Rahm, Rush and the 'R-Word'

I was stunned and saddened when, during my "Cultural Diversity and the News" class, a number of students giggled at this headline as it appeared on the projector screen: "Outrage After White House Chief Drops 'R-Word'."

The article was about White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel's use of the phrase, "f----ing retarded." According to the article, "The comment was reportedly made back in August at a meeting of liberal groups and White House aides after some suggested running negative advertisements about conservative Democrats with qualms over the proposed health care legislation.

"Disability advocates were none too pleased to learn that the president's top aide was flippantly using a term they are working diligently to absolve from the vernacular."

I think my professor was also quite taken aback by the class reaction. Her attempt to include current events in a broader discussion about media coverage parity (the disabled community is the largest minority population in the United States, but it is severely underrepresented in media coverage) quickly became a discussion about whether students felt it was OK to still use the "r-word." Some defended Emanuel because he made the remark during a private meeting. The gigglers were bemused, apparently, that the word "retarded" has become such a derogatory term that it is largely referred to as the "r-word" now.

Really? Was I so naïve to assume that a group of journalism and communications majors would be clued-up or even ahead of the curve when it comes to the use of the term as a pejorative? Sadly, yes.

Sarah Palin, whose youngest child, Trig, has Down Syndrome, caught wind of Emanuel's gaffe, and, never one to miss an opportunity to connect the political dots, called on the president to fire Emanuel. Palin couched her criticism within the debate about the recently proposed federal budget, framing the blunder as a "sick and offensive tactic."

Palin's statement, which she published on her Facebook page, continued: "I would ask the president to show decency in this process by eliminating one member of that inner circle, Mr. Rahm Emanuel, and not allow Rahm's continued indecent tactics to cloud efforts . . . Just as we'd be appalled if any public figure of Rahm's stature ever used the "N-word" or other such inappropriate language, Rahm's slur on all God's children with cognitive and developmental disabilities – and the people who love them – is unacceptable, and it's heartbreaking."

Later in the day, the story reached further heights of absurdity: Greg Sargent of The Plum Line blog (a Washington Post Company publication) e-mailed Palin's spokespeople for comment after it was reported that Rush Limbaugh, prompted by Emanuel's gaffe, launched into a "tirade," using the offending word several times:


"Our political correct society is acting like some giant insult's taken place by calling a bunch of people who are retards, retards. I mean these people, these liberal activists are kooks. They are looney tunes. And I'm not going to apologize for it, I'm just quoting Emanuel. It's in the news . . . So now there's going to be a meeting. There's going to be a retard summit at the White House."

No Facebook statement for Limbaugh? It's telling that, in his post Thursday, Sargent noted, "given Rush's stature among conservatives, it's pretty interesting that she went this far," and, less than 24 hours later, Palin's spokesperson shot back at him, via Fox: "The Washington Post is trying hard to take the pressure off the White House by creating a side controversy, but it is missing the point: as the Governor has said, it doesn't matter who says the 'r' word: it should no longer be part of our lexicon."

Ignorance truly does beget ignorance.