joelkarnold

The Zakaria piece is a great one that dispels the myth that the caller mentioned in the episode, the idea that 'it will take 100 years' or 'it's just not possible.' Other countries have done it and seen dramatic decreases in short periods of time: "There is clear evidence that tightening laws — even in highly individualistic countries with long traditions of gun ownership — can reduce gun violence. In Australia, after a 1996 ban on all automatic and semiautomatic weapons — a real ban, not like the one we enacted in 1994 with 600-plus exceptions — gun-related homicides dropped 59 percent over the next decade. The rate of suicide by firearm plummeted 65 percent. (Almost 20,000 Americans die each year using guns to commit suicide — a method that is much more successful than other forms of suicide.)"

I'm appreciate the replies for the conversation it starts. I realize in comedy there's always going to be a debate about where the line is or whether there even should be a line when it comes to language, content, and appropriateness. Being intentionally offensive can be hilarious, but it's done with intention. I think my comment applies to comedy and to this podcast, where I'm not sure the word was being used as a joke. I'd agree that June probably wasn't being malicious - it seemed like an offhand comment characterizing her reaction, but I wanted to respond to this instance and Jackie Clarke's in #15 where she said "that to me was so retarded it was beyond definition." If you'd like to debate the semantics rather than the bigger issue, this example refers to a situation, not a person. Frank, I agree that people have a choice in how they respond to language, but I think it's a stretch to say that just because people can choose to give or not give words power that we shouldn't be somewhat sensitive in how we use language. Here I'm asking people to be 'sensitive' in the sense of being intentional with their language and being able to take responsibility for what they say. Calling someone else 'oversensitive' or simply telling them since you're not offended they shouldn't be is denying them their reaction. For many people language has power, and some language is inextricable from having historical, cultural, and emotional connotations. I'm also not sure why your first post made so many assumptions about who I am and seemed to come from a place of anger. By your logic, I could say that you're simply being too reactionary and defensive about talking about language. By saying that I'd be denying your right to that reaction, and I don't believe that's right. To be clear, I'm not advocating any sort of ban on words - I'm asking for someone to consider their use, and if I'm saying anything more than that, it's certainly not a threat, but an entreaty for greater empathy.

Hi, I really like the podcast, but I'd like to encourage anyone hosting or appearing on the podcast to think critically about their use of the word 'retarded.' There have been a couple instances of the word's use recently: by Jackie Clarke last week, and in the latest podcast, June said "maybe I'm retarded" in reference to her not understanding a Smurf movie plot point, as if only an individual with limited cognitive ability could miss this. Outside of a clinical use, this word carries the same effect as negative terms used for identifying race or sexual orientation. Is it ok for the word 'gay' to be used to call something or someone stupid or negative? Using the word 'retarded' does something similar - it defines a group of individuals by one characteristic solely, here their cognitive limitations, thereby denying them individual personalities. It also defines this group of people as inferior, a target worthy of unfavorable comparisons such as this one. Even if it doesn't seem that June intended any malice toward individuals with intellectual disabilities, language has an impact, especially when that language is heard on this kind of platform. Using this label targets a group of people and says something about the user; depending on how you want to treat and be perceived by others, I'd encourage you to think about the word's use.