N-Word Flies at Palin Rally

Brett Singer — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 21:00:00 GMT

This is really ugly.

I hope that whomever you happen to be voting for, this isn't something you can condone.

As the blog We Are Respectable Negroes (the name comes from the Forty Acres and a Mule document) puts it: "It seems that Barack Obama was finally called a 'nigger' at a recent Republican presidential rally."

Palin will get a lot of flack for not responding, and while I can't argue otherwise, I don't know what she should have said. (In a Palin voice: "Oh, come on now! That's a bad thing to say!") Then again, how do you stand in front of a crowd that screams out something like that?

Michelle Malkin is claiming that the person was actually shouting, "Redistributor!"

Yes, of course. I make that mistake all the time.

(Aside: in case anyone is planning to leave a comment along the lines of, "What about that Sarah Palin hanging effigy? Why aren't you railing against that?" It's terrible and should be taken down immediately.)

I'll ask you -- what do you think you heard? I actually closed my eyes so I couldn't see the captioning on the video. Send the kids out of the room and tell us what you think was said.

Source: We Are Respectable Negroes, MichelleMalkin.com

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Retarded movie boycott

Brett Singer — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 13:45:00 GMT

So – how do you get disparate groups representing the mentally challenged to get together on something?

Release a movie that makes gratuitous use of the word 'retard'.

That's what "Tropic Thunder" does, and some people are fighting mad about it. Timothy P. Shriver, chairman of the Special Olympics, told the New York Times that a boycott of the film, "Not only might…happen, it will happen."

What's their beef? Well, Ben Stiller plays a character named Tugg Speedman. Tugg appeared in a film called "Simple Jack", which was about "a mindless dolt" (according to the New York Times). Tugg did "Simple Jack" in an attempt to win an Oscar and show off his acting chops. Apparently there is "an off-color discussion with Robert Downey Jr.'s character about the merits of going 'full retard' for a role in the pursuit of Oscar gold."

This isn't the first complaint about "Thunder." There was a fake promotional web site for "Simple Jack" that included the line, "Once upon a time there was a retard." The site is now gone, presumably because of the outcry from various groups. That didn't appease them, though; Defamer says the demands were, "Paramount/DreamWorks should pull all scenes and clips that include Ben Stiller’s portrayal of Simple Jack from the movie, DVD, trailers, promotional material and merchandising" – um, yeah, and the executives will come over and do your laundry while giving you a foot massage. Defamer also mentions "Sean Penn's grossly condescending role in 'I Am Sam'", which makes me wonder why it's OK for someone to make a movie with a mentally challenged character, but it's not OK to make a movie that makes fun of someone for making a movie about a mentally challenged character. (Now say that ten times fast.) You know, as a joke. Anyone who saw even the trailer for 'Radio' will probably know what's being poked at. ("Tropic Thunder" screenwriter Justin Theroux explains what he and Stiller were trying to do here.)

So it's a joke, and as near as I can tell, the only group being made fun of is actors. The problem seems to be the very use of the word "retard." The n-word is verboten (but that doesn't stop movies featuring racist characters from getting made). You don't hear a lot of the f-a-g-g-o-t word, although "gay" is still thrown around a lot. Should "the r-word" be added to the list of words we can't say, or does everyone need to lighten up?

Strollerderby : n-word

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