Ann Coulter crosses line with parents of special needs students with her “retard” tweet during presidential debate
Bad girl pundit Ann Coulter has turned offensive and cutting remarks into her signature brand and, based on how often I see her on TV, it seems to be paying off for her.
But one of her tweets this week set off a group of parents who already have it hard enough in my book: Parents of children with special needs who must navigate a dizzying array of state and federal mazes to get their children vital services. And never mind their battle to get their children respect.
In response to the presidential debate Monday between President Obama and Gov. Romney, Coulter tweeted: “I highly approve of Romney’s decision to be kind and gentle to the retard.”
The outrage was immediate. Much of the response to Coulter cannot be printed here, but one person writes: “Again, making fun of people w mental disabilities=not funny. BTW, I am both practicing Catholic AND conservative.”
I have read dozens of commentaries from parents of children with special needs about how hurtful comments like “retard” are to them and their children. Despite condemnation in the past for her use of “retard,” Coulter apparently has great affection for the word as she has used it before to describe people she doesn’t like.
The most eloquent response to her this time came from a young man with Downs Syndrome:
Special Olympics athlete John Franklin Stephen wrote: (This is an excerpt. Please read full piece.)
I’m a 30 year old man with Down syndrome who has struggled with the public’s perception that an intellectual disability means that I am dumb and shallow. I am not either of those things, but I do process information more slowly than the rest of you. In fact it has taken me all day to figure out how to respond to your use of the R-word last night.
I thought first of asking whether you meant to describe the President as someone who was bullied as a child by people like you, but rose above it to find a way to succeed in life as many of my fellow Special Olympians have.
Then I wondered if you meant to describe him as someone who has to struggle to be thoughtful about everything he says, as everyone else races from one snarky sound bite to the next.
Finally, I wondered if you meant to degrade him as someone who is likely to receive bad health care, live in low grade housing with very little income and still manages to see life as a wonderful gift.
Because, Ms. Coulter, that is who we are – and much, much more.
After I saw your tweet, I realized you just wanted to belittle the President by linking him to people like me. You assumed that people would understand and accept that being linked to someone like me is an insult and you assumed you could get away with it and still appear on TV.
I have to wonder if you considered other hateful words but recoiled from the backlash.
Well, Ms. Coulter, you, and society, need to learn that being compared to people like me should be considered a badge of honor.
No one overcomes more than we do and still loves life so much.
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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234 comments Add your comment
Jeff
October 24th, 2012
6:27 pm
The fact all of you care about what comes out of Ann Coulter’s mouth says a lot about you.
catlady
October 24th, 2012
6:32 pm
Phil, her comment is a reflection of the meme of the current Republican presidential and vice presidential candidates: To h3ll with the little people–the sick, the elderly, the poor, the handicapped. They will never “deserve” the largess that the “in” crowd demands. After all, they don’t “produce” anything! Let handicapped buy their own insurance (with a voucher that won’t cover the pre-existing conditios once Romney rolls back Obamacare!)
Phil from Athens
October 24th, 2012
6:41 pm
“To h3ll with the little people–the sick, the elderly, the poor, the handicapped.”
You can thank Obama for high unemployment that keeps them poor.
Oh, and I can not WAIT until Romney repeals Obamcare.
I bet you didn’t even read the 2000 page bill did you?
The Non- PC Guy
October 24th, 2012
6:44 pm
The political correctness that is so prevalent in today’s society to pacify ALL of the special interest groups AND politicians is disgusting. No wonder this country is in such disarray. Grow up,work on getting some thicker skin and quit bowing down to any and everyone that doesn’t agree with your idea of FREEDOM OF SPEECH. It’s a RIGHT guaranteed in the First Amendment of the US Constitution.
RGB
October 24th, 2012
6:46 pm
Obama wants to give women “free” oral contraceptives that they could buy at Wal-Mart for $9 and the liberal women just love that idea.
Conservative women would rather have a job and buy their own OCs.
ObamaCare will raise the cost of private health insurance since anytime the government distorts a market, the costs go up. This will cause millions to lose their employer-provided insurance which means that after ObamaCare goes into effect, there will be fewer people with health insurance. Already premiums have substantially increased and big companies have taken many billions in charges against their bottom lines in anticipation of the full effect of ObamaCare.
