Saturday, September 15, 2007
Observation #1 "That's so retarded"
I believe a lot of the time we don't think about how it's not only race, gender, class, or religion that people discriminate against. There are also the mentally, physically and emotionally disabled. The other day while I was walking to my human behavior class, I noticed a large group of people pointing and laughing at the way a student on campus was running. In my opinion this student might be somewhere on the Autistic spectrum. I am not an expert by no means, but I do know some about Autism because my nephew is Autistic. This group of people were also students. There were about six or seven in the group. To see this type of behavior made me sick, but what made me even more upset, is that I didn't say anything. I just watched, which is even worse then committing the action. I knew it was wrong, and I just kept walking, rather then stopping to tell them that it was wrong. I regret that so much. This event is significant because it brings to light that there are not only derogatory terms used against people because of their race, sexuality, gender or etc... There is also terms out there against the disabled, like when someone says, "That's so retarded". They may not mean it to be mean toward that group of individuals, but society has labeled that as being acceptable language to use when something upsets you. This event sustains a state of oppression because it shows how society continues to close itself of from the "abnormal". We are only hurting ourselves by doing this. Not being open to individuals with different ways of thinking and living is in reality us oppressing ourselves. In fact I know that this student that group was laughing at was extremely intelligent. I had English class with him two semesters ago and he was one of the best writers in the class. He had a great sense of humor too. Afterwards all I could think about is how I could have just ignored it. Why did I do that? This isn't the first time I have done it, and I don't plan on ever doing it again. No one deserves to be laughed at no who they are. It isn't something I believe in. Laughing at someone because they are different then you isn't right, and those of us that know it isn't should speak out. I know I would want someone to do that for my nephew if any one ever did that to him. That is why I will never just stand by and watch ever again. When something like that hits closer to home you finally understand the impact it has.
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4 comments:
Jesse,
I am writing my observation on a similar topic. While I went home this weekend down to New Jersey I noticed some derogatory terms being thrown around. I was at my younger sister’s soccer game and was observing some students in the stands. The game was getting heated and every time the referee made a call someone in the crowd would yell out something rude. At one point I noticed people kept saying “that was such a retarded call” and “This ref is a retard”. I can say as far as I know there wasn’t a mentally handicapped person around, but that doesn’t excuse the behavior. People throwing words around like “retard” and “tard” just end up making it seem appropriate. This really bothered me because metal handicaps or illnesses are not chosen and often time there is nothing that can be done to change them.
Some people on campus are obviously extremely shallow, and most likely have low self esteem. To make fun of others, especially someone with a disability only shows the maturity and value that that person has for themselves. I agree with you completely on your point of view. I would have liked to have said something too within that moment; however, when at a situation like that that is such as shock (that people can be that crude) you sometimes just get lost in the moment, and eventually end up walking away speechless. Now that you’ve been through that initial shock, the next time around I think it will come a lot quicker to you--your reaction to speak up.
Because I know exactly who you are talking about, I felt really sad when I read your observation. I hate when people say, "That's so retarded," in response to something they disagree with, but I never instinctively say anything. It was never a phrase I used until college, and when I did, I was like, "Did I really just say that?" Hopefully both of us will be more on our toes next time.
That is really disappointing. I have seen things like this happen before, but they have not been talked about. I hope this person didn't see that happen. I agree with you though that it is hard to know what to say when people are being so close minded and doing things like this. It has, unfortuantely, become acceptable to some people, maybe because they experience it too often. Hopefully people can become more conscious of their actions after reading stories like these.
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