The R Word

Did you hear about the Jennifer Aniston controversy? She was recently pushing her new movie Switch over at Regis and Kelly and the following took place:


Regis was looking at photos of her in Harper's Bazaar (she was copying Barbra Streisand looks) and chatting.

"It was just fun," said Aniston of the shoot.

Regis replied: "You're playing dress up!"

And Aniston said, "Yes, I play dress up! I do it for a living, like a retard!" The crowd laughed.

The fallout from this slip if you want to call it that is outrageous. Offended people all over the planet are saying she should know better. I think it was meant innocently and you can watch the clip at the bottom of the post to see for yourself. We are living in such a politically correct world that even the most benign comments can be taken to mean hatred. Dana has an excellent post on her blog about comments Dr. Laura made recently.

I made the same slip this week, although not on national television. I was working out with a friend and I told her I'd met a man who I didn't know in a farmer's field to get in his car and then told her I was a retard As I opened my mouth and then shut it I realized I'm talking to a woman who cares for her mentally disabled sister-in-law. I felt terrible. I meant it innocently much like Jennifer had, it was meant to be kind of funny in fact.

Does the use of the word mean we are making fun of or demeaning the mentally challenged? I don't think so. Kids today still say, "that's gay" and I don't think they're homophobic. In fact kids today have a far greater acceptance of sexual preference than ever. It's just a saying. Am I allowed to say I'm stupid? Of course. Mentally disabled people have been called stupid and they have been called retarded - why is it okay for me to call myself stupid but not retarded?

Would it have been better for Jennifer to say, "Yes, I play dress up! I do it for a living, like I'm intellectually delayed!"??

Or what about subtituting the word dumb? No can do, there would be people lining up to protect those who can't speak. Argghhh.

We live in a PC world - I guess that's why I find Roissy refreshing. (Did I say that out loud?)

All things said I need to watch my p's and q's and hope that those who know me best know I'm kind enough not to slander a group of people based on ability...or sexual preference...or betaness (oooops). *wink

Watch around the 2:00 min mark.