Teens Against Discrimination discussion

Talk about it here. Please be kind and respectful, as this can be a touchy subject. Remember rule five: Be Open minded.

Thanks for putting this topic up!

Anyone who says the word "retard" out of context as in "Gosh, you're so retarded..." etc. shall be hit by me personally.

In the UK, nobody says that anyway; it seems to only be the "cool" kids in America who use that as a form of insult..

It shouldn't be used period. It's a serious medical condition and at least two of my friends have it. It's not a joke that I take lightly... along with people who throw around the word "rape".

I get called that a lot. I NEVER use it EVER.
I hate it when people use "rape" for no reason too...
And when people say stuff like "that's so gay" when they don't like something. I don't even know how people came up with that. It doesn't make sense.

Okay, first of all, when I hear "retard/retarded," "rape/raped/raping/rapist," or "gay" as an insult/joke, someone is just asking for trouble with me.

First of all: Two of my cousins have developmental problems. They're not exactly... our idea of "normal," and I'll admit that I do treat them a little differently, even though I don't mean to. I don't think it's funny. At all.

Secondly: Rape is not a funny thing, whatsoever. "They look like a rapist!" or "He, like, raped the ball!" Oh yeah, you're such a clown. Too bad you're too much of an idiot to actually be funny. I mean, people get raped, there's probably a rape in the country every day. And it's not funny, because one decision ruins the life to an innocent person.

Third point: "That's so gay!" or "Dude, you're so gay!" Yeah, not funny. When I tell people off for it, they say, "Gay means happy." Yeah, it does, but you weren't using it like that and that's what matters here, smarta**. People think it's lame/funny/stupid that I stand up for homosexual people when no one else in my class does except for one other girl. It's not like they know that my uncle's gay. If they did, they wouldn't use it around me. But the thing is, it shouldn't matter. You just shouldn't use it period.

People at my school yell "Rape" all the time in the halls at school just jokingly. They also have this so called game that when domeone touched you its the same as "Rape" amd your theoretically supposed to yell it...

There are kids at my school that are "Mentally disabled" in my school. They come into my gym class and its really sad to see how they act. They just dont really fully understand whats going on. or so it seems. I dont see how I could even live like that. A bunch of people make fun of them. And it sucks.

I mean, I think the word "retarded" is fine, when used in context and in a proper way, not mocking. But when people start to use it in a mean/mocking/cruel way, that's when things get bad.

Willis wrote: "People at my school yell "Rape" all the time in the halls at school just jokingly. They also have this so called game that when domeone touched you its the same as "Rape" amd your theoretically sup..."

Wow...thats exactly what happens at my school. A lot of people in my class make fun of them but i just keep my head down not partcipating in their discussion

When people joke about the word rape, I die a little inside. I'm best friends with two people who were raped, and none of us find it a joke whatsoever.

I was told on a different site on Goodreads that I was being too sensitive after telling someone (i don't remember who) to not use the word "tard" when describing someone. Then I mentioned that I hated the word "rape" used in the wrong context and the person just blew up at me. I don't care though; I got my point across.

...I just don't understand people sometimes...

It's just - these are heavy subjects, and they're not jokes. It's not funny, and it's out of context. It doesn't even make sense. Like "That throw was so gay!" it's like, "How is throwing the ball poorly homosexual in any way?" And yes, I do blow up at people easily. But i feel like I need to.

Both my best friend and I have autism and we hate it when people think that just because we think differently we need help.
Admittedly we know that some cases are worse than others but we dont like how people asume that all autistic kids are the same.
Im actually in the top set on all the core subjects and act relatively normal and my best friend isnt so bad either though he does need a little help sometimes.
Last year our school had this competition about making posters for autistic kids, all through the assembly I had to keep whispering to my best friend to not speak too loud (he was very insulted by the competiton) while trying not to get insulted by it myself.

http://emberluna-ala.deviantart.com/a...

This link goes to a good picture-thing I found on deviant art about autism/asphergers.

This should really be sent to as many people as possible! :)

When I had confirmation classes there was a mentally and physically disabled girl in our group. She sat in a wheelchair and had the mental state of a 6-year old.
We all learned how to care for her and handle a wheelchair - so it was the opposite of annoying. We learned something for life. In fact she got the whole group to work together in the first place!

It's strange how people change their ways when something touches them personally. If the same person who yelled "RAPE!" in the corridors with his/her dumb-ass friends suddenly got raped themselves, I doubt they'd find it funny anymore (I'm still dumbfounded why this would be amusing in the first place)...And if a person who uses the term "retard/tard" in the form of an insult suddenly gets in an accident and loses coherent speech, I don't think those words would come out of his/her mouth again..

I think it's all to do with what kind of relationship you have with the terms. If you're affected in any way by the words PERSONALLY, I think you'd stop using it. I'd like to say that people are sensitive and SENSIBLE enough to stop using words like these regardless of whether it holds any personal meaning for them, but I don't think that would work for most people out there.

Sure, there are quite a few people who may not have any personal relationship with the words, but know the effect using insults like these can have on people's self-esteems and psychological well--being (like you guys :)), but a lot of people either just don't care about the effects, or they're not aware.

Just my thoguhts.

This is getting off topic, so I'm goign to make a topic for that subject. :)

A good book to read is Rules. :D It's really touching,.

What is it about?

Disablities,. LD

A kid has Autism.:D

Ahh...Sounds good. What type of autism?

Ooh, another great autism book from the autistic boy's perspective is this: The Mysterious Case of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon.

