Jennifer Aniston Says 'Retard' but Will Recover While Dr. Laura Uses the 'N-Word' and Loses Her Show; Is This Fair?
America's Sweetheart Uses a Derogatory Term About the Mentally Challenged and Faces Soft Criticism While Schlessinger is Off the Air
Many are questioning why Dr. Laura is held to one standard and Jennifer Aniston to another when it comes to using derogatory terms to describe a group of people.
Ultimately, of course, this really has nothing to do with First Amendment rights, despite what Dr. Laura claims. The First Amendment includes the protection of free speech in that people are free to express their opinions without legal jeopardy. If Dr. Laura was forced to leave her show by her employer, or by her sponsors, or some combination thereof, it has nothing to do with the First Amendment. Likewise, Jennifer Aniston is in no danger of having her First Amendment rights violated.
But in the court of public opinion, which is so often confused with the First Amendment, it would seem that Jennifer Aniston is in far better shape for using the word "retard" than Dr. Laura is for using the "N-Word". While both words can fairly considered as hurtful and insensitive, there are some differences.
First, Dr. Laura threw around a word on her show that has historically been used to denigrate African Americans; Dr. Laura is white. Also, Dr. Laura was fielding a call from an African American woman hurt by her husband's friends comments about her. She was calling Dr. Laura for help and was met by Dr. Laura using the n-word.
In using the word 'retarded', Jennifer Aniston, while perhaps insensitive, was attempting, awkwardly, to joke about herself. She used the word as she described herself playing 'dress up'. She was asked if she enjoyed dressing up to pose as Barbara Streisand for recent photo shoot, Aniston said, "Yeah, I got to play dress up. I do it for a living, like a retard."
The major difference, it would seem between Aniston's use off the word retard and Dr. Laura's was intent. Dr. Laura was discussing a serious issues with an African American woman who was hurt over her husband's friends' racial jokes. Jennifer Aniston was trying to joke about herself, and presumably didn't have mentally challenged on her mind when making the joke.
Dr. Laura's career appears all but over due to her use of the n-word. Jennifer Aniston will likely continue to enjoy her status as a beloved movie star. While some may question the fairness of it all, there are some stark differences.
Sources:
Published by Ron Hart
Ron Hart lives in New York. His interests are varied and include sports, politics and great Big Apple restaurants. He is a big baseball fan and enjoys discussing, debating and watching sports. He also enj... View profile
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15 Comments
Post a CommentHer First Amendment Rights are not compromised at all! She is welcome to say what she wants. She has simply revealed to more people who she is. Dr. Laura is not being silenced. There are simply a LOT less people interested in listening. There is no constitutional need for her free speech to be amplified by media.
This is best summed up by a paraphrase from an Ayn Rand conversation.
"What do you think of Dr Laura?"
"I don't think of Dr. Laura"
No need to think about her, listen to her judgmental comments, or her pitiful whining.
Done.
Retard is extremely offensive. However, it's not nearly as offensive as the N-word given it's history in America. No comparison.
I had an engine timing belt installed incorrectly years ago.
The the cam timing was retarded because the cam gear was turned a bit behind when it should have been for the crankshaft gear. Retarded still has its use in the English language.
Oops my bad I was writing a paragaph in my book and I slipped and cut in paste it into my browser anyways. Chill out people. Please erase my blog below it was an accident. Thanks!
Anamoly in the Matrix
I was dispatched from a distant planet far away to study an interesting species in the milky way galaxy the warm sun some 4 billion years ago necessited ‘universal life-force’ conditions and from the liquid oceans DNA particles gave birth to a subsequent random series of evolutionary events which formed a race of homo-sapiens. I marvel at this creature not for its high intellect—or unusually evolutionary adaption but its propensity and longing to search for faith and meaning. It is a rare species of the universe in the sense that it is stuck in an utter limbo of universal self-perception. The helpless creature is naturally hardwired to think of everything in terms of binary mechanics and cannot even grasp the fundamental concept that something can be born from nothing. It is unfortunate the life-force evolution on this planet has created a creature smart enough to mock its own intelligence yet fearful of the meaninglessness of the vast universe. If I were bu
its not a double standard... i mean yes "retard" is offensive. but look at the article the author typed "n-word" instead of "nigger" and typed "retard" instead of "r-word"
I think as a mother of an Autistic child that to me using the "R" word is the same as the "N" word... I think they equally get huge public outlash. I am ashamed of both of them, more so of Jennifer Aniston because she is used to public scrutiny so should know that she should pick her words better. Both women are disgusting.
Thanks for writing this article people need to see the sides of these important double standards.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/retarded
read this
I agree with Jenny--"retard" is extremely offensive, even when joking about yourself. Some people don't get it--apparently, they don't have a child or family member with mental disabilities. The n-word is also extremely offensive, and I think less of anyone who uses it.