Mentally disabled 'self-advocates' oppose use of word 'retarded' (PC run amok?) [View All]

[alp227]

by Michael Alison Chandler
The Washington Post
February 5, 2010

A national movement to purge the word "retarded" from lawbooks and medical terminology is nearing success, gaining support this week from White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, who apologized to advocates for the disabled for using the term during a private meeting last summer.

The campaign is led in part by the mentally disabled themselves, who are increasingly politically organized and eager to escape the stigma associated with the term.

"It's a time of change," said Jill Eglé, co-executive director of the Arc of Northern Virginia, a support group for the disabled, who spearheaded a campaign to change the state code in Virginia.

The words "retarded" and "retard" feel threatening, she said. Eglé identifies herself this way: "I am a powerful leader with an intellectual disability."

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/04/AR2010020402602_pf.html

Instead, advocates support "intellectual disability". I wonder if this is proper linguistic revisionism or excessive political correctness. To be honest, we shouldn't deny the existence of people who are totally out of their minds in addition to those who at least have some conscience.