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15 Search Results for ""john c mcginley""
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John C. McGinley and son Max
- From: ryaneades
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Description:
- 8 months ago
- Views: 1256
- Not yet rated
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Do you Doubt that 'Retard' is
- From: ryaneades
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Description:
It's been a very interesting month of March thus far and we aren't even halfway thru yet. There has been so much buzz going around about Spread the Word to End the Word (STW2ETW) and new pledges have been coming into the R-word site in a steady stream of about 100 a day.
What's been most interesting to me is watching the interactions of youth on our various sites where all the STW2ETW material is being posted. On the Facebook Event page comments are flying back and forth, same thing on the Bill O'Reilly video posted on that event page.
There's a lot of support, but also a lot of typical negativity and ignorance or in some cases just plain apathy.
Take for instance Benjamin Heard of Wisconsin Stout who feels that we should just quit:
"It has become part of our language, your not going to change anything this is an entirely futile effort and kinda sad, you all need to find better things to do with your time"
Or Daniel Ross of Lincoln College Preparatory Academy who says:
"sry but this is really Retarded the word is ment to be an insult and thats why people use it as one u can't control wat people say when u call people retarded its supposed to be an insult even though they were born that way so wat THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE WORD RETARDED!!!"
And an ever popular argument from people like Johnny Dawyot from the Salesianum School who rationalize that,
"hey everyone you're retarded."
Now, trust me, comments like these are not new in the online community realm for anywhere we post videos or media related to Special Olympics and especially material advocating for people to choose to stop using the word "retard."
What is new over the last few weeks and months is that youth are fighting back and standing up for what they believe in in thoughtful and engaging ways.
Youth like Soeren Palumbo from Notre Dame who share,
"This is not an effort to legally ban a word or infringe on any 1st ammendment rights; do not misconstrue it as such. Rather, it is an effort to demonstrate the hurtful and negative effects that this word has even when used casually, effects parallel to any racial slur. It is our hope that when people are shown these effects that they will choose to stop using the word, not because they are forced to, but rather because they want to. We are hoping to end this word by societal consensus, not mandate."
Or Jeanne Griffith who responds,
"I find it interesting, and incredibly disappointing that there are still so many, who are so small minded as to completely MISS the point being made...[sic] This is about recognizing that all people, regardless of ability, intellect, economic status, ethnicity, are entitled to respect. No one is asking for censorship, and it has nothing to do with free speech. We are asking that adults, who care enough to measure their words, consider the impact of *this* word. We all engage in self monitoring, every day. WE choose our words with reason. Sometimes we choose to self censor in order to spare feelings or to show respect. We don't walk into a church and start cussing like a sailor, because we recognize how inappropriate that would be. This is what we are asking - for people to show the same level of forethought when considering this word."
Or my favorite, Chris Murphy from Wilmington, Delaware who simply challenges people to get involved and open themselves to a different perspective,
"And my offer still stands. Any individual who on here who has no/limited exposure to disabled folks and wants to continue to use this term "retard" than please contact me with your city and state and I will set you up with your local Special Olympics, United Cerebral Palsy or your local state funded disabled agency so you can volunteer. 3 hours is all I ask you do, I will make all of the necessary calls and set it up, you just show up, volunteer then come here and talk about how you do not care if using the "r" word effects someone."
Traditionally, family members (especially fiesty moms!), along with a few other advocates have voiced their displeasure at many disagreeable items in the media, or nasty comments by online readers, but this has been few and far between. It's truly inspiring to see the community of youth engaged in this discussion and taking it upon themselves to get involved and make their voices heard.
Make no mistake, this is a big step. Many, many online communities, businesses and schools have dozens of dedicated personnel who scour the Internet offering a counterpoint in the comment sections to dissenting opinions on topics in which they are invested, monetarily or emotionally. This has never been the case for Special Olympics and certainly not for misuse of the R-word -- until now.
As we know, there is always more to do! There are many, many opportunities for this "army of change" or these "warriors of acceptance" (please forgive my poor attempt for a 30-something to come up with a cool name!) to bring the fight outside the realm of Special Olympics initiatives or R-word based event pages.
Here's an idea, if you use "Google Alerts" set one of them for "retard" and "retarded" and see all the interesting things that come in from blogs or articles like:
The Young Turks who ponder:
"Has 'socialist' joined the ranks of words like 'retarded' and 'gay' as an all-purpose expression of something disagreeable? How long before we her kids saying, 'Man, that’s hella socialist.'?"
Or the Phillyist blog who dissect the issues surrounding the Philadelphia Eagles employee who was fired for calling the team "retarded" on his Facebook page.
