Thursday, October 25, 2012

Special Olympian Pens Retort to Pundit's ?Retard? Debate Tweet ...

Ann Coulter and John Franklin Stephens

KANSAS CITY, Mo. ? A Special Olympian has penned a sharp retort to conservative pundit Ann Coulter after she referred to President Barack Obama as a ?retard? in a tweet following Monday night?s debate.

John Franklin Stephens, 30, who has Down syndrome, wrote the open letter to Coulter on the Special Olympics website that explains why her use of the word as an insult was hurtful.

Coulter, who has a long history of acid-tongued punditry, posted the following tweet following Monday night?s presidential debate between President Obama and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

When asked by Politicker.com for a clarification on the tweet, Coulter said,?The only people who will be offended are too retarded to understand it.?

In a response, Stephens said that he struggled to figure out a way to respond to Coulter?s use of the word ?retard.?

?I?m a 30 year old man with Down syndrome who has struggled with the public?s perception that an intellectual disability means that I am dumb and shallow,? wrote Stephens. ?I am not either of those things, but I do process information more slowly than the rest of you.? In fact it has taken me all day to figure out how to respond to your use of the R-word last night.?

Stephens says that he realized Coulter was trying to insult the President by linking him to people like Stephens, and says that Coulter assumed that she would be able to get away with using the word and get away with it.

?Well, Ms. Coulter, you, and society, need to learn that being compared to people like me should be considered a badge of honor,? said Stephens, who invited Coulter to attend the Special Olympics. ?No one overcomes more than we do and still loves life so much.?

Click here to read the open letter on the Special Olympics blog.

Source: http://fox4kc.com/2012/10/24/special-olympian-pens-retort-to-pundits-retard-debate-tweet/

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