Hey, didn’t we see this movie before? Obama’s plans for increasing employment results in less employment. He spends trillions we do not have (taking it from the private sector which could have used it to create jobs via business expansion) and distorts the economy which results in fewer jobs.
Obama’s energy plan is to not look for it (and prevent others from doing so), and the costs rise.
How many more times will you folks have to see this happen before you apply a smidgen of critical thinking to what this man is doing to our country?
bu2
October 24th, 2012
6:48 pm
TV political commentary started dying with Nightline which put on extremists and got good ratings. Now you have the President being disrespectful in the debate (we have these things called submarines…) and all the Democrats praising the crassness. How many of you would actually talk to someone that way in person (without the anonymity of the internet)? President Obama leads the way with his attacks on the integrity of anyone who disagrees with him.
So yes, Ann is crass and classless. So is President Obama and even worse are VP Biden and Senate Majority Leader Reed.
lori
October 24th, 2012
6:49 pm
She is a talking head, a journalist……27 years as a special educator has been an education of other’s ignorance on the subject.
WHO CARES WHAT SHE SAYS???? CHANGE THE CHANNEL, PEOPLE!
Private Citizen
October 24th, 2012
7:16 pm
“Obamacare” has likely done some good in regard to people with pre-exisiting conditions, but there’s still half the country without health insurance. ! And there’s video of him at the podium saying “everyone will have health care now.” It’s like PlaySkool politics and about as real.
sm
October 24th, 2012
7:16 pm
The popular use for words change through time. Think of the word gay. It once meant “happy” then it meant “homosexual” and is now often used for “dumb”. The word retarded was once used to describe people with mental or learning disabilities (like Downs Syndrome). Not many people still use it like that anymore. It is used the same way gay is used. This may not be right, but it is the way it is. Move on.
Phil from Athens
October 24th, 2012
7:20 pm
RGB!!!!!!
Phil from Athens
October 24th, 2012
7:20 pm
Private Citizen
You do realize that there are actually some people who don’t want health insurance, right?
Darwin
October 24th, 2012
7:21 pm
A poster child for the right wing.
Phil from Athens
October 24th, 2012
7:21 pm
Can anyone explain why Obama says “kids can stay on their parents plan until they are 26?” I had no idea 26 year olds were kids. The adult age in this country is 18.
HUH?????
October 24th, 2012
7:23 pm
“A poster child for the right wing.”
Poster child for the left: Karl Marx, Mao, Hitler, Gore, Chavez…
I’ll take Coulter over anyone on your side any day of the week.
Private Citizen
October 24th, 2012
7:25 pm
Agree with you bu regarding the debate and the lefties who think this is clever. It’s a real tragedy that Romney seems to have some character issues underneath his ability to make great accomplishment. He’s also way out of touch with a lot of domestic people issues. That man is going to pay a heavy price for living so many years apart from regular working people. Maybe he deserves to lose after cashing in companies, walking away with the money, and leaving workers out in the cold.
If you think Obama during the debate is gross, you should see the emails I get from his campaign. They’re just as “clever.” One of them was very demanding. “According to our database, YOU HAVEN’T GIVEN US ANY MONEY! WHAT’S THE DEAL?” Sounds like I’m making a joke. I’m not.
Private Citizen
October 24th, 2012
7:26 pm
Whoop. ‘didn’t close the html again. -Have some bold! A little extra!
Private Citizen
October 24th, 2012
7:30 pm
Phil, Call it what you want, everybody needs to be able to go to the doctor and leave with their wallet intact, with their bank account intact, without taking on debt, without getting their credit ruined, and without being made bankrupt!
At the risk of sounding like a NJ steel worker, do you have a problem with that?
And kids need eyeglasses, too. And in Georgia, kids do not have them. If you have issue about this, I would much like to hear it.
Rafe Hollister
October 24th, 2012
7:36 pm
Respect the office, sure, respect the man who goes around acting juvenile and poking fun at a rival by saying he has Romnesia. He is a real role model for our children!
