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One might say the tongue gives life or it gives a bloody death. With it you can share love or give pain. One might ask, how did you use your tongue in your life. Whether you mean it or not, this article from the Huffington post clearly points out 'THE R-WORD HURTS.'

The article continues down a discourse to explain the irresponsible use of the word from people of all tracks of life,

It spreads like an infection from person to person. It seems as though perfectly nice people who "mean no harm" get bitten by hearing others using the term while "meaning no harm." And so it goes, from person to person, until it becomes so common that even Presidential Chiefs of Staff, radio talk show hosts, movie characters and famous political pundits use the nasty slur -- then say they "meant no harm."

Why does it hurt so much though, what is the implication whenever the 'R-Word' pops-up. To the people with the disability it strips them from their humanity and identifies them as 'thing.'

"Let's face it, nobody uses the word as a term of praise. At best, it is used as another way of saying "stupid" or "loser." At worst, it is aimed directly at me as a way to label me as an outcast -- a thing, not a person. I am not stupid. I am not a loser. I am not a thing. I am a person."

What is it that makes a person a person. Is it based on a person intellectual capacity? Or even physical capacity? How do you fully live? They live nonetheless, but with greater difficulties than some. Does that make them more of a champion?

"People who live with an intellectual disability do not have an easy life. We have to fight to understand what the rest of you take for granted. We fight for education. We fight to live among the rest of you. We struggle to make friends. We often are ignored, even when we have something to say. We fight so hard to be seen as whole people. It hurts so much, after all that struggle, to hear you casually use a term that means that you assume we are less than whole."

The solution to the r-word issue is the determination to 'aim at the heart.' The people much acknowledge that as much as they dislike hearing the r-word, responding with love and smiles will leave both sides feeling much better about themselves.