'R-word' protests to new movie growing in city, suburbs
Disability advocates plan to hold a rally and hand out fliers today at some of the local theaters showing the movie "Tropic Thunder."
The movie, which makes jokes about people with disabilities and repeatedly uses the word "retard," has revved up the debate over whether "the R word" is acceptable in comedic context or if it's always an offensive and dehumanizing term.
From 4 to 6 p.m. today, disability advocates will hold a "Rally for Respect" at the AMC River East Theatre, 322 E. Illinois St., Chicago. Other advocates plan to distribute informational fliers at suburban movie theaters today and over the weekend.
"If you watch this movie, we want you to think about what you're laughing at. It's not funny," said Soeren Palumbo, 19, of Palatine, a sophomore at the University of Notre Dame. "We are viewing this as the educational opportunity that it is."
Palumbo became an advocate for people with disabilities last year, after delivering an impassioned speech to his classmates at Fremd High School about why they shouldn't use the word "retard." It drew a standing ovation and left some students and teachers in tears. Palumbo's younger sister, Olivia, has a learning disability.
Palumbo went on to give similar speeches around the world, including one to the Illinois Senate. The original speech is on YouTube.
"Since his speech, I haven't used (the word) as much," said former classmate Michael Maas, 18, of Inverness. "I try not to say it."
But many people still do.
A sampling of high school- and college-aged students at Woodfield Mall Thursday found that most still call their friends "retards" or say they're "retarded" when they've done something stupid. Boys also say they frequently call each other "gay" or user other pejorative terms for gays in jest.
The teens say they don't mean to offend anyone.
"I don't want to use it. It's just part of the vernacular. Just like you have to train yourself to not say 'like,' you have to train yourself not to say 'retard,'" said George Lukaszewski, 19, of Palatine.
Bridget Traeger, 19, who was visiting Schaumburg from Humboldt, Iowa, said she can't help using the word sometimes.
"A few people have said to me, 'Don't use that word!' And when they do, I say I'm sorry. Some people even think you should't say 'Oh my God,' because you should say 'Oh my gosh,'" Traeger said.
Intentionally or not, they're inflicting harm, Palumbo said.
"A lot of it is ignorance more than malice. They don't know how much it hurts people with intellectual disabilities," he said.
The negative use of the word led Special Olympics to adopt the term "intellectual disabilities" to replace the clinical term, "mental retardation," said spokeswoman Barbara DiGuido.
The Special Olympics has an online campaign at www.specialolympics.org that invites people to join the "R-word" campaign. It includes a pledge not to use the word and a promise to speak up whenever they hear others use it, and tell them it's hurtful.
"There's no recognition that it's very harmful to a significant amount of the population. As many as 3 percent of the population has some type of intellectual disability," DiGuido said.
The word "retard" is usually used in one of two ways: either to describe someone who is dumb, or to refer to a person with a disability. Both are offensive and both are used in "Tropic Thunder," Palumbo said.
Movie critics and bloggers around the country have defended the movie's use of the word "retard" as satire, but that doesn't fly with Palumbo.
"Calling something a satire is not a get-out-of-jail-free card," he said.