Walter Little, Jr.
October 24th, 2012
7:38 pm
Thanks for letting those of us who might not heard of her remark know Maureen. As a volunteer of a group working to remove the “R” word from our vocabulary, I find such comments as those made by Ms. Coulter rude, crude, and obnoxious.
P.S. – Have a safe trip.
Pride and Joy
October 24th, 2012
7:51 pm
Ann Coulter is a media wh$ore. She’ll say anything to get her name in the paper on her mug on TV. She might as well be Ann Kardashian. No one should take her seriously or be offended by her. She is what she is –a narcissist.
Elizabeth
October 24th, 2012
7:54 pm
People who say things like what Ann Coulter said are really saying a lot more about themselves than they are about the person they are purportedly talking about.
Personally, I would MUCH prefer to spend time with disabled people or other people that she considers “retards” than with Ann Coulter, and I suspect that most people feel the same way.
Peggy
October 24th, 2012
8:02 pm
How can a black man in America with no ties to Ivy League schools attend, graduate, become a sitting U.S president and still be called a retard by white trash……SHAKING MY DAMN HEAD!
George Hale
October 24th, 2012
8:03 pm
As Ralphie May points out, retards are not offended,because they do not know they should be. They are happy people by and large if they have anything. People who are offended by the term, an abbreviated version of retarded, should . . . well get a life.
Earnestly
October 24th, 2012
8:04 pm
The current political climate combined with the detached nature of social media is allowing weak people with stunted morals to vent their spleen and find an audience of like minded sociopaths. Our founding fathers, who incidentally weren’t as high minded as we’ve been taught, would be disgusted.
Eustace Tilly
October 24th, 2012
8:08 pm
If Obama, who graduated from Columbia and Harvard Law, is a “retard,” what does that make Coulter, who graduated from Cornell (haha!) and Michigan Law (double haha!)?
Greg Camp
October 24th, 2012
8:12 pm
Ann Coulter is another parasite in the model of Rush Limbaugh. They espouse garbage to feed their weak minded audience and make millions doing so. A sad statement as to the current mentallity that has enveloped this country.
Mitch
October 24th, 2012
8:15 pm
Hey Y’all. Let’s not agonize over the remarks of the Village Idiot. Ann Coulter is a Republican and that is the way they think these days.
Private Citizen
October 24th, 2012
8:42 pm
hey Phil, “Don’t get sick.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnoD3NUux3M#t=0m45s
Bisnono
October 24th, 2012
8:47 pm
My little brother was just 20 when 911 happened. He was SO inspired by the firemen in New York that he himself became a fireman with my hometown’s volunteer fire department.
My precious brother, who would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it, stutters. For his entire childhood, he heard the R-word from bullies constantly because of his stuttering.
I am so incredibly proud of what he was accomplished and who he has become. And the people he rescues from burning homes and car wrecks? They couldn’t care less if he stutters. All that matters is that they live through it, and it is his determination and failure to give in to BULLIES like Ann Coulter who thought he was stupid that he takes to work with him every time he pulls on his suit and climbs on that fire truck.
I love teaching. I hate what it is becoming...
October 24th, 2012
8:49 pm
So much misinformation here. *sigh*
Dr. Monica Henson
October 24th, 2012
8:51 pm
Ann Coulter is one of the most loathsome life forms on the planet.
William Casey
October 24th, 2012
9:05 pm
@Phil: Not everyone is ignorant. Enjoy your bliss. LOL
Teacher Reader
October 24th, 2012
9:40 pm
There is nothing wrong with the use of the word. If people are offended, grow thicker skin. This world has gotten too pc and frankly we’re not getting the truth for fear of offending someone. Don’t care if someone is offended anymore, I want the truth and want to know what is on someone’s mind without sensorship. Just say what you mean and mean what you say. I don’t have to agree, but you have a right say what you really feel. Too many are offended for so little. Grow up everyone and put your big person pants on.
