Seven months ago, my sister and brother-in-law welcomed a nephew into the world. He’s precious, born early, always smiling and named after his uncle, who’s so proud of him he beams when his name is mentioned.
He was born with Down’s Syndrome.
We all knew months in advance that the little guy had a chromosomal disorder and that he would always be special. We also knew that we would be dealing with uncouth people and we were prepared for that as an extended family.
So, when Rahm Emmanuel say the word “f’ing retarded” and Rush Limbaugh says the word “retarded” in a way that I thought was hurtful let us remember that both men said it an ugly way.This is Rush’s Operational way of doing things, I get that, but it doesn’t mean he’s above criticism. A national argument has ensued over if our nation is becoming too politically correct.
We had to sit down with my nieces and say that it was never good to say. Mary Mancini posted today the ludicrousness of recent Tennessee visitor Sarah Palin’s reaction to the word via Stephen Colbert. Palin has a son with Down’s too.
My family discussed Palin may be okay with it but with the partisan slant of saying it was cool for Rush to say it but not Rahm, we felt all three of them were wrong. We may not be a former vice-president, but we don’t use it. We may not be the Chief of Staff, but we don’t use it. And we may not be a millionaire talk show host, we still don’t use that word. It’s uncouth, no matter what you do for a living and no matter what your position of power is.
Why don’t we use it in our family? Because it’s rude.
Despite what folks may think, and I’ve written this before, when we have such a beautiful language why do we have to resort to saying words that have real hurt for real people behind them.
My sister’s nephew has been hospitalized several times in the few short months he’s been here. He has loving parents, just like the Palins, that want him to have the best quality of life available.
Being called or saying the word “retard” doesn’t fit into creating a better life, no matter who says it.
Tags: Down's Syndrome, Rahm Emmanuel, Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin
T. Sharp on Twitter (@newscoma)
Born With Down’s Syndrome
Seven months ago, my sister and brother-in-law welcomed a nephew into the world. He’s precious, born early, always smiling and named after his uncle, who’s so proud of him he beams when his name is mentioned.
He was born with Down’s Syndrome.
We all knew months in advance that the little guy had a chromosomal disorder and that he would always be special. We also knew that we would be dealing with uncouth people and we were prepared for that as an extended family.
So, when Rahm Emmanuel say the word “f’ing retarded” and Rush Limbaugh says the word “retarded” in a way that I thought was hurtful let us remember that both men said it an ugly way.This is Rush’s Operational way of doing things, I get that, but it doesn’t mean he’s above criticism. A national argument has ensued over if our nation is becoming too politically correct.
We had to sit down with my nieces and say that it was never good to say. Mary Mancini posted today the ludicrousness of recent Tennessee visitor Sarah Palin’s reaction to the word via Stephen Colbert. Palin has a son with Down’s too.
My family discussed Palin may be okay with it but with the partisan slant of saying it was cool for Rush to say it but not Rahm, we felt all three of them were wrong. We may not be a former vice-president, but we don’t use it. We may not be the Chief of Staff, but we don’t use it. And we may not be a millionaire talk show host, we still don’t use that word. It’s uncouth, no matter what you do for a living and no matter what your position of power is.
Why don’t we use it in our family? Because it’s rude.
Despite what folks may think, and I’ve written this before, when we have such a beautiful language why do we have to resort to saying words that have real hurt for real people behind them.
My sister’s nephew has been hospitalized several times in the few short months he’s been here. He has loving parents, just like the Palins, that want him to have the best quality of life available.
Being called or saying the word “retard” doesn’t fit into creating a better life, no matter who says it.
Tags: Down's Syndrome, Rahm Emmanuel, Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin