Freddy is no longer blind
The Prime Minister of Australia is a very skilled Leftist politician but even he can get into speech trouble:
"The disabled have been insulted by federal politicians for the second time in a fortnight, with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd the latest offender.
Blind people took exception to his use of the term "Blind Freddy" yesterday, claiming it suggested they were stupid, The Daily Telegraph reports.
National Disability Discrimination Commissioner Graeme Innes, who is blind, said: "I think it is a term that is an unfortunate one to use because it demeans blind people's capacity to think, not just their capacity to see. I find it quite an insulting term and I find it personally insulting."
It followed a complaint last week against Nationals Senator Barnaby Joyce from The Spastic Centre after he accused Mr Rudd of having a "spac attack".
In a TV interview on Tuesday, Mr Rudd said: "You'd have to be Blind Freddy not to conclude that there have been historical problems most particularly in the Victoria and West Australian divisions of the construction division of the CFMEU."
Dr Innes said the colloquialism was more insulting than the phrase "blind as a bat", which was at least true.
It is not the first time the PM's fondness for Aussie slang has tripped him up. He referred to a "political s--- storm" on national television in March.
Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children's Dr Michael Steer, who was awarded an AM in the Queen's Birthday honours this week, said the Australianism was in the same category as racist and sexist comments."
Source
6 comments:
So... not being familiar with Australian slang, I don't really get this one. Is "Freddy" a stereotypical idiot or something?
These fools who are addicted to political correctness are starting to trip over their own phrases. Now the truth about PC, that it is in fact, anti-free speech, is starting to become obvious. I love it!!
Bats aren't actually blind. I'm a bat and I'm suing!
You're not a bat, you're just batty.
Daniel - no, Freddy does not refer to some idiot... if it did all the Fredericks in the country would be upset.
As I understand it the saying derives from 'even Blind Freddy could see that...' or 'you'd have to be Blind Freddy not to see that...'
It basically means that the conclusion is so obvious that you'd have to be blind not to see it.
I personally don't understand the fuss.
It's the "hyper-sensitive, PC'ized," world we now live in, where everyone is a victim of something. In other words, it's the bizzaro world Jerry Sienfeld warned us about. Up is down, Right is wrong, and Left is right.
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