Dear Mr. Musk,
As one of our country’s leading business figures, you have the opportunity to influence the hearts and minds of millions of people in this country and around the world.
People with intellectual disabilities—one of the largest groups of people with disabilities in the world—have suffered generations of discrimination and humiliation. They have been institutionalized, mocked, rejected by schools, denied healthcare, experimented upon and dehumanized. The injustice and indignities have led to unspeakable tragedy and loss of life. With cruel taunts and contemptuous labels—retard, moron, imbecile—this injustice has flourished.
In the 21st century, they, together with their families and friends, are leading a battle for the simplest form of justice: the justice that comes with a recognition of their full humanity. People of goodwill around the world are working to open the doors of schools, healthcare institutions, employers and communities to the gifts of people with intellectual disabilities. Globally, changes in policy and practice have led to hopeful new opportunities and, perhaps most importantly, to a new dawn of dignity and joy.
In their eyes and in the hearts of millions of others who love and care about them, language is an important part of the change we seek. So together, we have chosen to try to sensitize others to the pervasive but often ignored prejudice they suffer by asking for a change of language and a change of heart.
In this effort, over 15 years ago, Special Olympics and Best Buddies joined with hundreds of thousands of activists to launch our “Spread the Word to End the Word” campaign aimed at transforming the perception that the R-word is acceptable. The good news is that the world has largely welcomed the awareness of the cruel taunts and has begun to change. Classrooms are becoming more tolerant, communities are becoming more accepting, and the workplace is becoming more inclusive as people with intellectual disabilities are seen for what we’ve always known them to be—people of value who help us all to understand we are each gifted in unique ways. But this change is too slow, and each use of the R-word as a synonym for a stupid action, a schoolyard taunt, or the punch line of a joke slows our progress immeasurably.
Many are joining us in asking our communities to pledge never to use the word again—not as a joke or a description of behavior, not as an epithet. In our experience, when we ask people—be they first graders or media figures—to join in stopping the casual use of the word "retarded," they universally agree to do so. Most want to go further: they want to understand better how they can serve as agents of acceptance and dignity. For these reasons, we invite you to meet with our athletes to understand their perspectives. They will surely ask you to end your use of the R-word and join them in building a future where dignity and welcome are the expectations of everyone in our great country.
This is a teachable moment for our entire movement. May we ask you to join us now by using your great influence and position to help us continue to build a future of welcome for all?
Best wishes,
