Driving my daughter home from school, I caught the first fifteen minutes of All Things Considered. First up, a story on the “bipartisan” seating arrangements between Democratic and Republican congress-things during tomorrow’s State of the Union address. Secondly came a piece on the speech itself, discussed by Mara Liasson with an emphasis on the “narrative” that Obama will need to frame the next two years until the 2012 election. And finally, NPR brought us the earth-shattering news that the 2012 Obama reelection headquarters had set up in Chicago, not in or near Washington, DC as so many presidential campaign teams have done in the past.
And NPR listeners love to pride themselves on being so well-informed.
Look, I know FOXNews is a black hole of disinformation and reactionary ideology, but you don’t have to be a screaming right wing bottom-feeder to get frustrated by the superficial banalities of its more “respectable” rivals. You could be a perfectly sane human being hoping to learn something about the world or get some information about how and why it is in such terrible shape. If Tom Coburn and Chuck Schumer start giving each other handjobs tomorrow night, it still won’t drive down the cost of health care or the rate of unemployment.
The last time I checked retarded didn’t mean stupid unless of course you’re using it as an insult. People with special needs are asking you to not use a word they view as marginalizing. Isn’t that enough for you or don’t you believe that they count as human beings? I can only say shame shame shame. Let’s hope ignorance isn’t contagious for your daughter’s sake.
The word has drifted around a lot in common usage — though I suspect it derives its potency from associations with people who have intellectual disabilities.
But I take your point — at least, the one without the shame-finger-wagging and the ignorance-implying. FTR, I do think they count as human beings.