Special Olympics, bill attempt to raise awareness of hurtful slurs
Every four years, millions of people across the globe gear up for the Summer Olympics in hopes that this year might bring gold to their team. This year, the Summer Olympics will be held in beautiful London, England and the opening ceremony is taking place Friday, July 27. People are always excited to see how their team performs and if a team brings home the gold to their country, they are seen as a national hero.
The amount of pressure to do well that is put on these athletes is extremely stressful to them. What’s more, there is only wealth to be gained when these athletes perform well and win their respected competitions. Even though the Summer Olympians have a tough road to travel in their sports, the Special Olympians here in Columbia, S.C. have an even harder time in their day-to-day life that no professional athlete could compete with.
The Special Olympics, which are being held in Columbia May 4-6, have a main event which occurs every two years and features incredible athletes from across the state. The Special Olympics always hosts athletes who touch people’s hearts through their determination, willpower and pure enthusiasm for their events. However, this year’s message is bigger than ever.
In 2010, President Barack Obama officially signed the bill that passed Rosa’s Law, which completely deletes the terms “mental retardation” and “mentally retarded” from federal health, education and labor policies and replaces them with politically correct phrases such as “individual with an intellectual disability” or “intellectual disability.”
Rosa’s Law went relatively under the radar, but groups such as Project UNIFY, which facilitates a good majority of the Special Olympics, are attempting to bring it to the forefront of our everyday lives. The Special Olympics and other similar interest groups are urging people all over the world to “end the R-word” or “Spread the Word to End the Word.” As stated in Project UNIFY’s initiatives, this movement plans “to raise the consciousness of society about the dehumanizing and hurtful effects of the ‘R-word’ (retard or retarded) and urges people to resolve to stop using it as an insult, casual or intended comment.”
To raise awareness of how damaging use of the “R-word” can be on people, Special Olympics athletes and Project UNIFY held a rally outside of the Statehouse here in Columbia on Tuesday. The event boasted hundreds of athletes, volunteers and onlookers who were more than happy to spread their message.
Special-needs students face hardships in their daily lives that most people take for granted. These ceaseless struggles wear down on their self-confidence and make them feel as if they are more different from their peers than they really are. Thankfully, the Special Olympics are organized so that special-needs athletes can gain the pride and confidence that they deserve while also making life-long friends. Hopefully, that campaign affects as many people’s lives as these incredible young student-athletes do.
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