By Rianne Barnes, Special to The Voice
The Chatham-Kent Police Service (CKPS) has joined the YELLOWCARD Campaign in support of the Special Olympics.
The Chatham-Kent Police Service showed its support of this campaign in the form of a video, which can be seen here.
The YELLOWCARD Campaign, created by the organization Motionball, aims to end casual use of the R-word from use in everyday conversation. For more than 850, 000 Canadians with an intellectual disability, the use of the R-word invokes memories of being bullied, demeaned, and of times of being told that they are outsiders, not worthy of respect.
Motionball is a not-for-profit organization that builds awareness and raises funds for the Special Olympics Canada Foundation (SOCF).
Special Olympic athletes have spoken out about how harmful the use of the R-Word is to them. Motionball has stated on its website that regardless of its intended use, the R-Word is offensive to the athletes that they are supporting.
To further explain the concept behind the campaign, a yellow card used in sports is shown to a player as a warning. It is a way of informing the athlete that they have crossed the line, perhaps without even intending to.
The goal of YELLOWCARD is to inform and engage without being punitive or threatening. This campaign is designed to educate the public that the R-word is an offensive word and is a form of bullying.
