There’s no good way to use the R-word.<\/p>\n
That’s the message of this year’s campaign to end the use of derogatory language that directly or indirectly targets people with intellectual disabilities.<\/p>\n
Community Living Huntsville held a Spread the Word to End the Word open house at its office on West Road yesterday, where community members gathered to pledge to use respectful, people-first language, always. (If you weren’t at the open house, you can make your own pledge at r-word.org<\/a><\/span>.)<\/p>\n “This is an international campaign to promote the use of respectful language and to eliminate the use of the R-word. For those who don\u2019t know what that is, that\u2019s \u2018retarded\u2019,” said Michelle Ainsworth, who organized the event for Community Living Huntsville. “That\u2019s because it hurts other people. Even if people say it in a way that\u2019s not necessarily intended to hurt someone \u2014 let\u2019s say someone says \u2018oh, that party was retarded\u2019 \u2014 those words still hurt and they hurt a lot of people.”<\/p>\n