When you see things like this, get out there on these blogs and in the comments section and speak out! Respond (respectfully, of course) to people's misconceptions and share ideas of where they can go to learn more or educate themselves. Help give a voice to our athletes who as John C. McGinley put it - are equipped to love, not to fight.
Get out there in cyberspace and be the change the world needs.
- Blog post
- 8 months ago
- Views: 1299
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John C. McGinley and R-word
- From: ryaneades
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Description:
Check out actor John C. McGinley's interview on the TV Guide Channel as he talks about the Spread the Word to End the Word Campaign.
- 8 months ago
- Views: 1008
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Spread the Word to End the Wor
- From: ryaneades
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Description:
Actor John C. McGinley was on the Bonnie Hunt Show on March 2, 2009 to talk about "Scrubs" and the 03.31.09 End the R-word Day event as we all "Spread the Word to End the Word." Watch the clip to learn more!
- 8 months ago
- Views: 4490
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Battling ignorance and the R-w
- From: ryaneades
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Description:
Today brought an interesting ebb and flow. For those who don't know, I work in communications at Special Olympics, Inc. and while we all wear many hats I generally work on branding and marketing and this Fan Community site as well as all the other social media presences around the Internet like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, etc.
Anyhoo, we've been working on putting together an event for the end of March, specifically 3.31.09, End the R-word Day. This event is the brainchild of our highly energetic and inspiring youth that started the SO College initiative last summer. The goal is to raise awareness around college campuses about the word "retard" or "retarded" and to educate college students about the hurtful nature of the word and to ask them to pledge to stop using the r-word.
The idea has picked up tons of grassroots momentum and is really taking off. So today, actor John C. McGinley was on the Bonnie Hunt Show and he was wearing a "Spread the Word to End the Word 3.31.09" t-shirt, provided by the aforementioned SO College youth. You may know John C. McGinley as Dr. Cox on the TV show "Scrubs." Well, he's also the parent of 11-year old Max who was born with Down Syndrome.
While attending our 2009 World Winter Games, Mr. McGinley was blown away by the enthusiasm and passion of our youth that are taking it upon themselves to educate their peers and activate them to create change. He agreed to be the celebrity spokesperson for 3.31.09 End the R-word Day and has been making the rounds on the TV Guide Channel and the Bonnie Hunt Show among others, while wearing the t-shirt promoting the event.
Well today's response was phenomenal. Bonnie Hunt's website was flooded with comments in support of the campaign. Our own R-word website received tons of new pledges to stop using the R-word and overall it was really great to see so much passion and activation throughout the day. It was one of those days where you really get to see the payoff of the hard work we all do in support of the athletes.
Then, near the end of the day, I got one of my 'Google Alerts' that immediately brought back the harsh reality of just how much work we all have to do as we move forward. The Google Alert told me that American Idol contestant Kris Allen said the following in an interview about his recent performance on the show in which he moved on to the final round of 12 contestants:
"I felt like I picked a song with an energy to it that maybe didn't need that guitar or whatever, and so you could dance around and kind of get into it. You know, it was kind of a lot of practicing in the room by yourself and making sure you don't look like a retard or an idiot on stage in front of a million people."
I felt like smacking my computer screen or letting an expletive or two escape. Then I relaxed and realized there are only two ways to go about dealing with people like American Idol's Kris Allen who continute to perpetuate negative stereotypes of people with intellectual disabilities by using the R-word in a hurtful manner -- whether they know it or not.
The first way is to just accept things as they are and that despite any efforts so many of us continue to make, things aren't going to change.
The second way is to pin his comment up on my blog, along with many others like it so any time I feel like taking option 1, I can read this and revert back to the feeling of wanting to smack my computer screen.
So I'm choosing option 2 and using American Idol's Kris Allen's hurtful comment as further motivation to fight on, knowing that what we are doing by advocating for people with intellectual disabilities by calling for an end to the R-word is the right thing.
I hope you'll join me.
- Blog post
- 8 months ago
- Views: 1188
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O'Reilly Answers Youth
- From: 2009_Games_Fans
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Description:Bill O'Reilly recognized Special Olympics after youth attending the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games reached out to him about the word "retarded" being used by guest Dick Morris on the Feb 9 episode. He acknowledged that words matter and that the show (and everyone) shouldn't use the word.
- 9 months ago
- Views: 1278
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We heart Dr. Cox!
- From: MBFerlito
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Description:John C. McGinley dropped by the youth activities at World Games!
- 9 months ago
- Views: 1356
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Blair on Scrubs
- From: ryaneades
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Description:From left, actors Zach Braff, Blair Williamson, John C. McGinley on the set of "Scrubs"
- 9 months ago
- Views: 770
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