Here's Special Olympics' official response to Obama's statement.  Not only
did Obama apologize, he personally called Timothy Shriver, the executive
director of Special Olympics, to do so.


MARCH 20, 2009
OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM SPECIAL OLYMPICS CHAIRMAN TIMOTHY SHRIVER

REGARDING U.S. PRESIDENT OBAMA S COMMENT ON THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO
President Obama called last night and expressed his regret and he
apologized. He said that he
did not intend to humiliate Special Olympics athletes or people with
intellectual disabilities. He was
sincere and heartfelt, and said that he is a fan of our movement and is
ready to work with our
athletes to make the United States a more accepting and welcoming country
for all people with
special needs.

"Words hurt and words matter. Words can cause pain and result in stereotypes
that are unfair and
damaging to people with intellectual disabilities. And using Special
Olympics in a negative or
derogatory context can be a humiliating put-down to people with special
needs.
This is a teachable moment for our country. We are asking young people,
parents and leaders
from all walks of life to engage in conversation and help dispel negative
caricatures about people
with intellectual disabilities. We believe that it s only through open
conversation and dialogue about
how stereotypes can cause pain that we can begin to work together to create
communities of
acceptance and inclusion for all."

Special Olympics is not a program, but a worldwide movement operating 30,000
events a year in
more than 180 countries. Every one of them is a chance for people of all
ages to get involved, to
think differently about attitudes and perceptions they may have about people
with intellectual
disabilities, and to make a difference.
And so we challenge people to join our Spread the Word to End the Word
campaign, a youth-led
national awareness effort that will launch on March 31, where we are asking
people to pledge their
respect for people with special needs. We re asking people to sign our
R-word pledge, to join in
our Unified Sports programs, to volunteer, and to be fans of our athletes
and our movement.
Additionally, we challenge policy leaders at all levels to commit to
improving the support and
resources for people with intellectual disabilities in areas such as
healthcare, education, housing
and recreation.
Finally, we invite the President to take the lead and consider hiring a
Special Olympics athlete to
work in the White House. In so doing, he could help end misperceptions about
the talents and
abilities of people with intellectual disabilities, and demonstrate their
dignity and value to the world.
Contact:
Kirsten Suto Seckler
Special Olympics
[log in to unmask]
-- 

Kendall

An unreasonable man (but my wife says that's redundant!)

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one
persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress
depends on the unreasonable man.

-George Bernard Shaw 1856-1950


On Fri, Mar 20, 2009 at 3:09 PM, Meir Weiss <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

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