Spread The Word To End The Word

Today is the day to Spread The Word To End The Word.  This is the fifth anniversary of a campaign to end the use of the R word.  I've written about the word before, how it's use hurts my heart.  But no matter what I say, John Franklin Stephens says it better.  He is a self-advocate, an adult with Down syndrome, and he is offended by the use of the R word as an insult.

John Franklin Stephens' Open Letter to Ann Coulter on using the R word

It doesn't matter if you didn't mean it that way, or you weren't thinking about someone with Down syndrome when you said it.  The fact is, the word is hurtful and insulting.

Period.