BY VIRGINIA PENIAS
Words are powerful. Big or small, we use them as our main source of communication in all languages, cultures, and conversations. However, with them comes responsibility. Often, the words we misuse or misinterpret can really offend people; we need to watch what we say.
“Retarded”, a commonly misused word, is defined in the Merriam Webster’s dictionary as“slowness in development or progress”. When searched as a noun, it is also said to be “often offensive”. This term can be used to medically characterize a person who is autistic, or has another form of a learning disability. However, people throw this word so loosely. People use it when they are referring to a friend who accidentally slurred up their words, or when they are talking about an idea or concept that is otherwise senseless in their opinion.
The bottom line is that there are autistic people out there, people who struggle everyday just to get buy just because they are different. Using the word “retarded” casually might seem like a joke but can actually be very crude to others while these words define their lives, or the lives of a loved one. Other everyday words spoken with a negative connotation are ‘gay’ and ‘faggot’. We speak these terms without truly understanding their impact.
Sometimes, words can hurt far beyond the victim’s heart; it can hit home. According to autism-society.org, 1 to 1.5 million Americans’ live with an autism spectrum disorder and Prevalence is estimated at 1 in 88 births. While this percentage suffers from the misuse of words, their families are often even more affected. Those who have disabilities may not realize that these words can be offensive, however, parents, siblings, relatives and friends can. Having someone in your life with a disability can be very difficult, and hearing people make jokes about them is not only harmful, it’s wrong.
Although many like to disregard other people’s feelings for the sake of fitting in and being cool, the truth of the matter is that not everybody is the same. Some people have different views on religion, sexual orientation, and ways of learning. But being different isn’t a bad thing. Whenever you have the desire to throw out one of these offensive statements, stop and think of the detrimental effects these words might have on the people around you.
