# Sarah Palin: "Rahm Emannuel called my retard baby a nigger!" **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 3, 2010, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-rahm-emannuel-called-my-retard-baby-a-nigger/527503 "2010-02-03T06:37:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-rahm-emannuel-called-my-retard-baby-a-nigger/527503/41 "2010-02-03T19:52:27Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > If he had called an idea “fucking gay”, there’s no doubt in my mind that someone from the GLBT community would have called him on it. I know that my gay friends don’t like the phrase “that’s gay.” > > Posting on FaceBook is hardly grandstanding and WTF does your last sentence mean? As in, “You talk like a fag, and your shit’s all retarded?” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Redwing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/dfb087/32.png) [@Redwing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Redwing)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-rahm-emannuel-called-my-retard-baby-a-nigger/527503/42 "2010-02-03T19:55:01Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > I am horribly offended at this. It implies that these people are different! :mad: > 😉 I massively offended by this, it implies that there’s only one right way to be! :mad: :D:D:D ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-rahm-emannuel-called-my-retard-baby-a-nigger/527503/43 "2010-02-03T20:06:50Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > As in, “You talk like a fag, and your shit’s all retarded?” > > 😉 I see this quote get misunderstood a lot so let me put it out there before anyone jumps down your throat. **This quote is from a movie, Idiocracy.** ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-rahm-emannuel-called-my-retard-baby-a-nigger/527503/44 "2010-02-03T20:11:01Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > I am horribly offended at this. It implies that these people are different! :mad: > 😉 Racist! ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-rahm-emannuel-called-my-retard-baby-a-nigger/527503/45 "2010-02-03T20:11:54Z")
:smack: I was going to include that, and I totally forgot. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-rahm-emannuel-called-my-retard-baby-a-nigger/527503/46 "2010-02-03T20:15:19Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > If he had called an idea “fucking gay”, there’s no doubt in my mind that someone from the GLBT community would have called him on it. I know that my gay friends don’t like the phrase “that’s gay.” > > Posting on FaceBook is hardly grandstanding and WTF does your last sentence mean? Can an idea have a sexual connotation? Calling an action gay does not insult the gays. It has nothing to do with sex or sexual orientation. Neither are insults to anybody at all. Palin is grasping for the publicity again. Rahm said nothing about her kid, nothing at all. ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-rahm-emannuel-called-my-retard-baby-a-nigger/527503/47 "2010-02-03T20:58:43Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Can an idea have a sexual connotation? Calling an action gay does not insult the gays. It has nothing to do with sex or sexual orientation. Neither are insults to anybody at all. Palin is grasping for the publicity again. Rahm said nothing about her kid, nothing at all. Pls don’t respond to **gonzomax** until you have ready the faggy poodle thread. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-rahm-emannuel-called-my-retard-baby-a-nigger/527503/48 "2010-02-03T22:01:15Z")
If Levi Johnston is to be believed-- and really, is there a more non-biased and intelligent individual in the whole Palin posse-- [Sarah herself calls her baby “retarded”.](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/27/levi-johnston-on-cbs-earl_n_335866.html) Her baby is retarded, so I don’t see why she shouldn’t call him that. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-rahm-emannuel-called-my-retard-baby-a-nigger/527503/49 "2010-02-03T22:15:54Z")
Ask the Black Eyed Peas about their 2004 hit, “Let’s Get [del]Retarded[/del] it Started”. They changed the lyrics and re-recorded the song, because many radio stations refused to play it. The new verion was the theme song for the 2004 NBA playoffs, as well as on the soundtracks of several movies from that year. Somehow, I don’t think the NBA or movie producers would have considered using the original version. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-rahm-emannuel-called-my-retard-baby-a-nigger/527503/50 "2010-02-03T22:22:14Z")
