- Home
- News Grid
- Local News
- Green Hawk
- Politics
- School Zone
- Youth Camps
- Nonprofits
- Missing Pets
- Multimedia
- Arts
- Movies
- Outdoors
- Sports
- News Releases
- Columnists
- Blogs
- Opinions
- Classifieds
- Advertise
- Donate
- Partners
David Harsanyi: Are We Really That Thin-Skinned?
White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel is notoriously profane and uncouth. So it’s not surprising that The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Emanuel had referred to some congressional Democrats as “retarded” in a private meeting with strategists. This has sparked a national kerfuffle.
Who can quarrel about the word “retarded” in this context? It is obnoxious and unnecessary. We should do our best to avoid it. After all, our goal as Americans must be to offend the guilty (some congressional Democrats) without dragging the innocent (the mentally disabled) into the fray.
But what was even more disturbing than finding out that political hacks use demeaning references in private assemblies? It was watching those who usually complain about political correctness dig deep for some of their own artificial outrage and begin playacting the victim.
Do conservatives really believe that an impolite utterance in private should be a firing offense? To begin with, the word “retard,” unlike many other purposefully disparaging words, has legitimate meanings beyond insult. An example? Emanuel has a severe case of ideological retardation.
What is this guy supposed to do now, anyway? Emanuel apologized to the mentally disabled. He sincerely apologized to the mentally disabled. He apologized to the head of the Special Olympics for his remark (and was rejected). He probably apologized to God himself — and President Barack Obama, in return, almost surely forgave him.
Emanuel even joined a group whose sole mission is to eradicate the use of the word “retarded” from the English language.
Does intent matter? When a person uses the N word, without a doubt, he has a very specific subset of the population in mind. He uses it to smear an entire race. When a person drops what henceforth will be known as the R word — as many of us did regularly during childhood — there is no intent to denigrate those with disabilities.
Sarah Palin, whose youngest son has Down syndrome, asked the overwrought question “Are you capable of decency, Rahm Emanuel?” and demanded that the president fire Emanuel, as the word “retarded” is “a slur on all God’s children with cognitive and developmental disabilities.”
So dragging God’s children with cognitive and developmental disabilities into a political tussle isn’t that offensive?
Now, inevitably, someone will ask: What would happen to Karl Rove or another Republican if he made a similarly insensitive remark? I suspect it would look very much like the over-the-top reaction we’re witnessing today.
Palin went on to write: “Every day they suffer its dehumanizing effects — mockery, stigma, ridicule. This is a word that is incredibly damaging — not only to the 7 million people with intellectual disabilities in the United States, but also their friends, family and to all of us.”
In truth, in nearly every way, the lives of the mentally disabled have improved vastly, from the care they receive to the quality of their lives to the respect they are given.
Though I’ve heard the R word thrown around plenty (often, I’m sure you’ll be shocked to learn, directed at me), I can’t recall anyone’s using it as a pejorative to describe a person who was actually disabled. Far from ridiculing the disabled, our culture has humanized them.
Emanuel certainly deserves to be reprimanded. But if his offense is worthy of losing a job, you have to wonder whether we really are a nation of the perpetually offended.
— David Harsanyi is a columnist at The Denver Post and the author of Nanny State. Click here for more information, or click here to contact him.
Comments
Noozhawk's comments are moderated, but by posting here you accept your responsibility to follow our rules.
- No abusive, defamatory or libelous attacks. In plain English: No personal attacks.
- No vulgar or discriminatory language.
- If you do not follow these rules, don't be surprised if your comment is removed.
- Please use the Report Abuse button on offensive comments.
- Share what you know, ask about what you don't. Give us your eyewitness accounts, observations, background and history. Tell us what else you want to know about the story.
- Stay on the topic, PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK, and forgive people their spelling errors.
Noozhawk's intent is not to limit the discussion of our stories but to elevate it. Thank you for your respectful participation. Click here for our complete Terms of Use.
Comments are moderated, and will not appear until they've been approved.
» on 02.05.10 @ 09:55 PM
I am not applauding that someone on the left got a little of their own P.C. medicine, I just think we have gotten to the point of ridiculousness over usage of words and fear of offending anyone. Lighten up! Aren’t we being a little too sensitive?
Personally I think Rahm Emmanuel is a jerk, and I would not defend his actions, but not because of this comment. Let’s not apply double standards just because he is Rahm Emmanuel and deserves to be knocked down a few notches. He clearly meant no offense to those with “special needs” it is just an expression, that twenty years ago nobody would blink an eye at, because the word has a legitimate meaning! Retarded means slow to develop. When did it become a dirty word? Only when the Political Correctness wave came over us and liberals demanded that words be changed or “softened” to avoid hurting anyone’s feeelings.
We all know what he meant and it was not directed at the mentally “challenged”. I’m tired of people piling on every time someone has a slip of the tongue. He did not say it on a public platform. Lighten up! This whole thing is retarded.
