Polarizing Advocate
In recent blog posts (here, here, and here) I havepretty vocally noted my appreciation for all the Sarah Palin is doing to draw attention to the special needs community. She’s being praised and ridiculed, uplifted and degraded by the masses for her strong stance against the use of the word “retarded” in a derogatory fashion. It leads me to question my own opinions about her advocacy for these special people, being the polarizing figure she is.
In fact in a recent Ocala Star Banner letter to the editor entitled “A shining star?,” the writer took six paragraphs of newspaper space to refute her intelligence, demean her speaking style (using Tina Fey’s Saturday Night Live imitations of Sarah as her own words), and of course denounce her use of hand-notes via ballpoint pen. But the last paragraph by the writer, Seth McClellan of Ocala, is what caught me the most. He writes, and I quote:
“Darn that Obama and his machinery! He should “keep it real” like Dubya did and show the world just how retarded America can be. (It’s O.K. Sarah, I’m being satirical like Rush!)”
There it is again. Whether in use for satirical purposes or not, she’s being linked to the cause of advocacy for people who can’t defend themselves. In this instance it is a negative reference-obviously-but ordinary people are starting to listen and get it. Whether Mr. McClellan uses the word “retarded” on a daily basis or not was of no consequence until Sarah started making a fuss over it all. Now even he has taken note as I can only assume countless other thousands of folks are doing the same.
This fight to stand up for the “least of these” is going to be a hard struggle for many years to come. Advocates and parents started over 50 years ago when they began schooling their children with special needs instead of institutionalizing them. However, today, the fight continues for these special people, and now that there is a vocal advocate who is essentially a household name, many more people are listening. Only time will tell whether people’s behavior and actions will change because of this new revelation that maybe calling someone “retarded” is a bad thing. I can guarantee that anytime the word slips out of their mouths, they will at least think, even if it’s after the fact.
So is Sarah Palin too polarizing of a figure to be the spokesperson for the special needs community? Suffice to say people are listening, talking and even writing their local newspapers because of her. As the old adage goes, even bad press can be a good marketing tool to draw attention to your product. I say, whether the topic itself is polarizing or not, we’ll continue to advocate, stand firm and hold fast to our beliefs for these special people… Sarah and me!
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I must say, this is an extremely subpar post that fails on at least two accounts: (1) It portrays Palin as some sort of ‘Mother Teresa’ figure that devotes her life to the “special needs community.” (2) It misrepresents Mr. McClellan’s letter to the Ocala Star-Banner, which renders this post extremely problematic.
To begin with, to claim that Sarah Palin emphasizes, “… a strong stance against the use of the word “retarded” in a derogatory fashion” is beyond preposterous. Palin’s “strong stance” seems to fade quickly once a fellow right-winger chooses to utilize the dreaded word “retarded.”
Let’s take a look:
President Obama’s Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel calls certain liberal activists “f**king retarded” which prompts Palin to write, “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…”
Rush Limbaugh responds, “Our political correct society is acting like some giant insults taken place by calling a bunch of people who are retards, retards … I think their big news is he (Emanuel) is out there calling Obama’s number one supporters F’ing retards. So now there’s going to be a meeting. There’s going to be a retard summit at the White House.” {Note the nonexistent satire}
Palin counters, “Rush Limbaugh was using satire … I didn’t hear Rush Limbaugh calling a group of people whom he did not agree with ‘f-ing retards,’ and we did know that Rahm Emanuel, as has been reported, did say that. There is a big difference there.”
WOW, WHAT A ‘STRONG STANCE’ PALIN TAKES!
Palin later accuses Fox’s cartoon series “Family Guy” of demeaning her son Trig who has Down syndrome. Chris Griffin, the show’s awkward teenager, goes on a date with Ellen, a girl with Down syndrome. “So what do your parents do?” he innocently asks. Her response? “My dad’s an accountant, and my mom is the former governor of Alaska.”
The kicker is that the voice of ‘Ellen’ (Andrea Fay Friedman, 39) actually has Down syndrome. Here’s her response: “Sarah Palin didn’t even get the joke. It would be nice if she did have a sense of humor. Come on Sarah, laugh a little.”
As for misrepresenting McClellan’s article, read “Defending Palin” in the Star Banner and then read his response “A shining star?” His retort was spot on.
I appreciate your commentary, Mr. Villalta. That’s what I love about blogging. It ignites various passionate responses both negative and positive toward the blogger and postings. While I understand the concerns you bring forth, the fact that you took the time to post these comments has truly gotten to the point I was trying to make. Whether you like Sarah Palin or not or think she’s picking and choosing her battles along partisan lines, she has created a firestorm of controversy over the use of the word “retarded.” One that isn’t going away!
If you’re a frequent reader of our blog, the purpose we are trying to serve is to advocate for those with developmental and intellectual disabilities everywhere. It is a stance that we don’t take lightly, none of us at ARC Marion or the Heart of Florida Hope Foundation here in Ocala. However, the fact that even people in our little old “Slow-cala” are actually talking about this issue, I dare say for the first time around the water cooler, is only showing that someone (maybe Palin?) has finally hit the nerve that might start a change in behavior.
You might recall in 2008 when the movie Tropic Thunder came out and portrayed a similar type of situation when a character referred to himself as feeling “retarded, like really retarded.” He continued, to say that he had to free himself up to “believe it was ok to be stupid or dumb.” Advocacy groups supporting those with disabilities came out in droves to support the ban on the movie. However, it only made news for a short period of time. I doubt people think about it much anymore.
Maybe my naiveté leads me to believe Sarah Palin taking issue with the word is going to have more staying power. She has the platform. She’s in the news literally EVERY DAY for one reason or another (i.e. today when environmental groups accused the President of pulling a Palin when he chose to drill for oil off of U.S. coasts). If her advocacy has caused the likes of Rush Limabaugh or Mr. McClellan to actually pause and reflect anytime they use the word “retarded” has driven home the point. It’s just a start, Mr. Villalta, but our hope is that the grassroots education we are trying to do right here at home will start the changes in derogatory language against the disabled that need to be made in our entire society for good.
Responding to the word “retarded”…..Strangely enough, I have no problem with the word “retarded”. I am an advocate for these special people. My son is Down’s Syndrome and is retarded. That’s a fact. I am not ashamed to say the word. It depends on how the word is used, whether I would be offended or not. To call any person a word that is used in a derrogatory manner, of course, is very hurtful and unkind. People just have to use common sense and good manners. To call any person a “retard” is just ugly. But I don’t think a person should be chastized because he/she isn’t politically correct. They should be chastized for being ignorant and should expect a retort. I believe we all are mentally challenged somehow. We meet challenges every day that we must overcome. Just think about it, it’s true! I do think people are more aware now because of our getting the message out there. I’ve had to grin and bear the strange looks on people’s faces when my son and I are out in public—because he looks right back at them–until they turn away. On the flip side, I’ve had people come up to me and tell me they also have someone at home like him—or they know someone like him. Years ago, it was harder—today, it is still difficult—but he has taught us so much—joy, laughter, love, tenderness–he wasn’t born with Down’s Syndrome—-he IS Downs’ synrome and with that, he was born retarded. He has a lot to offer and he teaches everyone he meets something they didn’t know before.