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Thursday, October 18, 2007

15. Sticks and Stones

I keep waiting for those on the Left in Congress to introduce the federal “Boo Hoo, They Hurt My Feelings Act.” Anyone caught calling someone a name will be arrested and incarcerated. The length of the jail sentence will depend on how traumatized the victim feels. I can’t help wondering if this is how the Roman and Greek Empires fell. Once great warriors became immobilized and crumbled to their knees because the enemy called them “sissy-marys.” As they were busy crying to their senators and being comforted by their mommies, the opposing forces just walked in and leveled their cities.

The Left and their banner of political correctness has already elevated name calling to a near crime, one great enough to end a person’s career. Don Imus was recently fired for referring to a group of female basketball players as “Nappy-headed ho’s.” Although not a particularly nice or funny thing to say they are, after all, just words. But it twisted Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton’s knickers and they screamed and yelled and called Imus a racist until the network caved in to these esteemed black “leaders” and showed Imus the door. Fortunately, cooler heads have prevailed and Imus is returning to the airwaves. Not that I particularly care for Imus, but I do believe in free speech.

Personally, I like rules to be objective, measurable and have clarity; I like to know beforehand what is correct and incorrect and that rules apply to all people in all situations. Unlike me, the Left isn’t interested in such logical nonsense. If someone is offended by a statement, that statement is then deemed as harassment and the speaker is labeled a racist, a misogynist or that they engage in hate speech. Yet even this subjective standard doesn’t hold. It appears that only those on the Left are allowed to feel offended and only those on the Right are held accountable for their words.

What about Al Franken’s book, Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot? That’s a rather offensive title on many levels, isn’t it? Imagine Rush breaking down and crying on his radio show relating the trauma he endured being a “horizontally challenged” child. Rush might tell us how the hurtful and offensive words of Mr. Franken bring back horrible memories and feelings of inferiority. Using the logic of the Left, Mr. Franken clearly hates overweight Americans and is probably fearful of them

What about blond jokes and lawyer jokes? What about the attacks by the Left on Christians, you know, those wacky, brainless, religious lemmings. Christians protest but no one on the Left cares. No one loses their job and no one is forced to apologize. Rosie O’Donnell recently mocked the Chinese community by saying, “ching-chong, ching-chong” in reference to the Mandarin language. A staff member told a reporter that America simply doesn’t “get” Rosie’s sense of humor. Hmm, I guess the basketball team, Jesse and Al didn’t “get” Imus’ humor either.

In 1996 Joel and Ethan Coen released their movie Fargo. Although an interesting story, it mocked and stereotyped the Scandinavian and German American communities of that region of the US. Not only were the Coen Brothers not chastised by Hollywood for their insensitivity or cultural bias, they were rewarded with an Oscar for their “brilliant” script.

Even disagreeing with the politics of the Left makes you a target of apparently “acceptable” name calling. Secretary of State Condolezza Rice is regularly attacked as being nothing more than a “slave” or an “Uncle Tom” of the Right. Juan Williams, the black author and political commentator, was recently labeled a “Happy Negro” by Boyce Watkins, also a black commentator. Mr. Williams was clearly angry with the reference, but Mr. Watkins has neither apologized nor been fired from any position he holds. In fact, in an article posted on Black American Web, Mr. Watkins defends his comments while labeling “The O’Reilly Factor” as “racist television.”

Jesse Jackson attacked Barack Obama for “acting like he’s white.” Imagine any white – oh, I’m sorry, European-American – public or political figure accusing a like-raced individual of “acting like he’s black.” Jesse, Al and Mr. Watkins would be all over that person for his hateful, racist, demeaning and demoralizing words.

Having been called four-eyes, pizza face, geek and metal-mouth as a child, I am well aware that words can and do hurt people. I’m grateful, though, that my parents didn’t let me wallow in misery over such nonsense or storm into the principal’s office demanding the offending student’s expulsion. Instead my mother would look at me and say, “Get over it! You want to see someone with real problems? I’ll take you down to the County Hospital and you can see kids without arms or legs.”

Alas, such common sense does not prevail in politics. Instead of instilling character and self-reliance in our citizens and leaders, we are instead becoming a nation of crying babies looking to our mommies and daddies to make everything fair.

Buck up people.