Columnist: Rahm Emanuel ‘picked on the wrong people’
February 4th, 2010
Boston Herald columnist Lauren Beckham Falcone says White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel is getting a much-deserved dressing down for his use of the slur “f — ing retarded” during a strategy meeting. An excerpt:
A discreet “my bad” just doesn’t cut it anymore when it comes to mocking the intellectually disabled.
Here’s the deal: the R-word is not an innocuous euphemism. It’s as hateful and belittling and bullying as racial slurs and homophobic epithets and sexual harassment. Yet people still think it’s their God-given right to ridicule those with learning disabilities. “Ava-tards,” “celebu-tards.” Even President Obama compared his poor bowling skills to those of Special Olympians.
Every time someone uses the R-word it reduces a group of people — people who struggle to learn, to keep up, to belong — to nothing. The R-word serves only to remind them they are worth less than everyone else.
Emanuel’s crash course in civility isn’t party politics or political correctness. It’s about respect.
And the last group to get any is the intellectually disabled.
Until now.
(Boston Herald photo)
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February 5th, 2010 at 2:22 pm
Ben York, you don’t know anything about toddlers with Down’s, do you? This isn’t really the right forum for you to lecture people about the “needs” of kids with Down’s. We’re family here. We know that toddlers with Down’s need to be visible. They need to be stimulated, and a mother who proudly flaunts her child encourages other parents not to be ashamed of theirs, not to isolate them, not to indulge society’s prejudice against the disabled by keeping them discreetly tucked out of view.
Dennis Miller and Rush Limbaugh are jerks. But we knew that. What we didn’t know was that Rahm Emmanuel was too.
February 4th, 2010 at 3:39 pm
Who will tell Sarah Palin, that using/exploiting her disabled child for political events, money raising, and book signing is not only inappropriate, it is very abusive. Any person who work with disabled individual in non-profit or State agency will be accused of mistreatment and abuse of disabled child in this situation. Charges will be filed and staff will loose a job. Imagine any human being traveling from Alaska to Arizona when temperature difference is extremely difficult to deal with for any person without Palin’s disabled son’s health condition. What do we know about his medication needs and their administration in different states?
Where are all disabled people advocates and their effort to save this child. Don’t they see this child attached to Mrs. Palin’s waist like a rag doll and drugged across the country from hotel to hotel, in cars, buses airplanes and other transporters?
Mrs. Palin subjected her disabled child to media exploitation,ridicule, inappropriate language and source of jokes.
Mr. Dennis Miller made good money and his entire career to call people like Palin’s son- retards. Other entertainers followed his footsteps. The prominent talk show host Rush Limbaugh included this word in his vocabulary to practice his hate language. His listeners with delight call Rush and repeat word for word this disgusting slur.
Even more importantly, the majority of conservative politicians who take directions from Rush for years don’t see anything wrong with his slur. The question is, are we going to ask them to make the law preventing others to call people ” the retard”?
Ben York
February 4th, 2010 at 2:17 pm
My comment today is quite simple. Yes we need to focus on the big issues. But guess what? This is the opportunity to do that. It is in the limelight so make it work for people with cognitive disabilities Invite Rahm and company to a few events. Have them tape some PSA’s. Go for it…