As of this writing, Coulter is still using “retarded” in the pejorative, which leads one to believe that she’s aware of this letter, and simply doesn’t care. “Free speech” is part of Ann Coulter’s brand, and she’ll by God use “retard” however she wants. I hate to even give her even a fragment of the attention she desperately craves, but this letter is astonishingly thoughtful, sensitive, and beautiful. You know — all the things Ann Coulter isn’t.
The following is a guest post in the form of an open letter from Special Olympics athlete and global messenger John Franklin Stephens to Ann Coulter after this tweet during last night’s Presidential debate.
Dear Ann Coulter,
Come on Ms. Coulter, you aren’t dumb and you aren’t shallow. So why are you continually using a word like the R-word as an insult?
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. 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.
I thought first of asking whether you meant to describe the President as someone who was bullied as a child…
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Lisa McColgan 
Thanks for posting this. I agree with you, it’s a beautiful letter. And Ann Coulter remains… true to form–as ignorant and irritating as ever.
I from down under, so I hadn’t even heard of the unfortunate ms coulter before your repost. Now I’ve done some fact checking (lol) I know so much about her…. I feel unclean.
Assholes like her make their money by being in the news, and offending just about everybody is a sure fire way to get in the news I guess. Hell, next thing she’ll be denying the holocaust (except there might be real money to lot in that gambit). We’ve got our shock jocks and other scum bag columnists (the are universally conservative in their politics surprisingly) and they just appall me (almost as much as right wing politicians).
These people don’t value free speech to make a difference, but rather to hide behind. They totally shit me and I wouldn’t piss on them if they were on fire.
I’ve met many people with DS in my time and they are universally delightful.
So you know my placid opinion, cheers Paul!