Call me sensitive, call me crazy, but just don’t call my child an offensive name.
I will refrain from mentioning names or where I was when the “R” word was used. I am only giving this word life right here and right now. The word retarded is no longer a politically acceptable word, so when it was used to describe a population of people, I was flabbergasted.
Having a child who has special needs has opened up my eyes and made me more aware of society and what is right and what is wrong.
I would love to write about how I confronted this individual and told them why the word should not be used. I would love to write about how I walked away feeling proud of myself for standing up for something that so deeply impacted me at the moment. I would love to write about how that person was moved by what I told her and vowed to never say that again.
But… I just walked away.
My blood was boiling, my heart was racing, and I walked away.
Although I did not say anything in the moment; mainly because I was so shocked, I did walk away with something. I thought about what was said, and how I would move forward in the future. The only way we can change things is first by speaking up and educating others.
And the next time it happens… I won’t walk away with anything unsaid.
As I searched the web for images, I stumbled across a website. I found out that there is a campaign in place to bring more awareness to hateful words. “Spread the word to end the word.”Check it out!
