When I was in high school, I had a teacher who had a three year old daughter with down syndrome.  She talked about how hurtful and insulting it was when she heard people say "retarded" in a derogatory way.  So she started an organization called "Spread the Word to End the Word" in order to raise awareness about down sydrome and about the harm you could cause someone by just throwing that word around.  A lot of people in our school got really involved, and "Spread the Word to End the Word" started to spread.  Other schools and businesses started to hear about it and contributed to the cause.  I never stood out on the street with a huge poster or anything like that, but I did start fussing people for using the word "retarded" in a derogatory way, which definitely could be considered out of the ordinary.  You should have seen the look on my sister's face when I yelled at her for saying "My science teacher is retarded" when she came home from school one day.  However, both my sisters are more aware of that word now and are more careful about what they say.  My mother had her boyfriend's father over to dinner one evening, and he was saying that he should be able to say "retarded" whenever he wants because of his constitutional rights.  You should have heard me then.  I had never felt like such an activist before that night.  So although it was one of my teachers who created the organization, I feel like I've become an advocate for people with down syndrome and their families, and hopefully I can continue to raise awareness in my everyday life.  One way I can be an activist is to spread awareness in our WGS class, so SPREAD THE WORD TO END THE WORD :)