Perhaps nothing is more cruel than insulting those who are incapable of defending themselves. That is why March 3, the international day against the “r-word,” should be important to everyone concerned about justice.
We live in times of political correctness. However, to quote a French proverb, “The more things change the more they stay the same.” Despite decades of rhetoric about the emancipation of minorities, people with developmental disabilities continue to be marginalized.
In movies and TV shows, people with intellectual disabilities are frequently the subject of crude jokes. One can only imagine the outrage that would surface if racial or ethnic groups were dehumanized in the same way.
People with developmental disabilities experience victimization from an early age. Who doesn’t remember primitive jokes about them from elementary school?
An important step in ending this cycle of prejudice and abuse is to stop using the word “retard.” The term is not scientifically valid and is considered offensive by those with intellectual disabilities and their families.
Yet, we hear it every day from the mouths of our family and friends, some of whom are well educated. Sadly, even a few prominent politicians have used the word recently.
Because March is Disability Awareness Month, it is the perfect occasion to correct those who use the “r-word.” After all, its use is so common that many people don’t even know it’s derogatory and dehumanizing.
March is a great time to take an example from those who fight in defense of the human dignity of people with disabilities. Since the 1960s, the French-Canadian humanitarian Jean Vanier has established hundreds of L’Arche communities around the world, where people with developmental disabilities and those who assist them live, work, laugh, love and pray together.
Another great example is that of Anthony Kennedy Shriver, who as a Georgetown undergraduate founded the Best Buddies program. Twenty-one years later, hundreds of thousands of adults around the world volunteer their time to befriend those with developmental disabilities in Best
Buddies.
Our society seems to judge humans purely on the base of their utilitarian merits. We see intelligence, social status and beauty as the factors that determine a person’s dignity.
Instead, we should see all people as being equally beautiful beings with an inherent dignity that must be upheld by the law and respected by our society.
Not everyone will be a soldier for justice like Jean Vanier and Anthony Shriver. However, there are a few small things we can do if we want people with intellectual disabilities to be respected. Volunteering with Best Buddies or L’Arche is a step in the right direction.
However, if everyone did nothing more than stop using the “r-word,” then the world would be radically transformed.