Defining words is always so very hard to do, especially
Since we all have such different opinions on how to
Interpret things. Take, for example, the word
"Retarded".
How many times have you used it,
Talking about other people or things?
You use it as an insult, a name
That you call other people,
Saying they're stupid, or pointless, or inferior.
Do you know what this word's actual definition is?
Someone who is literally retarded
Has a medical condition, affecting the development
Of his or her brain. "Retarded"
Is an intellectual disability.
When you flippantly call someone this word, this name, this label,
You are not only offending them, but also offending
Those who actually have this condition.
Now that you know what it means,
Are you going to keep saying it?
I hope you don't.
Because words generally don't mean
What we think they do.
Just like there are two sides to each story, there are
Two, or three, or more, definitions for each word.
Learn the meaning before spreading the hurt.
YOU ARE READING
Greater Than the Sum of Our Differences
PoesíaThis book is comprised of fifteen different poems -- lyric, spoken word, and free verse. They show how people with disabilities are often treated differently than other "normal" people, even though there really is no such thing as "normal". Some of...
