Politics

Special Olympics Athlete Writes Open Letter To Coulter After ‘Retard’ Comment

Conservative commentator Ann Coulter drew the ire of many when she tweeted that President Barack Obama acted like a “retard” during the third presidential debate, and Special Olympics athlete John Franklin Stephens proudly called her out for it in a guest blog post for the organization.

“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,” Stephens wrote. “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 went on to state that Coulter was making a negative reference to mentally challenged individuals when she labeled Obama a “retard,” a shame since such a comparison should be viewed as a “badge of honor”:

“After I saw your tweet, I realized you just wanted to belittle the President by linking him to people like me. You assumed that people would understand and accept that being linked to someone like me is an insult and you assumed you could get away with it and still appear on TV. Well, Ms. Coulter, you, and society, need to learn that being compared to people like me should be considered a badge of honor. No one overcomes more than we do and still loves life so much.”

After inviting her to the Special Olympics, Stephens signed the letter as, “A friend you haven’t made yet, John Franklin Stephens.”

Methinks it’s time for her to put a moratorium on that word. Coulter prides herself on saying whatever she wants and taking offense to nothing, but there really was no legitimate reason for her to go there. Time to grow up a little.

TAGS: Ann Coulter

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