Also, people need to lighten up. The need for political correctness and over sensitivity toward others is astounding. No one is safe to make a joke or express an opinion, lest they offend someone within ear shot. People are no longer “fat” they’re “overweight”. People with “birth defects” now have “birth differences”. People with “disabilities” are now “differently abled”. It’s stupid and it further accentuates the differences between us. If we all chilled out for a minute and decided to treat everyone the same, words would no longer be so offensive. If we stopped focusing on being sensitive to people’s disabilities and treated them like normal people they wouldn’t feel so different and no one would have to get their feelings hurt over a word or a label.

The CareerBuilder commercial that played during the Superbowl last Sundayidentified by most people as the “Hey Dummy” ad was offensive to my son, who got up and walked out of the room, saying “I don’t need to hear that.”

I certainly protest the repeated use of that defamatory phrase – surely we already have enough new catch phrases coined by Ben Stiller and his co-writers from Tropic Thunder.

I stayed to see what product was being advertised and was surprised that during these times when unemployment is reaching staggering numbers that the ad company chose to target unpleasant working conditions as the main reason to use a job search company. There was no reference to the company until the end of the commercial, so anyone not leaving for a snack, drink or bathroom break was probably unaware what company paid for the ad.

I would think that the person who persuaded CareerBuilder.com to accept the ad as presented should be let go, too – after all, that company should be more aware than most that a bigger target audience than dissatisfied employees was watching the Superbowl.

Maybe they are doing so well in this economy that they don’t care about who they insult or disregard. Seems like their main competitor should swoop in to collect the customers CareerBuilder.com snubs and insults.

I was diagnosed with some intellectual disabilities and just sometimes you have to lighten up and poke fun at it, as thinking too seriously about it all the time can really bring you down. There is nothing wrong with having a sense of humor about it sometimes too. The Blacks reclaimed to N word, the gays reclaimed the Q word, so use intellectual muck-ups should reclaim the R word (retard).

This is the normal evolution of language. Does anyone still take offense at the word “dummy”? Now you buy books, “Windows (oe auto repair, or whatever) For Dummies”. Years ago, that word was equivalent to “retard” (as it referred to the dumb, or people who cannot speak) but people “dumbed it down”, and it lost it’s sting. That needs to be done with “retard”. Look at the old Three Stooges movies, who were shown to us kids in the 50’s and 60’s, on TV shows for kids, where the repeated use of the words “idiot”, “moron” and “imbecile”were used. At one time those were equivalent to the word “retard”, as they were the medical terms for different degrees of retardation.

I was made fun of a lot in school, and should have laughed it off, but I took everything too seriously. But I can laugh it off now retroactively. It clears the mind of that old baggage.

[Verse 1]
You dropped out of school cause you’re smarter than everybody
I got three words for you dumbass, “Ding, fries ready”
You try to outrun a bull, but nobody’s that fast
That’s how you end up, with a horn stuck up your ass
Roethlisberger needs no helmet cause he’s a star
But the year the bus left, he got hit by a car
You wanna go huntin’ for quail someplace
Don’t go with Cheney, he’ll put a fuckin shot in your face
If you bungee jump so you can fly through the air
I ain’t upset you ended up in that wheelchair
You ignore all the warnings, yeah you light up a smoke
Now you have to talk with a machine through your throat

[Chorus]
How many idiots can there be?
Some say that it’s 1 out of 3
If you don’t know then take it from me
You’re the dee dee dee

(spoken) you you you
dee dee dee

And if you are a Dee
Please don’t marry a Dee
Cause then your kids will be (what? what?)
Dee dee dee

(spoken) dee dee dee

[Verse 2]
You cry about the price of gas and war in Iraq
But you voted Bush in twice what were you smokin, crack?
Didn’t get a prenup, though you knew she was a skank
Now you’ve got herpes and she’s got half your bank
You were on top of the world with “Hit Me Baby One More Time”
Only a stupid bitch would marry Kevin Federline
You drink and drive and you think it’s okay
Now you’re cell mate’s weavin in and out the “hershey highway”
When you put tigers on your show and they can’t be free
They’ll bite your neck off and then you’ll say (chokingly) “dee dee dee” (cough)

[Chorus]
How many idiots can there be?
Some say that it’s 1 out of 3
If you don’t know then take it from me
You’re the dee dee dee

(spoken) you you you
Eee dee dee

And if you are a Dee
Please don’t marry a Dee
It’s genetics don’t you see?
Your kids will be dee dee dee

(spoken)
That’s what they’re gonna be: DEE DEE DEE!!!

[Verse 3]
Parents are to blame for all these dee dee dee’s
Letting their kids drop out and not get GED’s
You keep your kids inside cause there’s freaks on the loose
But yet you let them drink from Michael Jackson’s “Jesus Juice”?
You don’t care when your kids come home with D’s from class
What you need to do is get some balls and beat that ass
He isn’t stupid, you say he’s got A.D.D.
It’s that his mom and his dad are both dee dee dee!

