"My Words Matter" Pledge

Hi! My name is Jenna Glatzer, and I'm a writer. That means I love words. But there's one word that really hurts me, and that's the word "retard."

See, my brother has Down syndrome, which means he's retarded. "Retarded" isn't a bad word when you use it right: It means slow to learn. My brother learns a little slower than most people.

But a lot of people use the words "retarded" or "retard" to mean stupid. Sometimes people say it to be mean, and other times they're just kidding around... but it's not funny to people like my brother and me. 

Maybe you've heard it at school-- like when someone trips or makes a silly mistake and someone else says, "You're such a retard!" Even if the person says it with a smile or laugh, it's still not funny. It's hurtful.

Imagine your name is Kelly, and one day, people decided to use the word "Kelly" to mean "gross." "Yuck! This food tastes so Kelly!" Wouldn't you want them to stop using your name like that? 

Maybe you're older and you've heard people use that word at work, or at parties, or in stores. You probably know what that word really means, but you don't stop to think about how much it can hurt people with disabilities.

So that's why I'm starting this pledge.

My brother is the coolest person I know. He's nice to everybody, and he can always make me laugh, even if I'm feeling down.  It hurts us when people use words like "retard" and "retarded" in the wrong way, because it makes him feel like they think he's stupid. He had to work very hard-- harder than most people-- to learn how to read, write, play the piano, and use the computer. He has graduated from high school and works at a nursing home. He deserves to be respected, not insulted.

There are a lot of people like my brother in the world-- people who have Down syndrome and other disabilities-- and I bet that if you met them, you'd like them, too. You wouldn't want to hurt their feelings or call them names.

That's why I'd like you to make a promise: You won't use the word "retard," and you won't say "retarded" when you mean "stupid." And you'll try to remember to pay attention when other people say it and ask them to stop, too. 

Your words matter a lot. What you say can make people feel good or bad. If you care about people's feelings and would like to take this pledge, please visit here:

TAKE THE PLEDGE

You can sign your name and write comments if you like. Thank you for taking the pledge! 

If you know other people who might be interested, I hope you'll pass this link to them and encourage them to sign, too. People often don't realize that there's anything wrong with words like "retard" and "retarded" until someone explains to them how hurtful it can be.

Lots of people also write to us to tell us what they think about the pledge. We're starting to collect the letters here, if you'd like to read them. 

Love,

Jenna Glatzer and Paul Glatzer (Paul's blog)

Please feel free to write to Jenna if you have comments for the "letters" page." You can reach her at: