Monday, April 14, 2014

Guest post by Stacey Calcano: "An Open Letter to Author John Green On His Perpetuation of The Use of the R-word"

  • Dear Mr. Green,
  • I’ve just finished reading “An Abundance of Katherines” and have previously read: “The Fault in Our Stars,” “Looking for Alaska,” and “Will Grayson, Will Grayson.” As a woman of 40+ plus I have probably read more of your books than many of my peers. My oldest daughter, who is 17, and her friends are huge fans of your work and I read the above-listed books at her suggestion. I must admit that I have enjoyed your writing style, your penchant for weaving characters together, your ability to keep the reader interested throughout and your sense of humor.
  • Sadly, there is a part of your writing that I have not enjoyed….your repeated use of the word “retarded” and its many iterations as a slur. My youngest son, who is 2 years old, was born with Down syndrome. He was born into a world where many people think he should never have been born, where people think it’s okay to ridicule him simply because he has an extra chromosome. They judge him and the person he will become, before they’ve even laid eyes on him. Now, I’m sure you did not mean your use of the R-word as an insult or a slur towards my son, or those like him. I’m sure your intent was not to offend, but to use vernacular that is widely used by your reader base. What you may not realize, is that your use of the word reinforces the negative connotation and normalizes its use amongst teenagers. When these types of slurs are accepted they enable disenfranchisement on a very large scale. What I didn’t notice in your writing was the use of other slurs. Slurs such as the N-word, gay, homo, fag, the list could go on and on of words that were once widely used and with impunity in our society. These words were often used in order to garner a cheap laugh at the expense of others. As African American and LGBT rights have flourished, the use of these words became less and less acceptable. People began to realize that words have the ability to target and diminish and entire population of people. In today’s world, people with cognitive disabilities and their families and advocates are asking society to stop using the word “retarded” and all of its many mutations for the exact same reasons. It demoralizes and diminishes an entire population of people, sight unseen. At a minimum, I do hope that you will reconsider your use of the word in future writings. It would also be amazing if you would take a vocal stand against the use of the word and join the “Spread the Word, to end the Word” campaign. Just think of the impact you could have. http://r-word.org/

Respectfully, Stacey Calcano (mother of 4, ages 2 to 17)

6 comments:

  1. Of all people, you'd think that writers would understand the power of words. Yet, we are all still learning. I hope that Mr. Green acknowledges the weight of his choices.

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  2. Stacey - Can you provide me with a few examples of how he uses it? I'd like to amplify this story. Thanks!

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  3. Abundance of Katherines - why are you such a tard, Colon Cancer? Even though Colin's name... - okay, this sounds retarded. But anyway, I guess I do want to matter a little. - This will sound retarded, but can I just tell you about that picture... - ...so complicated that a match tad like me won't understand... Look for Alaska - That's retarded. All right, no truce...

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  4. oops, should say 'math tard' in that fourth one

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  5. I am always amazed at how prevalent "retard" and "retarded" are in contemporary literature but all kinds of authors. It seems that I cannot read a novel (and I read A LOT of books) without seeing the r-word in it somewhere. It's gotten to the point that I'm almost waiting for it every time I open a new book. I'm currently listening to The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt on audio - a bestseller that just won the Pulitzer Prize - and I've lost count of how many times it says "retarded."

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  6. I usually put the book down. It's just unnecessary. Though, I did get through the entire Breaking Bad series and it was in there a few times; but I felt like it wasn't over done and usually, it was someone totally clueless saying it. It makes a difference to me; the context, not that I like hearing it in any context.

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