[Bridge]
This test is too hard! (So they lower the standards)
I’m not good at sports! (So they give them all trophies)
My dad used to spank me (So they lower the standards)
I’m too fat for this seat (So they widen the standards)
They say no cause I’m black (So they lower the standards)
They say no cause I’m white (So they lower the standards)
They say no cause I’m Asian (So they lower the standards)
No habla Englais (So we all become Spaniards)
And you wake up one day and you don’t have the skills
To get a better job so you’re stuck on the grill
You’re wondering why Julio took your job
But you forget to see, you’re as dumb as a knob
Your ass is too fat to get out of the house
While you’re eating more food trying to figure it out
So they outsource your job to some guy named Habib
Cause he works harder than you and he’s got 5 degrees
And you’re asking yourself how could this happen to me
I’ll tell you why, homie! Cause you’re….dee dee dee

Dee dee dee
Dee dee dee

And just remember, don’t go full retard.

I had the pleasure of recently addressing hundreds of middle school children in a neighboring town about using the word “retarded” in slang and in referencing someone with a cognitive disability. I was floored by how intently they LISTENED, the variety and insightfulness of their questions, the sincerity of their thank you notes, and most of all the results as teachers reported the changes in the school to me.

I gave them history – the history of people with cognitive disabilities, from the slaughter by the Nazis of children like mine long before World War II, to forced sterilizations, and coerced life-long institutionalization, to exclusion from the educational system. I noted the progress, but the existing challenges from the attitudes of the public. I explained to them that the word “retarded” has historically been used to describe the way my daughter thinks, and is still in use in many clinical settings. I told them stories, including Pat’s daughter Margaret’s experience being called a “retard,” another teen’s experience overhearing other teenagers, and my own experience. And they met my daughter. I told them to ask me anything at the end, and I was shocked when I was bombarded with thoughtful questions.

Since that time, teachers have told me that they are not hearing the word “retarded” in the halls. At all. There was no new rule, no new punishment, no ramifications whatsoever beyond the knowledge that they were hurting people when they used that word. Whatever Ben Stiller’s motivations were, his movie threatens that progress. And as I see his DVD in the aisles while I shop (and I hear from my middle-schooler that many of the kids in her school will be watching the movie on DVD) I realize his messages will reach a million times more people than mine. I doubt it will be the satire that they’ll appreciate, but I’m sure they’ll pick up a few choice phrases.

Believe me Ben Stiller did not tell people to call your kid a retard. He was only pointing out how shameless hollywood is in profiting off of intellectually challenged people and their situations. No real person has splinter skills and disablities as extreme as Rain Man, but did that keep Hollywood from cashing in…No! I am telling you if I did a movie on Barrack Obama’s success and painted myself in black face he would be no less offended, even if the NAACP said it was okay. You are basically saying it is okay to mimick someone mentally handicapped when you are not, and make a profit off of it, but it is not okay to say Retard. You have got to be kidding me.

I have met many kids with who suffer with down syndrome and they are not retarded or mentally challenged. If anything they are blessed to know love and be able to see through others faults and still love them. I had a friend with down syndrome and she loved me unconditionally. She never lost that child like undertanding. She knew people could be mean, but I never knew her to have that spirit in her. She LOVED. I would advise you as the learned individual that you are to never make your child feel like they are less qualified than other children. A simple word can never, and I mean never change his worth. He is if anything better than other kids, because of the way he sees things and the beauty in the simplicity of his world. God has given challenges to you to be able to understand the complexity of your son’s reasoning. Your time would be better suited loving him and enjoying the moments you have with him. The hollywood jerks right or wrong will continue to do offensive things, but you have a chance to enjoy the a human being that is the closest thing to an agel you will ever see. Enjoy him and forget all the imbociles in Hollywood.

For most people, “Tropic Thunder” is a loser movie. It is not just families, advocates and individuals with developmental disabilities who find it seriously flawed. The movie boycott did the public a favor. Even those who were not aware that the terminology and representations of families and individuals was creepy know a turkey when they see one, and I’m sure that those who waited to see the DVD are telling their friends not to waste their money.

There are a lot of ‘gross out’ comedies available and many ’satires’ that did not drive mainstream audiences out of theaters. Tropic Thunder was a hit because the advertising budget was enormous, but it is not the sort of turkey we need around for the holidays. It’s not funny, it’s not smart, and you’ll never get those hours of your life back again. Your time would be spent more enjoyably pulling a splinter out of an infected finger.

The true hatemongers are people like Terri, Carissa, Jessica, etc., who haven’t educated themselves enough, and don’t think deeply enough, to consider that things aren’t always exactly as they present themselves to their infantile minds.