A Word on Ability

Yesterday, March 4, was a national day of awareness to “Spread the Word to End the Word.” The global campaign was started just over a decade ago at the Special Olympics Global Youth Activation Summit, with the goal to stop the use of the word retarded.

The r-word  originated from the Latin word retardare, meaning to hold up or delay, and was first used to replace outdated terms like imbecile and idiot. As the r-word became increasingly connected with hateful speech in the later 20th century, it was replaced with other, more politically-correct terminology.

Still, the r-word persists today. As I was walking with friends at night back to our dorms, someone said the word. The word has become so ingrained within our own lexicon that we don’t recognize why it is so offensive. When Ann Coulter called (then) President Obama the r-word in a tweet, Special Olympics athlete John Franklin Stephens wrote the following:

After I saw your tweet, I realized you just wanted to belittle the President by linking him to people like me.  You assumed that people would understand and accept that being linked to someone like me is an insult and you assumed you could get away with it and still appear on TV . . . Well, Ms. Coulter, you, and society, need to learn that being compared to people like me should be considered a badge of honor. No one overcomes more than we do and still loves life so much. (Stevens)

The “Spread the Word to End the Word” campaign isn’t only about ending the r-word, though. It is about respecting, and ultimately recognizing people as people, not as disabilities. Another way that we can accomplish this is through the use of people-first language. Oftentimes, when discussing ability, we describe people by their disability. A person who uses a wheelchair becomes defined by their wheelchair, and thus an “other,” different than the rest of us. By using people-first language, we can prevent this unintentional marginalization and dehumanization. When we mentally connect a person to their disability, we may reinforce the thought that the person and the trait are bad, which leads to discrimination. Using people-first language is pretty easy. For example, rather than saying “a deaf person,” say “a person who is deaf.” To the side of this paragraph is a list of other examples you can use.

This person first language extends past discussions on ability. When talking about addiction, we can say “a person with a substance abuse disorder” rather than “a substance abuser.” This again helps us humanize people who are suffering from addiction, and reinforces the idea that addiction is a permanent state fundamental to some people’s beings.

How it relates to ethical living?

As informed, responsible citizens, it is important that we remember the importance of our words. As children, we learn that unlike sticks and stones, words can’t hurt — but that is untrue. Our words are incredibly powerful, and we can choose to use them for good.