The R Word

   One thing I could go off on a tangent on is the use of the word retarded. No matter what context it is used in, it’s offensive. Whenever I hear it, I go out of my way to make sure the person understands what they said. Making fun of someone who can’t defend themselves is low, and even calling someone who doesn't have special needs retarded is still cruel. When you call someone the R word just because they do something dumb or are acting a certain way, you are comparing them to someone who may not have control over their actions and are innocent members of society. The use of the word drives me crazy.

Kyle on the Cavs court with me and my mom, as well as some awesome Special Olympics participants

   One organization that I really like is Spread the Word to End the Word. They work to end negative comments about people with special needs and have gotten over 600,000 pledges to stop saying the R word. Their website has different articles about the impact of the word, and they work hand in hand with Special Olympics to bring a positive light towards people with different disabilities

http://www.alsigl.org/news-and-events/news/163-spread-the-word-to-end-the-word-2016

   People will stare and make comments, it’s just the way it is. But there are plenty of good scenarios too. When we go to stores, we always see someone that knows Kyle and they’ll come up and give him a high five or wave to him. When I visited his school when he was a fourth grader, a group of girls in his class would sit next to him and try and get him involved in the activities. Now that he’s in high school, a group of softball players that volunteer in his classroom keep asking my mom to bring him up for games. There are twice as many good people than bad people out there, so looking past the negative ones and finding the moments when you’re proud of humanity are essential.