"How a person is labeled reflects how a person is treated by a society. This is not a silly issue over politically correct terminology."--Sherry Gray

Tim Shriver, Washington Post, in Patricia E. Bauer

Ben Stiller as Simple Jack in Dreamworks Tropic Thunder

Special Olympics Chairman Timothy Shriver writes in the Washington Post that he has not yet been permitted to see “Tropic Thunder.” But on the basis of previews, excerpts and written accounts, he concludes that the film is “an unchecked assault on the humanity of people with intellectual disabilities — an affront to dignity, hope and respect.”

Shriver objects to a world in which people with intellectual disabilities routinely face discrimination, abuse, insult and institutionalization, are denied medical treatment and excluded from social movements. He cites Gallup poll data that found most Americans don’t want a person with an intellectual disability in their child’s school.

The use of language, he says, perpetuates and amplifies the public view that these people are “hopeless.”

"Sadly, they’re such an easy target that many people don’t realize whom they are making fun of when they use the word “retard.” Most people just think it’s funny. “Stupid, idiot, moron, retard.” Ha, ha, ha.

"I know: I could be too sensitive. But I was taught that mean isn’t funny.

"… So, enough. Stop the hurtful jokes. Talk to your children about language that is bullying and mean. Ask your friends, your educators, your religious leaders to help us to end the stubborn myth that people with intellectual disabilities are hopeless. Ask Hollywood to get on the right side of dignity.

"I hope others will join me in shutting this movie out of our lives and our pocketbooks. We don’t live in times when labeling and humiliating others is funny. And we should send that message far and wide."

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Related:

‘Tropic Thunder’ boycott expected, Michael Cieply, New York Times

‘Tropic Thunder’ meeting called productive; Talks ongoing, Patricia E. Bauer

'Tropic Thunder': What you can do, Terri Abrams, Barriers, Bridges, and Books
Do something this week in response to the poison that the release of the movie 'Tropic Thunder' is about to spew on us.