The use of the word “retard” is abundant in our popular culture these days. But just as other words have been become culturally unacceptable, so should this one. It is offensive to a large group of our fellow Americans (and fellow humans throughout the world) and is often used in a derogatory way such as when Jennifer Aniston jokingly said, “I play dress up. I do it for a living, like a retard” in an interview on Regis and Kelly in August of 2010.
Most of us don’t think about those we are offending, and sometimes words just slip out. I can imagine that being nervous on national television at 9am while trying to be funny and engaging might be one of those occasions when you say something you later regret. I feel bad for the heat Aniston has taken since making the comment, but I also see it as a great opportunity to educate Americans and put an end to the use of the word.
In fact, the House of Representatives is expected to vote this week on replacing the words “mental retardation” with “intellectual disability” in multiple areas of the federal government. Nearly all states have already adopted this language and the legislation, known as Rosa’s Law, has already been approved by the Senate. When the law is approved by the House and signed by President Barack Obama, the terminology will be changed in federal health, education and labor policy. Meanwhile the Social Security Administration is proposing a rule to change their terminology to “intellectual disability” as well.
This is great news to the group Spread the Word to End the Word, which works to educate the public about the inappropriateness of using the word “retard”. They refer to the effects of the word as dehumanizing and and hurtful. Nearly 140,000 people have taken the pledge to refrain from using the r-word as of September 21, 2010 and the group’s Facebook page has over 85,000 fans. With the government on board and heated comments moving across the airways, the r-word promises (hopefully) to be the next degrading remark to disappear into civil rights cultural history. Shouldn’t you take the pledge?