Let’s Not Say That…It’s Ugly
DD2 and I were riding in the car, along with some of her brothers. I was talking to one of the boys, when DD2 said to me, “Shut up!”
“DD2!” I exclaimed (okay, I really used her name). “We do NOT say shut up! It’s ugly!”
Her polite response was, “You stupid, Mommy.” Needless to say, she hasn’t been raised with GKGW. She DID get in trouble for that, though.
Since then, any time one of her older brothers (yes, that’s where she heard the words) says “stupid” or “shut up,” DD2 will very politely say, “Shhhh. Let’s not say that. It’s ugly.”
Well, now let me address another word that is “ugly.” The word “retarded.” It is used almost constantly nowdays, and not just by teenagers. I often hear adults–my friends, even–calling things, other people, or themselves retarded. “That was so retarded!” “I can’t believe I did that. I’m so retarded.” “That dress is just retarded!!” Haven’t you heard people say things like that?
Here’s the problem. I have a son (DS14) who has Down syndrome. One of the defining characteristics of Down syndrome is mental retardation. Yes, he is retarded. The definition of retarded is “to be delayed.”
It is politically incorrect to use the “n” word when speaking of African-Americans. And that is a very good thing. So why is it still okay in our society to use a word like “retarded” in a derogatory way? It shouldn’t be.
Which brings me to my next point. Have you seen the movie “Napoleon Dynamite?” It is hilarious. Really! Especially if you watch it with a bunch of teenagers, who basically have the whole movie memorized and go around saying quotes from it all day long. But one of the famous quotes is, “You are so retarded!” And now, there are these new pens that say several quotes from the movie. And, you guessed it. One of the quotes is “You are so retarded!”
So may I say, “Let’s not say that. It’s ugly.” And “Let’s not buy those pens and support and encourage that expression. It’s ugly.” And let’s just remove that word from our vocabulary, unless we are using it in its correct form. As I would say to DD2, “Do you understand?” And, in a perfect world, she would reply, “Yes, Mommy!”
Thank you!
CM
Posted in Mommy Musings, This and That
August 20th, 2005 at 10:07 am
Yes, YES! This is a big pet peeve of mine, as well, and I simply don’t allow my children to use that word.
Of course, I’ve also noticed that it becomes more difficult as they get older to control everything they say. Apparently when some of my sweet offspring are upstairs out of ear shot of me, they have said “Shut up!” and “STOP IT!” enough times that one of our parrots now repeats this. I’m now looking for a Growing Parrots God’s Way course to solve this problem…
August 22nd, 2005 at 3:41 pm
LOL about the parrots! Maybe you should write it and turn it into a business. You might make lots of money!!
August 26th, 2005 at 12:32 pm
[...] P.S. To read a previous blog I wrote on the subject, click here. Filed under: This and That, Mommy Musings — chewymom @ 12:32 pm [...]
March 15th, 2007 at 5:59 am
[...] DS16’s latest little comment he makes at times. Apparently the issue of my anger over similar comments (think, “you are retarded”) is lost on him. Can we say, “Hello, kettle? This is the pot. You’re black.” So even DS16 apparently needs some sensitivity training. by chewymom @ 5:59 am. Filed under Quote of the Day [link] [...]