*Writing down the titles.*

Yes EJ, that is a pretty good book, although it confused me a bit at first:)
Did you know the title of that book was taken from a line in a Sherlock Holmes story?
It's entitled 'Silver Blaze', and is about a racing horse. The 'curious incident in the night time' was that the guard dog did not bark at the person who stole the horse:)

I hate how people seem to assume people with autism, asphergers or something similar are all dumb and retarded. Its really insulting especially since its not the same thing. A lot of people with these mental illnesses are actually very smart and creative. They just think and act differently.

I think that just because you have a disability means that your less of a person. Such as Stephen Hawking, he's one of the smartest people in the world and he has a disability!

Strange Angel {Sexay&Irresistable} wrote: "I think that just because you have a disability means that your less of a person. Such as Stephen Hawking, he's one of the smartest people in the world and he has a disability!"

EXACLY!

Kyle wrote: "I hate that, too. 'Assume' should be a curse word, because it makes 'an ass our of u and me'.

People with autism, aspherger's or even mentally challenged individuals are treated as second class..."


I agree with you too.

Vyanni Krace ~Wisdom of the bitter sea.~ wrote: "Strange Angel {Sexay&Irresistable} wrote: "I think that just because you have a disability means that your less of a person. Such as Stephen Hawking, he's one of the smartest people in the world an..."

:)

:)...



=^_^=!

:D This is an awesome group! It's so supportive

I know right! I love this group. Its really understanding.

Yeah I'm glad it was created :D

The Curious Incident of The Dog at Night-Time is a fabulous book. I urge everyone to read it! You forget half-way through that you're reading a book, because you get so involved with the main character's quest for the truth. It is seriously awesome.

This is a touchy subject for me as i have a disabled brother, he cannot speak and instead of speaking he yells and makes noises growing up was hard because whenever we went out the stares the filthy looks and the comments you get on the streets is disgusting...As i got older i got more angrier at peoples reactions i could understand young children but when adults look at your brother like he is a piece of trash it kills and it really pisses me off too. they have to realise disabled people are born this way they did not choose it and they are human just like everyone else just with a disability...Sorry for the ranting...

By all means Adriana, rant away, this is the platform for you to do so:)

Its fine. I kinda understand. My best friend and I both have autism. And I also know lots of other people who I consider to be friends with who also have some form of mental disability. It really is horrible the scorn people with mental disabilities get at times.

I think it's because it unsettles some people, I know it unsettles me, and I feel awkward around them, but of course I draw the line at being rude, but maybe some people just don't know how to handle them, and would rather not. I mean I am in no way condoning this sort of behaviour, just trying to understand how it comes about.

i do understand that its unsettling but when people are just rude and say oohhh thats disgusting or OMG look at him its just plain awful..of course its duanting its diffrent but you dont need to treat them like they dont have feeling...

Sometimes people are not aware that they're insulting or offending someone with a disability. For them, it could be just trying to be extra-nice (e.g. talking slooooowly and EMPHASISING EVERYTHING), but the disabled person might feel insulted that they're doing so, because they might think that the person is making fun of their disability. But then, when you try and pretend someone hasn't got a disability, the disabled person could become irked that you're too uneasy to face the truth. Does that make any sense?

We should all just try to be:



We should recognise someone is disabled, but not let the disability overthrow the person him/herself. Because which disabled person wants to be seen as "the one with no arms", or "the one who's in a wheelchair"? Their identity and sense of self would mess up completely. They want to be seen as people, not people with dotdotdot...

Yeah, I have a friend who's little brother has Autism. I hardly notice it now, I just think he's annoying. Like he acts like my annoying little brother so much, you can't tell he has it. Their both cute though.

Mel (or the one who fails....with style) wrote: "Sometimes people are not aware that they're insulting or offending someone with a disability. For them, it could be just trying to be extra-nice (e.g. talking slooooowly and EMPHASISING EVERYTHING)..."

I agree 100% nicely put!!!!

Therein sometimes lies the trouble, but then again I suppose it's all a question of getting used to a person with a disability, the same way you'd shape your approach to just about everyone else. If we consider it in that way then there really isn't much difference whether you're disabled or not.

I almost completely forget (*facepalm*) that my best friend is disabled. She's blind!

How could I forget my best friend was blind! She even has a rainbow cane and makes blind jokes about herself. *facepalm*

Woolfie wrote: "Therein sometimes lies the trouble, but then again I suppose it's all a question of getting used to a person with a disability, the same way you'd shape your approach to just about everyone else. I..."

Yeah, I mean. It may sound a little weird, but I think he's annoying. Not because he has autism, but because he's a typical 3rd grader. :P

EJ Luv Zombie wrote: "I almost completely forget (*facepalm*) that my best friend is disabled. She's blind!

How could I forget my best friend was blind! She even has a rainbow cane and makes blind jokes about herself. ..."


Lol. How DID you forget?

Mel (or the one who fails....with style) wrote: "Sometimes people are not aware that they're insulting or offending someone with a disability. For them, it could be just trying to be extra-nice (e.g. talking slooooowly and EMPHASISING EVERYTHING)..."

Sometimes they speak like that because they think mental illnesses like autism and all that are equivalent to being mentally retarded or something. Which people with those illnesses actually find rather insulting.
I actually read on some other site with a bunch of autistic kids chatting on it. They were saying that even their psychologists and stuff talk to them slowly and all that because they think they cant understand.
They were saying how they felt insulted because they were actually very smart. And the people speaking to them would always get so surprised/baffled when they realise they ARENT retarded.

Something about the wood and trees I think:)

Vyanni Krace ~Wisdom of the bitter sea.~ wrote: "EJ Luv Zombie wrote: "I almost completely forget (*facepalm*) that my best friend is disabled. She's blind!

How could I forget my best friend was blind! She even has a rainbow cane and makes bli..."

I didn't forget, but I forgot to put her here because she's not handi-capped, she's HANDICAPABLE!