Commentary: Diverse voices on the ‘R-word’
August 22nd, 2008There’s no shortage of opinions today about the use of the word “retard.” California First Lady Maria Shriver urges people to stop using it. Actor Josh Perry, star of the popular “Retarded Policeman” videos on Youtube, and his brother, Scott Allen Perry, think the word has lost its power to offend. (Josh Perry has Down syndrome.) Columnist Casey Seiler thinks the controversy over “Tropic Thunder” misses the movie’s use of satire. Advocates in Minnesota have a new video called “Offense Taken,” about a community’s organized response to the word. And more. Excerpts follow:
Maria Shriver, writing in the Los Angeles Times:
Dreamworks’ decision to include a public service announcement with DVDs of “Tropic Thunder” is an important first step, but far more needs to be done.
Just as important, parents must talk to kids at our kitchen tables about how we have felt when someone called us stupid, idiotic or lame. Because once we put ourselves in someone else’s shoes, certain names just aren’t that funny any more.
I often quote the Hopi prayer that tells us not to look outside ourselves for a leader. It tells us that we are the ones we have been waiting for. We can exchange one “R-word” for another: respect. We can teach our children that name-calling hurts.
Let’s makes the “R-word” as unacceptable as the “N-word.” Think of all we can accomplish if we work together.
Video by Josh and Scott Allen Perry on Youtube: Boycott the boycotters. (Includes some language that wouldn’t be printed in a family newspaper.)
Josh: We’ve got news for you
Scott: The word retard doesn’t mean what it used to mean.
Josh: Words change.
Scott: People change.
(Graphic: Words have power when we give them power.)…
Josh: From now on, the ‘R-word’ is my word. I’m taking it back…
Scott: You want to boycott somebody?
Josh: Boycott the NDSS.
Scott: Why?
Josh: Because they’re acting like a bunch of retards…
Scott: Don’t give the ‘r-word’ the same power that was given to the ‘N-word.’
Josh: Or civilization goes right down the toilet.
Casey Seiler in the [Albany, NY] Times-Union:
In comedy as in life, context is everything. The protest against “Tropic Thunder” has included some remarkable examples of context-stripping, as critics have focused on the pain caused by the use of “retard” with little acknowledgment that it is never put in the mouth of anybody the audience is meant to take even halfway seriously. That’s like criticizing “To Kill a Mockingbird” for using the N-word.
Advocates took action in 2007 when a Minneapolis theater company put on a show called “Rise of the Celebretards.” They organized a community-wide response, prompting a broad discussion about the word, about disrespectful language in general, and about human rights. A DVD documentary on the effort is now available, with an internet-based preview. Among the production’s sponsors are the Arc of Greater Twin Cities, the Minnesota Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities, Advocating Change Together (ACT) and the Metropolitan Center for Independent Living.
See also:
Our RSS Feed