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It's time for you all to meet someone. This is my brother, Cory. He's a home run hitting baseball player, a swimmer, works two jobs, and known in our hometown as "the Mayor" because he knows EVERYONE.
Cory also has undiagnosed special needs.
It's time for you all to meet someone. This is my brother, Cory. He's a home run hitting baseball player, a swimmer, works two jobs, and known in our hometown as "the Mayor" because he knows EVERYONE.
Cory also has undiagnosed special needs.
I bring this up because we need to have a pretty serious conversation about the use of the R word. In today's comedic culture, with irony heavily running through just about everyone's veins, there seems to be this notion of "i don't give a fuck" reigning supreme.
I love irony, I love comedy, and I love testing the line. I don't love, however, the use of outdated derogatory terms (I'll explain shortly). When making jokes or posts or memes or videos, it can be very easy to detach yourself from your subject, your words, or your audience.
And in some cases, you have to when making points. But I've noticed a lot of people saying the R word (online and off) and then going "oh right, we're not supposed to say that anymore" and roll their eyes. And I get it, we're in a tumultuous time.
But here's why the R word is an issue and why I'd ask that if you're someone who uses it callously, you'd revisit doing so. You see, up until recently, the special needs community has been completely neglected. Ostracized. Rejected.
There are stories of parents sending their special needs children to asylums, getting them one way tickets on buses to other cities to "fend for themselves", or hiding them away from the world by not letting them leave the house.
Luckily, modern medicine has recognized the diversity of disability. But that wasn't the case up until the 80s and 90s. There was one blanket term for someone who wasn't neurotypical and that was "mentally retarded".
We've seen a lot of progress (asylums closed down, more resources for family in terms of education and care, programs like Best Buddies) but the fact remains that society still has an aversion to the special needs community (especially those that aren't deemed 'cute').
I remember vividly driving past a pizza place with my mom one time and watching her, the strongest person I know, break down because some of Cory's classmates were having a post-football season pizza party and his life wouldn't look like that, ever.
I know this is long, and if you've made it this far, I thank you for taking the time to read something that isn't a short joke about killing the moon or sleeping with a piece of candy. We're almost there.
Despite the progress that we've seen in the special needs community, there's still a lot of work to be done. A lot has changed, but in many ways, it hasn't. From no post-high school infrastructure to the looks Cory gets in passing from someone with a cold heart.
When you use the R word, you're allowing the past to stay relevant. You're keeping alive the times when special needs people were outcasts. You're neglecting the centuries of hardships they've been through so you can be edgy or make a joke.
I'm not saying this because I want you to feel bad or because I want to shame people or because I feel I'm a perfect advocate. No, I'm saying this because I think if more people knew or interacted with special needs people, we'd see the end of the R word. It's just a lack of info
So like I said, I want to introduce you to someone. He's the kindest person I know, easily the strongest (loves picking me, a 6' guy, up off the ground when we hug), and he's my best friend. And he wants to be yours. This is Cory.
