Posted on 08/22/2010 6:04:04 AM PDT by KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle
Jennifer Aniston is in hot water for using a politically incorrect term on “Live with Regis & Kelly” Thursday morning.
While promoting her flick “The Switch,” Aniston discussed her recent Barbra Streisand-inspired photo shoot for “Harper’s Bazaar” on the show. "Yeah, I got to play dress up,” Jen said to Regis, “I do it for a living, like a retard!"
Now, disability advocates are bashing the actress for her word choice.
A rep for the Special Olympics tells “Us Weekly,” "People with intellectual disabilities have fought their whole lives for understanding and recognition. When people continue to use the R word, it's hurtful."
(Excerpt) Read more at entertainment.blogs.foxnews.com ...
the question could be directed at me too since i side with Mare
Retarded people are truly a different category than most any of these. I would say that people with real physical disabilities should also be in general not used that way, but other categories perhaps should have less or minimal blanket respect. But when you make “N” word jokes and fat jokes (corzine’s backfired), remember other people will exercise their rights and discount your views more than if you didnt say these things. What are you trying to accomplish really? To effect real policy change by influencing “Independents” showing that your better ideas reflect better people or just prove that we all have a right to be risk being held as obnoxious if and when we feel like it? It is as simple as what we learned as 10 year olds. “pick on someone your own size”. Dont use retarded people as props. Jen A could have said called herself an “effin moron” to the same effect, or as “stupid as a rethuglican” and nobody would care.
Humor to the extent it dehumanizes innocent people is wrong. A person may have a right to say it, but you risk forfeiting moral/political capital in the public square the more one uses it. Just like the Muzzies have a right to that GZM, but it would be very foolish of them to force the issue.
Each utterance for your other categories has so much context that it is difficult to make blanket statements. People with healthy self-esteem should not mind a joke or two at their expense in most circumstances; can people who dish it out, take it? . Not that people should get terminated from their jobs etc for such comments, but it does suggest a promotion to a supervisory position might be problematic. Knowing when to keep one’s mouth shut is a big part of maturity.
the fact you are called a “retard” is not the point. You arent one, and i suspect that the person who called you that knows it very well. The person could call you an idiot or effin moron and incur no PC issues.
the problem is that “retard” is a slang, dismissive term for retarded person and it uses such an innocent person as a prop; it dehumanizes them and they are innocent, probably closer to God than most anyone on FR. “The first shall be last and the last first”, no?
use the term if you feel it is that important but if you want to make inroads with people whom you want to influence on important issues of the day, you might consider backing off if it
of course it’s an abomination, but they are arguing they have the right to do it, and so they have, and maybe others will exercise their rights and refuse to build/service it
the problem is this country used to be Judeo-Christian and one thing the Founders were naive on is that those underpinnings could remain without strict reference to those religions. So afraid they were of theocracy. For the last 100 years, more money can be made by our elites as social mores are relaxed and now the Muzzies are used as a club against the Christians. What our Idiot Elites dont figure on is the Muzzies will turn on them first, because we Christians are becoming insignificant anyway. The reality is that cultures that are so different should not mix but here we are with millions of them here. What a disaster in the making.
Man you people are sooooooooo politically correct. Slang is part of the American Heritage. There are hundreds of slang terms for people who are stupid and it we eliminate all of them from our vocabulary then the only way we can insult someone for being stupid is to call them by the politically correct terms.
I think that people who complain and moan and cry and weep because Jeniffer Aniston happened to call HERSELF a "retard" are DEVELOPMENTALLY CHALLENGED!!!!
Are you insulted because I'm calling your DEVELOPMENTALLY CHALLENGED, OR MENTALLY DIFFERENT, OR EDUCATIONALLY CHALLENGED??? What is the difference if I call you a retard or a Mentally Challenged liberal in Conservative clothing? You're still poisoned by political correctness.
What slang term for a stupid person do you use?
Feel free to use it on me.
I'm sure it will offend somebody..... else.
You don't this "stupid" is a disability?
I know plenty of people who are striken with the disability called "stupid". Most of them are liberals, but you find a few of them right here on Free Republic. Maybe I'm one of them.
What if I called a "Developmentally Challenged" person "stupid"? Would you feel better about that than if I called them "retarded"?
Yeah, and it was based on a number one selling book.
As I said, I don’t hate her, I just think she gets
involved with a lot of B movies that don’t do well
and whatever magic she may have had is fading away.
No one said she wasn’t attractive. Owen Wilson starred with her in a movie and tried to kill himself. Brad Pitt dumped her because she is selfish...John Mayer, Man Whore, dumped her. Vince Vaughn, dumped her, etc. See a pattern here?
