{"id":4232,"date":"2013-11-21T14:33:27","date_gmt":"2013-11-21T19:33:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bristolpalin\/?p=4232"},"modified":"2013-11-26T12:09:00","modified_gmt":"2013-11-26T17:09:00","slug":"whats-up-with-the-new-york-times-ethicist-using-the-r-word-as-an-insult","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bristolpalin\/2013\/11\/whats-up-with-the-new-york-times-ethicist-using-the-r-word-as-an-insult\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s Up with the New York Times\u2019 Ethicist Using the R-Word as an Insult?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0 $\"\"$ <\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n
Amy Julia Becker has a great article about something that happened in the New York Times recently.<\/p>\n
Last week,\u00a0Kari Wagner-Peck wrote, in an open letter to Chuck Klosterman, the New York Times\u2019 ethicist:<\/p>\n
Today people with cognitive disabilities and their allies are asking members of society to refrain from using the word \u201cretarded\u201d (along with all mutations of the word) for the same exact reasons. My question to you:<\/p>\n
Is it ethical to contribute to the denigration of the vulnerable?<\/p>\n
She goes on to document three cases in which Mr. Klosterman mocked people with intellectual disabilities using the r-word, in 2002, 2008, and 2010. Here\u2019s one example:<\/p>\n
\u201cYou used to be able to tell the difference between hipsters and homeless people. Now, it\u2019s between hipsters and retards. I mean, either that guy in the corner in orange safety pants holding a protest sign and wearing a top hat is mentally disabled or he is the coolest fucking guy you will ever know.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0(New York Magazine, 2008)<\/p>\n
I\u2019m guessing you\u2019re with me here. Mr. Klosterman had some explaining, and perhaps some repenting, to do. (See below for\u00a0his commendable response.) It\u2019s problematic for anyone to use this type of language, and even more so when you are the ethicist for the New York Times.<\/p>\n
But here\u2019s the really sad thing. He\u2019s not alone.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Read the rest of Amy Julia\u2019s article here<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Read more on the\u00a0Patheos Faith and Family Channel<\/a>, fan me on\u00a0 Facebook<\/a>\u00a0and follow this blog on\u00a0 Twitter<\/a>!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hum…. everyone makes mistakes. But an ethicist at the New York Times should know better than this.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":830,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[535,83,78,534],"class_list":["post-4232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-ethics","tag-new-york-times","tag-pro-life","tag-r-word"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat\u2019s Up with the New York Times\u2019 Ethicist Using the R-Word as an Insult?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Hum.... everyone makes mistakes. 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