» on 02.06.10 @ 08:08 AM
I agree that we are way over the top on the pc meter. However, don’t you think it is a bit more insulting when he uses the phrase
f…... retards? Why did you choose to not include that word when I continually heard the people refer to it on tv?
» on 02.06.10 @ 10:08 AM
I am no fan of Rahm Emanuel and can think of a number of ways he sets an abonimable example for which he should be out of public service. But I agree with the notion that we, as a species, have become too thin-skinned. And if people were honest with themselves, they would admit that most of the “outrage” is fabricated in a tit-for-tat response of which no one remembers the origin. Kind of like a lot of things these days. We need to get over ourselves.
» on 02.06.10 @ 01:24 PM
I have little hope for the Obama presidency, but it’s heartwarming to know that his top advisor talks like a high school bully. Does it really matter? No, it’s just provides a little more of a window into the types of people Obama surrounds himself with.
» on 02.06.10 @ 01:35 PM
Rahm Emanuel is not a friend of the Progressive Democrats movement in America. The language he uses IS important, in that his words taint the President’s opinion of specific groups of his constituency that should be listened to. Emanuel brushed off Progressive Democrats who are trying to implement REAL CHANGE in Washington with remarks like “Don’t worry about the progressives”, when Progressives got upset when the Public Option was left out of the Senate Health Reform Bill, and went so far as to sign a letter to not vote for a bill without it.
It appears that you, Mr. Harsanyi, are not a Progressive, or you would have been offended by his “retard” remark. That was such an unfortunate and degrading way to refer to people of any persuasion. The words ARE important because they can sway our president’s decisions away from doing what is right for the American people, even if it is in “private”. I definitely want him fired. He is the wrong choice to implement progressive change needed for our country.
» on 02.06.10 @ 01:50 PM
The language that most of our political leadership uses is not polite, or, if you will, politic. Nixon, Johnson and Cheney spring to mind, but there are probably examples out there for the majority of them. Not too far different from the rest of us, really.
» on 02.06.10 @ 03:28 PM
Well, I don’t care much for Emanuel either. He is a total self serving jerk, right out of the south Chicago political machine Obama was tutored in. What I find even more fascinating is that so many of you liberal/progressive elites were so inculcated in your ideology that no matter how often we warned you about these people you just covered your ears and eyes and shut it all out.
With that said the only redeeming value Emanuel has is that he has made enemies with the progressives. Hopefully he can confuse the immature and inexperienced man-child president enough that no progressive policies ever make it through. The last thing humanity needs is more of what Europe has to offer.
To Lois and Van, go live in a progressive country for a while, if you enjoy it stay, if not welcome back to the alternative and yes we like having that choice. Quit trying to rob us of it.
» on 02.06.10 @ 04:27 PM
This is one instance where I actually agree with a (choke) progressive. I think he should be fired. But I want him to stay since he does so much for the opposition.
Growing up in the south-side of Chicago, I’m very familiar with its brand of “bring on the union baseball bats” politics. I have met Mr. Emanuel three times, spoke with him twice. After each exposure I truly felt the need for a shower. Bottom line he will not get fired - he knows where the bodies are - and he will damage the progressive agenda. He is a true window into the soul of his boss. All things considered, not a bad situation for the rest of the nation. Daniel Petry
» on 02.06.10 @ 11:05 PM
The men of America have been feminized by the weaker sex??
» on 02.08.10 @ 06:37 PM
Just because you can’t recall anyone’s using the word retarded as a pejorative, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Pretty closed minded of you to only defend what you know. Go to Facebook and look up these groups:
I Hate Retards
I Always Write Like a Retard on my First Day Back at School
I Hate Mongoloids and Retards
Facebook Retards
We Hate F..king Retards who make Stupid Groups
Short Bus
I Hate Retards so F..king Much
Okay, if your skin hasn’t grown any thinner, go to YouTube and just type in Retards where you’ll have the pleasure of watching over 1000 videos dedicated to having typical kids mock people with disabilities.
I could go on and on but I think you get what I’m saying.
Having a child with a disability doesn’t give me a thin skin. It just empowers to stick up for my child every time I hear a slur that mocks her and her abilities.
More Local News »
Salud Carbajal and Bill Cirone: Healthy Kids Program Gets Great Results
Providing health insurance is a benefit not only to needy children, but to their families, care facilities and the community
Michael Rattray: Preservation vs. Retreat at Goleta Beach Park
A permanent solution is critical to maintaining the value of the community treasure
Joe Conason: Right Wing Gone Wild
Elizabeth Cheney, Glenn Beck et al take accusations of treason to the extreme
David Harsanyi: Actually, Process Does Matter
Sometimes process is vital to protecting the American people
Tony Strickland: State Health-Care Bill an Ill Fit for Californians
Voters should have the power to protect themselves from state and federal health-care mandates
Weather: º
Search Noozhawk »
