End the "R-Word" Now

The Arc is just one of thousands of organizations joining the "Spread the Word to End the Word" campaign. Tim Shriver and the Special Olympics have collaborated with The Arc to meet with the White House staff in seeking a public apology from Rahm Emanuel's use of the words "f----- retarded" in a closed door rant against some liberal activists' idea to run ads against conservative Democrats.

Then we have Rush Limbaugh almost 'rushing' to Emanuel's defense, and objecting to Sarah Palin's condemnation of the use of the "r-word" by saying on the air, "Our politically correct society is acting like some giant insult's taken place by calling a bunch of people who are retards, retards." (See story.)

Last year, The Arc sponsored a Rally for Respect in reaction to the use of the r-word in the movie Tropical Thunder. I marched outside the Lowe's Theatre with Ray, one of our clients. He told a news reporter and me how hurtful it was to be called "Retard Ray" in grammar and high school. There are thousands like Ray, and enough is enough. Can we finally put an end to the use of such demeaning, damaging terms, equal to using the n-word?

Please do your part. So far, 55,000 people have pledged to "change the conversation" by logging on to www.r-word.org, the Spread the Word to End the Word campaign. We're hoping to obtain at 100,000 plus signatures. Help us get there and make your pledge today!

Tim Hornbecker, CEO