Ah, the R-word. A word still often used by the medical community to describe people with mental disabilities and by everyday citizens to describe a person or thing that they find "stupid". A word that also happens to be used as an insult. Maybe I'm a little more sensitive to this topic because I grew up with a disabled sister, or maybe I'm just more sensitive in general because I'm a liberal-leaning woman. We get offended by the most insignificant things, you know. But I believe that language is extremely important for the health of our society. Whether it's the R-word, the N-word, or the S-word (the one generally used against women who have too much sex), using offensive words toward a specific group of people is harmful to everyone.

Allow me to explain myself to the R-word users out there. It's not just about political correctness. It's about implying negativity toward groups of people for no justified reason. You may say "words are just words", but I say that words have the power to belittle and ostracize. When you call someone or something the R-word, it stems from the disabled community and implies that whatever you're calling the R-word is disabled and therefore less-than. Even if that wasn't your intent, using that word subliminally enforces negativity toward the disabled community, just like using the s-word implies that women who have sex with "too many" men are dirty.

Of course, I can't speak for people with disabilities, because I'm not disabled. Some people get offended by that word and some people don't. Some people don't like the word disabled, either. The safe thing to do is just, you know, not use it. The beauty of the English language is that there are so many words to choose from! Grab a thesaurus and get cracking!

Really my goal here is to propose that we think a little bit harder before we talk, and respect others by using positive language. In a world with so much tension, I think we need a little more respect for each other right now.