Maybe you just don’t realize the true meaning behind that word and that’s okay. Or maybe you think that it’s funny and not offensive to those with special needs. So I’ll let you know why it’s not okay to say anymore.
Referring to someone/something as the “R” word is saying that it’s special needs and that it has a negative connotation. People have used this interchangeably with “stupid” or “ridiculous” and those with special needs are neither of those things.
The original definition of that word, as defined by Dictionary.com, is “characterized by slowness or limitation in intellectual understanding and awareness, emotional development, academic progress, etc.” Now, does that sound like something that should be used as a term to refer to someone as?
Using this word is not okay anymore it has become outdated and now carries a negative connation that is cringe worthy when I hear it being said or even posted. If you are referring to someone who has special needs, you should be using the correct terms and if you don’t know what those are, that’s okay too. When referring to someone with special needs, you may use terms such as, “cognitively impaired”, “physically impaired”, or simply just “someone with special needs”.
Please realize that putting that word on social media as a joke or as a caption to a photo you found funny, is not funny. It’s actually quite offensive and while we live in a day and age where people get offended by anything and then people get offended by people being offended; this truly is an offensive word and should be removed from your current vocabulary. Surely there are other words to be used, here I’ll even give you some, “stupid”, “annoying”, “irritating”, and “dumb”. I hope that those helped and that you realized that the “R” word is not something that you should be throwing around.
I’m not mad, I’m just trying to help you understand why the word is no longer necessary nor relevant to our society today. I hope that this shed some light on a rather harsh word and that maybe, you’ll remove it from you vocab.
Sincerely,
A Special Education Major
