Mr. Roddey, Check Your Language
Allegheny County’s GOP chair, Jim Roddey, joked Tuesday that Obama supporters are “mentally retarded.” Here’s why the joke isn’t funny.
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I heard something disappointing on Tuesday night.
On Tuesday, Allegheny County’s GOP chair and former county executive Jim Roddey served as MC at the election night party for state Rep. Randy Vulakovich, R-Shaler. Vulakovich won the special election to fill the seat of convicted state Sen. Jane Orie.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported Tuesday on Roddey’s speech, during which he fed the audience this anecdote as a joke:
“There was a disappointment tonight. I was very embarrassed. I was in this parking lot and there was a man looking for a space to park, and I found a space for him. And I felt badly—he looked like he was sort of in distress. And I said, ‘Sir, here’s a place.’ And he said, ‘That’s a handicapped space.’ I said, ‘Oh I’m so sorry, I saw that Obama sticker and I thought you were mentally retarded.”
Mr. Roddey, I encourage you to check your language, and to take a moment to think about all of the people—Democrats and Republicans alike—that your poorly thought out joke might have offended.
It’s an election year and, as per the norm, political ads are becoming numerous and nasty, and jokes are flying from both sides. If you’re going to attack the candidates, that’s one thing.
But don’t attack their supporters.
For the individuals, as well as the families, teachers and caregivers who wake up every day and stare true mental illness in the face, this is not a joke. This is a statement that is offensive to an entire group of Americans—some of whom probably are Obama supporters, and plenty of others who probably are supporting Romney.
What kind of message does this send to voters? Is it now perfectly acceptable for local leaders to make jokes at the expense of constituents? I certainly hope not.
Mr. Roddey, there was a disappointment tonight. I was very embarrassed. The GOP chair of my county tried to pass off an incredibly offensive remark as a joke. And it is my most sincere hope that other political leaders do not stoop to this lowest form of comedy.
Erin Faulk is Local Editor of Domont-Brookline Patch.
Walt
2:22 pm on Wednesday, August 8, 2012
People are so easily offended these days... One of the most commonly used lib tactics is to imply that conservatives are just puppets for Fox News, like they're too stupid to have formed opinions on their own... implying that Tea Party members are crazy, calling them "tea baggers"... That's offensive too.
Martin Blank
3:37 pm on Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Sad to see you bring partisan politics into this Walt. We have enough of that permeating every other aspect of life as it is. And our use of "lib" in your retort let on that you might be someone as carefree with terms yourself.
I think the author above did an excellent job of keeping opinions and politics out of her post. Instead, it was focused on trying to make these politicians, from both sides of the aisles, watch their offensive language. The use of the "retarded" outside, or even inside discussions of mental health is offensive. The way Mr Roddey used it in this case was blatantly so. As a trustee at the University of Pittsburgh, and holding 3 honorary doctorates, Mr Roddey knows better, and should apologize, and be more careful going forward.
e j
6:25 pm on Thursday, August 9, 2012
I think the writer needs some re-training in the usage of her own language skills. Mr. Roddy according to her report needs to check his language. His language was FINE! It was his metaphor that caused the author to become unsettled. A reporters job is to report the facts and allow the reader to draw their own conclusion. This Journalist(?) went beyond that scope and chose to make her own public stand(right or wrong). While I think Roddy could have chosen a better metaphor,the writer needs to review her basic Journalistic and reporting skills!
Jessica Sinichak
6:33 pm on Thursday, August 9, 2012
Hello EJ, this is an opinion column on Mr. Roddey's remarks. For a news article on the subject (which includes many responses from readers), please click here and join the conversation: http://patch.com/A-wL9r
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