Let’s leave Palin’s child out of this for a minute, close our eyes, and think of what words Mr. Emanuel may have described Mrs. Palin in the past. Thank goodness those words have not been made public. My petticoats would surely be in a bunch. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-rahm-emannuel-called-my-retard-baby-a-nigger/527503/51 "2010-02-03T22:22:53Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > If Levi Johnston is to be believed-- and really, is there a more non-biased and intelligent individual in the whole Palin posse-- [Sarah herself calls her baby “retarded”.](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/27/levi-johnston-on-cbs-earl_n_335866.html) Perhaps, but I doubt she calls him a “fucking retard” as an insult and a way of belittling him. Therein lies the difference. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-rahm-emannuel-called-my-retard-baby-a-nigger/527503/52 "2010-02-03T22:51:18Z")
Actually, that’s not a difference because Rahm didn’t call anybody a “fucking retard.” ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-rahm-emannuel-called-my-retard-baby-a-nigger/527503/53 "2010-02-03T22:52:48Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > He didn’t call anybody “retards,” he called an _idea_ “fucking retarded,” which it was, and which is no more an insult to mentally impaiired people than words like “moronic,” “imbecilic,” and “idiotic,” which used to have clinical meanings, but no longer do. You’re right, but I’d see it the same as calling the idea “gay.” There would definitely be some LGBT people (and supporters) offended by that statement. Or, apparently, what Nars said. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-rahm-emannuel-called-my-retard-baby-a-nigger/527503/54 "2010-02-03T22:59:28Z")
I don’t think that vernacular use of the word “gay” to mean “lame” has quite achieved the separation from the literal name-calling of homesexuals that “retarded” has reached from name-calling of the mentally impaired, but as I said earlier, if Rahm had said “fucking gay,” Sarah Palin would not have complained about it. It’s ridiculous for her to pretend Emanuel’s remark had anything at all to do with her baby or people with developmental disabilities, and she knows it. He was calling an IDEA stupid. Thjis is whole phony outrage is reminiscent of when she pretended to be outraged over Obama’s "lipstick on apig"b remark. Remeber that? Somebody mentions a pig, and she assumes their talking about her. Somebody says “retarded” and she assume they’re talking about her. In neither case was she remotely on their minds. This is attention whoring, and making things all about her, pure and simple. ---
**Author:** ![Cort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/77aa72/32.png) [@Cort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cort)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-rahm-emannuel-called-my-retard-baby-a-nigger/527503/55 "2010-02-03T23:29:46Z")
Aaaand now it’s on [FOX](http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/02/03/emanuel-meets-shriver-f-ing-retard-comment/). Stupid motherfuckers. ---
**Author:** ![bri1600bv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9fc29f/32.png) [@bri1600bv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bri1600bv)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-rahm-emannuel-called-my-retard-baby-a-nigger/527503/56 "2010-02-03T23:55:04Z")
I don’t think she was mad at him for using the word “retarded”, it’s that he was using it as an insult (along with the accompanying “f” word) to describe something or someone he thought was stupid. If he had said “I donated money to special olympics because i want to help the retarded”, I don’t think anyone would mind. If he said “quit acting like a fucking retard”, then they would. He’s using the word ‘retard’ as an epithet of sorts. I think the word SHOULD be used in its intended setting; to describe those who are retarded. It’s a medical term. Alone with imbecile, moron, etc. There’s nothing wrong with it. It’s a good descriptive word. What are you supposed to call them? Learning disabled? ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-rahm-emannuel-called-my-retard-baby-a-nigger/527503/57 "2010-02-04T00:33:10Z")
I’m offended by Emanuel’s comments. I say that acknowledging that I have often heard people use the word where I was certain they didn’t mean to offend. But it was offensive. It uses a group of people as a reference point for derision. Referring to someone as a “retard” or an idea as “retarded” both rely on our understanding of retarded people as being a convenient reference for contempt. Would he have used that phrase if a retarded child and his parents were in the room? If not, why not? Why not if it’s so trivial? My brother Bill is mentally retarded. He’s a sweet guy, if a bit fearful. He can’t walk down the street of our community when the local high school lets out because the kids get a kick out of tormenting him, and he does not stand up for himself. He might run, or he might cry, but he won’t fight back. I have witnessed many people who had no problem calling him a retard to his face (I, on the other hand, am not reluctant to stick up for him, but I’m not always there). Most people aren’t so aggressively, directly cruel. But if you accept using people like my brother as a handy way to show your contempt, you’re