DawgNole
October 24th, 2012
9:44 pm
Teacher Reader
October 24th, 2012
9:40 pm
There is nothing wrong with the use of the word. If people are offended, grow thicker skin. This world has gotten too pc and frankly we’re not getting the truth for fear of offending someone. Don’t care if someone is offended anymore, I want the truth and want to know what is on someone’s mind without sensorship. Just say what you mean and mean what you say. I don’t have to agree, but you have a right say what you really feel. Too many are offended for so little. Grow up everyone and put your big person pants on.
___________________
Good thing you didn’t say “big-boy pants.” Someone would’ve been offended.
Teacher Reader
October 24th, 2012
9:51 pm
@ Private Citizen: Romney worked very hard for the money that he had, as do most people who make it in life. There is nothing wrong with Romney, the way he earned his money, and his character. Look into him and look at how he has paid for milk for veterans when there wasn’t enough to pay for milk for them. Look at how he has helped those in need, expecting nothing in return. Look at how he gives millions away. When I look at Romney, I see a decent man.
Having lived in Chicago, I remember Obama’s elections to get to where he is today. I remember him bringing out personal divorce records on an opponent, hurting his family and being totally ruthless and callous for the feelings of others. Obama is also rich and has been for some time. He lives in a million plus home in Chicago which he got in a shady deal. The current situation in Libya and the lies the Americans were told and are being told after emails have come out are appalling. Sorry, but Obama is scum and has little dignity or care for anyone other than himself.
I hear all about the Romney’s money, but Michelle Obama wears equally expensive, often times more expensive clothing than Ann Romney. If you’re going to make comments about one candidate, look closely and honestly at the candidate you support before spewing BS about the person you don’t like.
I don’t care who you vote for. I just am tired of people spewing lies and using class war fair to divide America. Growing up poor, I worked hard to have every single thing that I have and my husband and I are not ashamed or do we feel badly that others aren’t so fortunate. I don’t have Romeny or Obama money, but I do live comfortably and no one has given us anything. We’ve taken risks and worked hard and always done our best.
Class war fair does not belong in America, because anyone can make it, if they have the desire, and take the initiative. My grandfather came here penniless from Germany, to die with a 100 acre farm worth much more because of the land. America is not about handouts and redistributing what others have worked for to give to those unwilling to work as hard.
RAMZAD
October 24th, 2012
10:16 pm
Americans created the market for Ann Coulter and other miscellaneous slime of her caliber. The twenty four cycle of propaganda for news and hate speech for commentary has created a vast cesspool of people like Ann Coulter.
As long as facts are less important than propaganda Ann Coulter will have a job oozing pus
over mass and social media.
bubba
October 24th, 2012
10:27 pm
Maureen, you should be embarrassed by lazily introducing this trivial “tweet” into an Education blog to meet your quota for the day.
Bisnono
October 24th, 2012
10:34 pm
@teacher reader –
Tell a little 7 year old boy who spent the entire day at school being told he was stupid and made fun of by his classmates to just grow thicker skin? THAT is your suggestion??
You want me to tell it like it is to you? I would be more than happy to, but I would be censored and my post would never be printed in this forum. So let me make it as clear as possible for you in small words so YOU will understand how it feels to watch a loved one suffer because other people get their jollies for making fun of someone who is different from them: it makes me want to put you on display naked in the middle of Times Square, with a BIG sign around your neck that says “kick me, I make fun of others to feel better about myself and my pointless existence.” You are a PATHETIC excuse for a human being. How about you try putting yourself in the shoes of a child with Down Syndrome, or the parent of a child with developmental disabilities for one frigging DAY and see if you grow a heart??!
dc
October 24th, 2012
10:56 pm
Yeah…because this is clearly the important topic of the day. Seriously? What a stupid topic. Students are dropping out of school, the charter amendment is upon us, schools are failing right and left…and this is the topic of the day.
What a bunch of liberal B.S.
