A topic near and dear to my heart

The R-word. Retard. Yep that word. The use of it makes my stomach cringe. It amazes me the amount that it's used too. I hear people pretty much substitute the word stupid for retard. From close friends to strangers I can honestly say I hear it at least weekly. Teenagers and adults let retard roll off their tongue without stopping to think even for an instant what that word could mean to a stranger walking by. I used to speak up and call the person out on why it's such a terrible thing to say but I've stopped for fear of making the person feel uncomfortable. And don't get me wrong, I've let it roll off my tongue too in moments of weakness of speaking in "pop culture" terms. Recently, I heard about a new movie that is being deemed the BEST Comedy of summer: Tropic Thunder. To put it mildly, this movie is about the farthest thing from "best" that I can imagine.
Timothy Shriver, chairman of the Special Olympics explains it best here. To quote:

"The degrading use of the word "retard" together with the broader humiliation of people with intellectual disabilities in the film goes way too far. When the R-word is casually bandied about and when bumbling, clueless caricatures designed to mimic the behavior of people with intellectual disabilities are on screen, they have an unmistakable outcome: They mock, directly or indirectly, people with intellectual disabilities. They perpetuate the worst stereotypes. They further exclusion and isolation. They are simply mean.
Mockery in any form, or for any purpose or directed at anyone, especially those least able to defend themselves, is neither funny nor acceptable. We must work together to bring it to an end."

Thank you, Mr. Shriver for being brave enough to take a stand. And I can't agree enough. It's neither funny nor acceptable to me either.