Sean Young and John Candy made the same mistakes. So it goes.
I've heard folks refer to retards as "Angels".
Somehow I just never pictured angels with poopy pants.
slang among your own kind in private, obviously the harm is much mitigated if not reduced to insignificance in this context. I am not judging anyone “bad” just because they say something like this, esp in private. Only God knows, but I do believe in public it is even more disrespectful to retarded people and hurts Christian conservatives even more so culpability rises
Jen A is a liberal actress and for libs, Abortion rights trumps all; I doubt she pays for this remark at all; but the remark made public on national TV is a window to her soul as if her Abortion rights dont already tell us everything.
For conservative people to publically utter such things is more risky b/c 1) it is wrong to use retarded people as props 2) the MSM will blow out of proportion this wrong and use it to club us, while Ted the Swimmer and Charlie the Scammer go on their merry way. What they do is rob working Americans everyday and that is worse form of disrespect. We need to point that out sad but true MSM doesnt help and screaming “unfair” usually isnt decisive in an election
I am not pissed at you. You can call me anything, even R word. It’s not about me, it’s about respecting Retarded people. And what is point of me calling you stupid? See the tagline
Jen A could have said she was a dumb as GWBush or Cheney, or a Rethuglican and she would have not have used retarded people as a prop. Bush or Cheney would laugh it off, consider the source. I am not really not as bad as you think. At no time do I it is wrong to call someone stupid (although politically and truthfully more accurate to say someone’s ideas are stupid or misinformed—remember FR says “no personal attacks”))
My point is about being as civil as possible in public discourse so we can respect those truly less fortunate thru no fault of their own and then advocate for less government, lower taxes, etc.
Why is the F word banned on FR? I dont hardly even see the sh word. No one on this thread complains about JimRob rules here. Is that PC too?
No, using profanity is weak and low-rent and again in a public setting HURTS your cause. “free speech” not withstanding. DU is absolutely revolting, besides their ideas, these people have got to be the biggest jerks.
You’ve made my hummer. Your ignorance is quite sad.
Yeah, it’s not hard to become yesterday’s news in Tinsel Town.
You’ve made my point hummer. Your ignorance is quite sad.
LOL!
I thought "retarded" was now a derogatory term to call anyone, especially someone who is actually "retarded". The new politically correct terminology is "mentally challenged" or "mentally different" or whatever the new correct politically correct term is now, until it is later called "offensive" by someone because it then gets into the vernacular as a slang term for a stupid person.
You ought to be ashamed of yourself. You are acting like a mentally challenged person calling developmentally challenged people "retarded".
Repent.
Don’t be such a retard.
-tärd
)
re : re-, re- + tardre, to delay (from tardus, slow).]er n.“brilliant” answer, a regular Thomas Aquinas arent you?
Now, see how far this type of comment will get you as you try to persuade others on other issues. HG, your probably a great worker, and maybe a war hero, and I truly thank you for those things, just as we should John McCain.
Keep your queer fantasies to yourself.
Freakin' perverted retard.
the off limit R word is the abbreviated, slang form.
“Retarded” used to specifically refer to people with significant intellectual diabilities i dont see as being pejorative when used in a respectful courteous manner. It is easier to say and type one word; i’d like to keep it, if possible. I suppose the word could be misused too, (”i missed the shot, i must be retarded”) but the other R word is clearly slang and dismissive. As I have conceded all along there is context, and degrees of harm, therefore judgment is required.
George Carlin was absolutely right, in how we’ve watered-down the language with euphemisms:
Cripples! Simple honest direct language. There is no shame attached to the word cripple that I can find in any dictionary. No shame attached to it, in fact it’s a word used in bible translations. Jesus healed the cripples. Doesn’t take seven words to describe that condition. But we don’t have any cripples in this country anymore. We have The physically challenged. Is that a grotesque enough evasion for you? How about differently abled. I’ve heard them called that. Differently abled! You can’t even call these people handicapped anymore. They’ll say, “We’re not handicapped. We’re handicapable!” These poor people have been ....... by the system into believing that if you change the name of the condition, somehow you’ll change the condition. Well, hey cousin, ppsssspptttttt. Doesn’t happen. Doesn’t happen.
We have no more deaf people in this country, hearing impaired. No ones blind anymore, partially sighted or visually impaired. We have no more stupid people. Everyone has a learning disorder...or he’s minimally exceptional. How would you like to be told that about your child? “He’s minimally exceptional.” “Oohh, thank god for that.” Psychologists actually have started calling ugly people, those with severe appearance deficits. It’s getting so bad, that any day now I expect to hear a rape victim referred to as an unwilling sperm recipient.
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