contributing to such an environment, whether you mean to or not. I don’t buy that people aren’t using retarded people as the reference point when they use such phrases, in the vast majority of such instances. And I’ve actually had people justify it by offering some form of “but retards _are_ stupid,” as if that should remove any offense taken. “Imbecile” may have lost its clinical connotation, but “mentally retarded” has not. It means something. It refers to a group of people who most need our protection. It refers to people who are viewed and treated by many as subhuman. It refers to my brother Bill. I know that makes it subjective and personal for me. So be it. Please don’t use such phrases, and don’t trivialize them. For some of us, when it’s used as a derisive phrase, it _is_ no different than “nigger” or “kike.” Emanuel needn’t step down for this, but it was appropriate for him to apologize. He did the right thing when called on this. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-rahm-emannuel-called-my-retard-baby-a-nigger/527503/58 "2010-02-04T01:15:11Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > I’m offended by Emanuel’s comments. I say that acknowledging that I have often heard people use the word where I was certain they didn’t mean to offend. But it was offensive. It uses a group of people as a reference point for derision. Referring to someone as a “retard” or an idea as “retarded” both rely on our understanding of retarded people as being a convenient reference for contempt. > > Would he have used that phrase if a retarded child and his parents were in the room? If not, why not? Why not if it’s so trivial? > > My brother Bill is mentally retarded. He’s a sweet guy, if a bit fearful. He can’t walk down the street of our community when the local high school lets out because the kids get a kick out of tormenting him, and he does not stand up for himself. He might run, or he might cry, but he won’t fight back. I have witnessed many people who had no problem calling him a retard to his face (I, on the other hand, am not reluctant to stick up for him, but I’m not always there). Most people aren’t so aggressively, directly cruel. But if you accept using people like my brother as a handy way to show your contempt, you’re contributing to such an environment, whether you mean to or not. > > I don’t buy that people aren’t using retarded people as the reference point when they use such phrases, in the vast majority of such instances. And I’ve actually had people justify it by offering some form of “but retards _are_ stupid,” as if that should remove any offense taken. “Imbecile” may have lost its clinical connotation, but “mentally retarded” has not. It means something. It refers to a group of people who most need our protection. It refers to people who are viewed and treated by many as subhuman. It refers to my brother Bill. I know that makes it subjective and personal for me. So be it. Please don’t use such phrases, and don’t trivialize them. For some of us, when it’s used as a derisive phrase, it _is_ no different than “nigger” or “kike.” > > Emanuel needn’t step down for this, but it was appropriate for him to apologize. He did the right thing when called on this. Well said. I’m the last one to call the PC Police, but the fact is that the term is offensive, as it uses mental retardation as a metric for stupidity. I might have use the term myself at some time. Ad if I did, and was called on it, I’d apologize. Aside from that though, the White House CoS really should know better. Let him apologize for it and let’s move on. Plus, based on the posts in this thread, Rahm would have made hios point much more strongly if he had told the group of progressives that they “were being fucking Dios if they carried out plans to run ads attacking conservative Democrats who opposed parts of the reform bill.” Really, **Dio**. Sheesh. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-rahm-emannuel-called-my-retard-baby-a-nigger/527503/59 "2010-02-04T01:40:43Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I disagree. Politicians are expected to be all smiles in public but the bottom line is that many of them do act that way in private when they’re trying to get something done. And Emanuel is famous for his temper. When he was named CoS, wasn’t Obama quoted as saying that if someone cut off Rahm’s middle finger he’d become mute? Too bad Rahm didn’t say it on the floor of the Senate - then it would have been okay for Republicans. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-rahm-emannuel-called-my-retard-baby-a-nigger/527503/60 "2010-02-04T01:57:16Z")
Any day now, people working in DC are going to realize that there is no longer any such thing as a private, off-the-record verbal/oral exchange. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-rahm-emannuel-called-my-retard-baby-a-nigger/527503.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-rahm-emannuel-called-my-retard-baby-a-nigger/527503.md?page=4)