stop and think before they speak now.

Jenn | 2009/12/19

We need to help others replace the r-word with a different word, such as RIDICULOUS! I work hard to change the way people speak - they think it's funny BUT IT'S NOT!