Belief in verbal magic rumbles on
"Retarded" was originally a neutral word replacing terms like "stupid", "dumb" etc. but it became a derogatory word because what it describes is unattractive. The same will rapidly happen to any new terms the do-gooders come up with. Reality bites no matter what you call it. "A rose by any other name..."
"A movement to eliminate references to the disabled as "mentally retarded" from laws and regulations gained steam this week after New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie signed legislation replacing the terms with "intellectual disability" and "developmental disability."
This month, the U.S. Senate passed a similar bill and the House will take up its version next month.
While advocates for the disabled have campaigned for years against the R-word, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel drew attention to the issue this year when he apologized for privately calling a group of liberal Democrats "retarded" last year. Sarah Palin, who has a son with Down syndrome, criticized Emanuel in a Facebook posting.
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4 comments:
This angers me because I have a "developmental disability" - Aspergers Syndrome - but am in no way Mentally Retarded. I am, in fact the opposite, possessing a 135 IQ.
This legislation lumps me in with a group of people those of us with Aspergers have fought for years to seperate ourselves from.
Once again, in an effort to make those who couldn't care less what you call them (so long as you give them the respect and care they deserve and need) feel better about themselves, they have muddied the waters and redefined the lives of those who have nothing to do with what they are dealing with.
I am reminded of an employer I had (shortly) many years ago. In lieu of raises, he would "promote" people, in effect not only not recognizing their achievements, but adding to their responsibilities without raising their pay.
By giving the impression that being retarded is no great disability, they leave society expecting more from individuals than they can realistically do while limiting the help they give.
I recently told a liberal i know how, IMO, political correctness has had such a negative affect on our lives, including actually changing our language. He of course told me i was totally wrong, a typical response from liberals when faced with facts.
Changing the names of things to make them more "comfortable" and/or more acceptable to the public, is something the left does every day. Usually, they use this tactic when forcing something down the publics throat that the public doesn't like or want.
Unfortunately, most Americans are too intellectually disabled to understand how dangerous PC is to our liberty and freedom. It is an incidious virus that is destroying our society, and not by accident. It is in fact, a far greater threat to us than is terrorism. And like terrorism, it is fueled by weak-minded people who have given up their right/ability to think for themselves.
I can still remember being in elementary school, years ago, where we were taught and encouraged to use the word retarded; it was thought to be kinder and gentler than the existing words.
Round and round we go.
BTW, a comment on semantics:
If I disable a bomb, I render it totally inoperative. That's what it means.
In parallel, by using the latest terminology, are we not then implying that "intellectually disabled" people have pretty much no intellect at all, that they're inoperative, brain-dead intellects?
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