This week, it’s Ann Coulter who, being who she is and having the job of using any means necessary to shock and make more money, used the word “retarded” to describe President Obama. I’m not going to debate politics, or whatever she could have possibly meant by such a school-girl insult, coming from the body of an obviously intelligent and calculated adult. Instead, you can read this articulate and ultimately generous post by Special Olympics athlete John Franklin Stephens, “An Open Letter to Ann Coulter.”
I’m not going to relate, either, how personally disgusting and painful it is to me, you can read one mom’s journey with the R-word here: “The R Word — It Is Personal.”
Instead, I’m going to focus on the CHOICE – because it is a real choice – of adults who continue to use this word in public. You can censor anything you say. I’ve done it myself. I know plenty of people who use profanity in their own lives, like the “f” word, who never say it in public. I know other who say it around adults but never around their children.
What comes out of your mouth is simply a choice, and it tells the REST of us where your heart lies. (For those who are wondering, it really tells us whether you are a true Christian or not.)
Sure, maybe it’s gotten better. Timothy Shriver was on “Real Time with Bill Maher” last year discussing the real reasons the “R-word” is unacceptable, and Maher actually seemed to get it and the implications for the world of comedy. I hope he adjusted his language.
I just reviewed that questionable Stephen Colbert episode about Sarah Palin being an “F-ing R-word.” I get what he was trying to do, but it’s still absolutely unacceptable. And watching that video ensures me that Mrs. Palin will be silent on this subject unless she defends it because like Colbert and Coulter, it must serve her purpose FIRST (God second, I guess).
Further, this fall, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss won an Emmy for “Veep,” which I stopped watching after the “hoist your retard” remark. No one even seemed to FLINCH about that one. And while Robert Downey Jr.’s R-word rant in “Tropic Thunder” goes beyond cringe-worthy after a second or two, I didn’t hear anyone complain about the way Kal Penn carelessly tossed it around in “Harold & Kumar go to White Castle.”
At least it’s gotten to the point where hearing that word makes some us prick up our ears and feel sick. I imagine there was a breaking point like this for other words as well, such as the “n” word. I hope and pray we can remove this from our lexicon and give people who struggle with learning the respect and value they deserve as human beings. We are better than this, people.
Wanna do something? Join r-word.org and help destroy this word forever.
