Hank Johnson’s mea culpa on the ‘m-word’
DeKalb County Democratic U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson sought to register his indignation on the new right-to-work law in Michigan, so he strode to the floor of the House on Wednesday to make a grand metaphor about labor unions in a half-hour speech.
“What happens when you put in a cage fight a giant in with a midget? Well, the midget will not win the fight, I’m going to tell you that. Why? It just doesn’t carry enough weight to do so. But if you put 30 midgets in with that giant, then the midgets have a chance.”
That’s why America needs organized labor, see? Because the midgets need to team up and collectively bargain, or fight the giant.
But Johnson realized today that he might have insulted some people, so he returned to the floor for an apology. The video is not embeddable yet but can be found here. Johnson compared the formally common use of the “n-word” to that of the “m-word:”
“Just within the last 12 hours or so, I have found that the use of the midget, excuse me, the use of the m-word is no longer socially acceptable. The m-word refers to a group of people, the little people, but when I say little people I’m not talking about the Leona Helmsley little people. I’m not talking about the 47 percent. I’m not talking about the takers and the makers as some would describe them. … It really refers to a medical condition, dwarfism is the name of that medical condition and sometimes I guess one can even say abnormally small people, abnormally small people, which to me I like that term better than dwarfism. So I wanted to say to all of those who may have been offended by my use of the term the m-word, I want you to know that it was out of ignorance and not spite or hatred that I use that term and please know that I will never use that term again.”
Johnson spokesman Andy Phelan explained the reason for the apology thusly: “No group or groups reached out. He realized this morning that he used what some people feel is a prejudicial term, and he was determined to apologize and set the record straight. He used it as a teachable moment.”
Johnson advised C-SPAN viewers to go to lpaonline.org to learn more about “little people,” which is the preferred nomenclature.
- By Daniel Malloy, Political Insider
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125 comments Add your comment
Paul From Milton
December 14th, 2012
7:50 am
@Eric – Representative Johnson’s primary qualification for Congress from his district is that he is the proper color. That is his lone qualification.
Roekest
December 14th, 2012
7:57 am
Hank Johnson – Not the smartest man to hold office or breath oxygen. Plus, he has crazy-eyes.
honested
December 14th, 2012
7:59 am
Did Hank mention broun, gingrey, woodall and price?
Oh, he didn’t say the ‘mental m-word’.
honested
December 14th, 2012
8:00 am
paul from milton,
So by your logic, price has no qualification at all!
Don't Tread
December 14th, 2012
8:02 am
Psssst…Hank….the vote was about not being forced to join a union to get a job! Freedom of choice! But of course we know Democrats hate freedom, especially when others exercise it.
Hank is living proof that you really can’t fix stupid. There’s not a pill you can take, there’s not a class you can go to…..stupid is forever.
Dangerous
December 14th, 2012
8:14 am
Hank Johnson could be a serious inspiration to someone………………………………namely a SNL writer!
Roekest
December 14th, 2012
8:18 am
@ Dangerous,
Hank’s a Democrat. SNL writers would NEVER dare to mock their own. Those days at Studio 8H went out with Dennis Miller, Dana Carvey, and Phil Hartman
straitroad
December 14th, 2012
8:22 am
Classic….
wally
December 14th, 2012
8:26 am
And this is why we are in the mess we are in . Because of mental midgets like Hank Johnson.
Please God ,protect us from people like Hank…Please
John w
December 14th, 2012
8:29 am
Hank is just another idiot representing a district of mostly idiots!! This is why anyone on welfare should not be allowed to vote. That is until they get a job and start paying taxes. If your not contributing you should have no say so in how things are run!!
DB
December 14th, 2012
8:37 am
Maybe if the giant moves to one side of the cage it will tip over enough that the midget (or elf) would come flying into him. BTW I am one of the non-idiots that lives in Hank’s district unfortunately.
Dangerous
December 14th, 2012
8:46 am
Roekest……..I don’t know, that is some low hanging fruit on the tree.
MiltonMan
December 14th, 2012
9:04 am
Johnson is an idiot – just like his constituents in GA 4th district that elect this moron. And guess who the morons in the 4th district elected before this clown? None other than Cynthia Moonbat McKinney.
burntgrassroot
December 14th, 2012
9:12 am
As a representative to the US House of Representatives from Georgia, it is Rep. Johnson’s mandate from all the constituents of his district (not just those who voted for him) to engage in all the issues that impact the American people. Rep. Hank Johnson isn’t my representative, but I went to the US House of Representatives website to see what else he’d been doing. http://search.house.gov/htbin/search I got 3,180 hits, the most recent a collaboration between him and Sen. John Kerry to help prevent American soldiers’ suicide. I agree with Rep. Johnson’s admission that his comments regarding little people was out of ignorance; the best way to correct ignorance is to admit and correct oneself, and I hope that little people forgive him. Mea culpa is Latin for “my fault”–it’s my opinion that if more Congress members would engage in repentance than condemnation, they’d get much more of the people’s business done.
RR
December 14th, 2012
9:21 am
Hank Johnson and Cynthia McKinney are not the stupidest people in DeKalb County. Those people would be the morons who voted them into office.
Olderandwiser49
December 14th, 2012
9:24 am
Any chance we can get a law passed requiring an IQ test to run for public office? That alone would eliminate 20-30% of our current Congressmen!
Michele
December 14th, 2012
9:31 am
Once again, Americans are showing that they can be offended by even the most minute error on someone’s part. The country has become so oversensitive to everything that the “m-word” becomes significant. I truly believe that we have become a nation where no matter what you say, you will offend someone. In this case, if you call someone a midget, you are in the wrong. However, if you use the word midget, which has been in the vocabulary for generations, you are guilty of nothing. Why do we need to be so careful of every single word we use. If you remember, the word gay used to mean happy. Then it became an insult. Now it is an acceptable word that some openly use to declare their lifestyle. It is now accepted when used in the right context. Here, the word midget was not used in an offensive way. Get over it!
joe
December 14th, 2012
9:43 am
The next word that needs to be “outlawed” is the C word…no, not THAT c-word. I’m talking about “cracker.” AA’s should not be able to call whites crackers. So from now on, you can use Caucasians. That’s it. Nothing more. If you happen to be talking about the food that goes with cheese, you can use the term biscuits. Ya, cheese and biscuits.
Skipper
December 14th, 2012
9:47 am
“Hey Hank, the p*ss is in the boot; the directions are on the heel. Can you pour it out????”
Sheila Woods
December 14th, 2012
10:23 am
It is refreshing to see someone catch his own mistake and be man enough to say so. Rock on Mr. Johnson do what you came to do.
Phill
December 14th, 2012
10:46 am
Hank is a Democrat so he gets a pass.
OldNavyChief
December 14th, 2012
10:50 am
As a one time small business (now retired) owner, I am so glad that I did not have to put up with the likes of Johnson.
Georgia
December 14th, 2012
10:54 am
Lincoln himself could offend half the people all the time. Half the people like you, and half don’t. Doesn’t matter what you say or do. Hello there’s still folks who think W was a good president. Whoand who think Aaron Burr done good when he waxed Hamilton. Or Judas! He was only trading commodity futures, silver, and there was a rally. So, just be yourself, and only half the folks will think you’re an idiot.
na
December 14th, 2012
11:06 am
If you send 30 mental midgets into a voting booth, you get one giant Hank Johnson that comes out—————————- it is still hard to believe he represents anyone.
H.L. Grump
December 14th, 2012
1:24 pm
Most of you bloggers seem to be really small minded. I suggest taking your meds as prescribed.