Private Citizen
October 24th, 2012
11:13 pm
Teacher Reader, Since we’re standing out here on the edge of the diving board, thank you for backgrounding Obama, I’ve got no romance with him for a number of reasons. Back to what I was saying, … yeah there is a problem with somebody who takes things apart and doesn’t build things and then calls it “business.” The real teeth grinder is a lot of these folk came from the good life back when there was a 40% tax bracket in the USA and that’s why we had public universities and stuff. Even if Romney was born with silver, gold, and platinum spoons in his mouth and didn’t need public university, there was a real sweet spot after WW2 when the tax rate was high, the doors were open, and a lot was getting done for individuals. If you can’t see this, so be it. I’ve got no problem with rich people, been around plenty of them. They usually know how to do the jobs on the bottom, can step in anywhere in their enterprise and do a better job than the worker under them, and have their wealth because they have created or built something, an art, service, or product, not a predatory service, not a predator. Romney is a predator. He cleaned out companies and then stashed the cash in off shore tax havens. If you think that is okay and “Cayman Islands” is your idea of US citizenship, hey, please get a boat and go over there. At least everyone won’t have $25-50k college debt so that they graduate school with a house payment and no house, unlike when Romney was a youth and people had mobility without the stone donut around their neck. Romney could have taken any of those companies and made them produce instead of disassembling them, but that wouldn’t have been expedient for his pocket book. Thanks for the Chicago reality check on Obama. Seems like these guys are groomed and placed. He’s definitely a pro. He main strength is slow-motion damage control. Maybe it’ll work and we better get used to the smooth voice for a while longer. By the way, it’s spelled “censorship” and a lot of great writers couldn’t spell for a sack of beans..
PS The #1 real problem is that Reagan changed the laws protecting the public from centralized ownership of major media. That’s why it’s dullsville now and no one has to report, they can just blast you with “the message.” Just look at what happened to music on the radio after Reagan made a big smile and signed it. Under Bush is was like the administration didn’t even feel compelled to inform the public what they were doing and the news didn’t go to the trouble either. Even today, you get better U. S. news from Russia Today and Al Jazeera than from the U. S. major medias that are owned by a few companies. You should look up the statistics on it. There used to be, like, 200 companies that owned U. S. major media. Now it’s like 3 or 4. Makes it real easy to support corporate culture and things like the Comcast monopoly over internet. You even notice that? Oh there’s competition, is there? Where I live, the DSL alternative is about the same speed at internet in North Korea. I’m not making a pun. I speedtest and document my internet connection. The best part is that the connection statistics are complete misrepresented by the FCC and Obama’s appointee Genokowsi who’s FCC policy is that they “encourage” competition. Huh? And I telephoned them about the mispresentation on the available connection speeds. After two days of calls and dead numbers, I finally talked to an engineer in Colorado who put me in touch with somebody real. This person bounced it down to the state level and said, in effect, “it’s your problem.” Obama is a corporate schmoe through and through. And FoxNews tells the workers that he’s a “socialist.” And the workers believe it.
Pink
October 25th, 2012
12:25 am
Private Citizen, you make some good points but don’t waste your breath. The majority of people are either stupid or self-centered and some are, unfortunately, both. On another note, I remember when the great evil was “communist”. Now it appears it’s “socialist”. Whatever happened to hating on the communist? Does this mean we can be friends with Cuba now? If not, then why can we play with China? Oh no, now my head hurts. I’ll have to go lie down.
Private Citizen
October 25th, 2012
12:41 am
Romney worked very hard for the money that he had,
So, you’re under a spell and just making stuff up? According to Ann Romney’s book, “At Harvard, Ann was able to stay home with their children despite neither parent having a job, because “we had no income except the stock we were chipping away at.” (which was a gift from his dad)
Read about it for yourself. http://www.salon.com/2012/09/18/mitt_romney_self_made_man/
During Romney’s mission work, “He was promoted to zone leader in Bordeaux in early 1968, and soon thereafter became assistant to the mission president in Paris”
Have you ever been to Bordeaux? Bordeaux is the wealthiest area in the entire country. It makes Buckhead look like Hapeville. This is not really an overstatement or hyperbole. Buckhead has $10M houses. Bordeaux has castles and producing vineyards that have been there for a thousand years, and downtown has extensive public underground parking out of sight and a spotless ground level for the humans to walk. They’re not exactly looking for tourists, there, either. It is exclusive and uncrowded and has a premium public transport train system as well. Let me dial up a picture for you. See any parked cars? No, because parking is underground. http://www.orangesmile.com/common/img_final_large/bordeaux_sightseeing.jpg This is a good overview to give you a feel for the place. Note the absence of cars and people walking instead. Oh, yes they have cars. They keep them out of sight. http://americanmominbordeaux.blogspot.com/2012/04/bordeaux-my-new-city.html
Public transport in one of the crummier parts of town http://farm1.static.flickr.com/51/182682590_beb20b82e7.jpg
And yes, they have universal health care and all of the kids have eyeglasses. They don’t do it “Romney style,” or “Obama (the corporate herd-master) style” for that matter.
