3/31 Spread the Word to End the Word

Have you seen these yet?  I hadn't, until Jen posted them this morning.  

She used the word ballsy to describe the Special Olympics' campaign against the R-word.  I couldn't agree m0re.  And I love it.

Basically, I agree with everything that she says, and at this hour in the morning, she states it more eloquently than I can...so you should read her post here.

I posted a while ago about the 3/31 Spread the Word to End the Word campaign, when John C. McGinley talked about it on the Bonnie Hunt Show.  Well, people, today is the day.

And I'm not being condescending...goodness knows I used the word, frequently, before I stopped to think about what I was really saying.  If you use it, chances are you're not saying it to purposefully offend or degrade anyone.  You might have even said to yourself (or to your audience) that everyone 'knows what you mean'-- that retarded just means stupid or ridiculous...not that you are referring to a person.

But guess what?  You are.  No matter how you say it.  No matter what disclaimer you put on it, no matter how flippant the comment.

And not only that, you are teaching others that it's ok to use it.  And it's just not.

I'm not going to stop you mid-conversation to give you a lecture.  But you will probably see me wince.  Because that word is connected to Chase.  And to a lot of other really amazing people.  

Spread the word.