Ableism Today

It is easy to say that in recent years we are beginning to be more progressive and inclusive, but it is easy to see that not everyone wants to move forward. I’m sure everyone has had an experience with either saying the r-word or hearing other people say it. Most people will use the excuse of not knowing the history of the word or saying that they don’t mean to offend anyone, although they use the word with a negative connotation.

Though after countless seminars and speakers in school, there continues to be ignorance when it comes to using this word. This week I was waiting in line at a dining hall and the boys in front of me were talking and I overheard them using the r-word multiple times. It really shocked me that adults still use this word in every day conversations even though they know how historically derogatory this word is.

Growing up, this word was never part of my family’s vocabulary which makes me confused as to how it was part of other people’s childhood. Though the use of this word does not carry any weight to some people, I find it very determinative of the type of person you are. My brother is autistic and went through public school up to high school and I firsthand saw all of the awful things said to him and also saw how it affected him. Hearing that people still use this word really does affect me because of how badly I know it can hurt someone.