To the Editor:
Let’s face it: Vanderbilt University is not known as an epicenter of tolerance. Between our founding as a Southern institution for white males, our location in the “buckle of the Bible belt” and our undergraduate student body of unusually wealthy students, it’s not surprising that progressive social change is slow to take hold here. Today, however, I ask the students of Vanderbilt to consider taking a step toward acceptance — and acceptance begins by replacing the language we use to describe those who are different from us.
On March 3, 2010, Special Olympics International celebrated its 2nd annual Day of Awareness for their “Spread the Word to End the Word” campaign. This campaign serves the purpose of raising the consciousness of society about the dehumanizing and hurtful effects of the word “retard(ed)” and of encouraging people to pledge to stop using the R-word.
The R-word is another example of a remark intended to be descriptive that has since been changed in our vernacular to represent a negative stereotype commonly used as an insult. With 200 million people around the world identified as having an intellectual disability, there are hundreds of millions of gifts, unique talents and perspectives that this population offers. However, these positive attributes are pushed aside when we use the R-word in casual conversation — a word that wrongly provides images of less-than-ideal people, clumsiness, stupidity and hopelessness.
The bottom line is that we should strive to create a culture of support and acceptance for all people. We need to be aware of the ways in which our words hurt others. When our language creates needless barriers to growth (by encouraging the incorrect belief that disability equals incompetence), it becomes obvious that the word in question needs to be retired. So, join the movement. Visit www.r-word.org to sign the pledge to “stop the spread.” Enlighten and encourage your peers to consider the negative impact of using the R-word casually. Find a new friend with an intellectual disability. Be a fan of Special Olympics Tennessee. Let’s face it: Vanderbilt students are world-changers — we can start a movement by choosing respect.
Mallory Morse
Senior
Peabody College
