Word Retard Essay

My brother has down syndrome and like many children with downs he was put into a special needs class when he started school. In this class he learned at a slower pace than the other children in the school. As I got older I began to notice that the older children use the word retarded. As a child I wanted to be cool and fit in so I started to use the word as well. Soon after I noticed that some of my classmates were using the word to describe people in my brother’s class and even my brother, so naturally I went home and looked up what retarded really meant and when I found out I was horrified that I had ever used that word in the first place. The r-word otherwise known as retarded according to the Urban Dictionary is, “an offensive term used to refer to someone acting in an irritating and generally stupid way.” While in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary the verb form of retard means, “to slow up especially by preventing or hindering advance or accomplishment,” and in its noun form the r-word means “a foolish or stupid person.” Teenagers these days have began to use the r-word to describe foolish acts and places rather than describe people, but that does not make the word any less offensive. These individuals have been traumatized …show more content…
I can attest that simply correcting yourself when you say the r-word can help greatly because your brain does not want to go through all the trouble of correcting itself every time you speak. The r-word is a part of your daily vocabulary right now and if you continue to use it then you will end up using the r-word for the rest of your life and offending a lot of people. You can also start friendships with the children in your school’s special needs class. Anything you can to do to start to spread awareness for these people will help to pave a path for a better future. There are also some great organization that you can get involved in your