Unlearning Bad Language
[SARN Memo for April 1, 2009]
Demeaning humor is often so common that it goes unnoticed. The president went on Leno. He tried to be funny by comparing his poor bowling to Special Olympics. But the point is that he didn’t even know it was a laugh at our expense. That type of humor comes out without thinking.
We all have to unlearn language based on putting others down. This unlearning is hard work. Everyone must do it. Let’s hope the president can help by doing his own relearning.
Respond to this memo!1. Responding to Disrespectful Language
Get two volunteers to recreate a role-play between President Obama and Jay Leno:
Leno: I imagine the bowling alley has been burned down by now.
President Obama: No, no, I have been practicing…
Leno: Really?
President Obama: I bowled a 129.
Leno: That’s very good, Mr. President.
President Obama: It’s like… it was like the Special Olympics or something.
Leno: No, that’s very good.
President Obama: No, listen, I’m making progress on the bowling.
Role play. Take turns being Jay Leno, and see if someone can come up with a helpful response after President Obama’s comment about Special Olympics. Talk about what makes a good response and what is helpful to change the other person’s perspective. As a separate discussion item, you might ask the group, “Why do you think President Obama apologized for the comment?”
2. Resource
Offense Taken
In the spring of 2007, when a Minneapolis theater company put on a show titled “Rise of the Celebretards,” people with disabilities and their allies took action. Offense Taken documents this community’s organized response to the play title and to the public use of the “R” word (“retard”).
Today’s Trivia Question:
No trivia this week. The staff is all gone on a free, one-week, all-expenses-paid trip to Paris, thanks to the fabulous success of our recent fundraising appeal. APRIL FOOLS!
Answer to March 25 Trivia Question: c. Abe Lincoln and Charles Darwin
Question was: Which two famous people were both born on February 12, 1809?
- Helen Keller and Ed Roberts
- Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi
- Abe Lincoln and Charles Darwin
- Karl Marx and Eleanor Roosevelt
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