Tickle Me

I thought this up yesterday in a moment of weirdness. And then I said to myself - I bet someone already thought of this. Sure enough they did:

Tickle Me Emo.

APauled?

Paul Henry's latest controverisal utterance on TV One's Breakfast has created a bit of a storm. The Human Rights Commission has received nearly 200 complaints concerning his comments on a magazine article on Susan Boyle, the singer.

The big issue seems to the use of the word "retard" which many are comparing to "nigger".

You should watch it for yourself if you feel driven to hold an opinion.

The curious thing for me is that he doesn't call Susan Boyle "a retard". What he actually says is, "She is in fact retarded." Now I'm aware its not considered appropriate to use the expression "retarded" these days, I assume because the root meaning "slow" is not considered a helpful connotation. For me, I'm not sure I find the alternatives "disability" or "special needs" to be any less patronising. But right off the bat he at least seems to use the word properly and not as a slur.

The real problem with what Henry does is that he seems to find the situation amusing, including the revelations about suffering beatings at home and school. When I saw this I assumed he thought the article was ironic. In other words, its relatively common knowledge (isn't it?) that Susan Boyle's talent is more compelling because of the wider life challenges she faces. So, the stating of the obvious as "revelations" got him to giggling. Hugely unfortunate, somewhat unprofessional and no doubt offensive to people, but I don't quite "get" the response some people have had to it. I don't think this was anything like someone being called a "nigger" on national TV.