GaNative
October 25th, 2012
12:46 am
Ann Coulter should just shut her mouth. For someone that looks like a transsexual, she should not be throwing stones at anyone.
Private Citizen
October 25th, 2012
12:46 am
ps Cars are not just out of sight, but out of rain, snow, dirt etc. Extensive heated underground parking. Practical and smart. They’ve got the money to pay for it, so why not?
Lou
October 25th, 2012
1:03 am
I am no fan of Ann Coulter and have great empathy for those who parent the mentally challenged. That said–there is no way that young man with Down Syndrome could have written that letter. I’ve been a college professor and taught freshman English, so I know of what I speak. Perhaps if the person who helped him write the letter had been identified, then the letter would have more credibility.
Private Citizen
October 25th, 2012
1:13 am
Pink, The terms “communism” and “socialism” have real meaning and are not to be equated. Communist countries are dirty and dirt poor and the joke is “you make believe you work and I’ll make believe I pay you.” Socialist countries take a portion of the economy, called “inefficient markets” and make them efficient through organizing public services. We do the same thing here in the U. S. with roads, but that is about where it stops. Socialist countries tend to be highly industrialized and wealthy. They make things, they sell things, and they take care of their populace. Socialist countries tend to have great private wealth due to the sophistication of their production. The wealth is more evenly distributed than in the U. S. due to much private ownership of industry and there is not so much concern or reliance of the stock market system. I owned about $5k in a European stock and for about a year the valuation sat there like a rock and did not go up and down like in the U. S. system. They have a whole different way of looking at business. For example, the Michelin tire company is privately owned by the people who started it. A lot of their kids are priests or nuns. I guess they’re not too concerned about having their needs met. I knew a schoolteacher in the U. S. who was from the same town as the Michelin family and grew up with their kids and told me about them. In these socialist countries, they take “values” seriously. In the U. S., services are withheld and “values” are sold as a training program to enrich someone and people in government schools are forced to go along with it and are threatened with their jobs.
Private Citizen
October 25th, 2012
1:35 am
Teacher Reader, You’re misinformed about the U. S. being the land of opportunity today. Yes, we have treated water to drink without getting sick, but opportunity and economic mobility is documented and not just an opinion. U. S. is ranked low internationally on “work hard, get ahead.” The term is “mobility” or “social mobility.” I’ll go ahead and document it for you. Yeah, baby. Here you go. http://www.businessinsider.com/the-american-dream-is-now-a-myth-2012-6
See the part of the chart when social / economic mobility is 6x what it is today? That’s from when guys like Romney were paying their share.
Private Citizen
October 25th, 2012
1:41 am
According to that chart, currently the trend of being downwardly mobile is greater than the trend of being upwardly mobile. Hmm Sounds like student loans to me. In the long run, for many people, student loans make your economic mobility go down. No one seems to realize that this is pretty recent and that the USA is the only country in the universe that weighs people down with this kind of debt in order to get professional training. It is really astounding that Americans don’t have perspective on it.
Private Citizen
October 25th, 2012
1:41 am
America is a big fat tomato and someone is getting the tomato juice.
Private Citizen
October 25th, 2012
1:54 am
Literally, it is like the country is getting harvested. Let us not forget that Arne Duncan is from Harvard. Private Citizen has pretty good instincts. This leave me a little speechless. At the height of the financial bubble, 47% of Harvard graduates headed to jobs in finance http://www.thenation.com/blog/165724/harvard-wall-street-recruiting-ivies#
Can you spell Harvard S O C I O P A T H ?