Flacco uses the R-word....great....

[Ravens825]

I don't have a problem with what he said or how he said it. He probably could have used better wording but it was nothing more than a simple slip up. If he was on air or in the media saying retard, retarded every 5 minutes then yeah be offended.

In reality is he wrong? Who wants to freeze their balls off? Who is going to show up to a game in 15 inches of snow? It may or may not happen but the simple fact is it could. What happens when a state of emergency is declared when a freak snow storm pops up and dumps blizzard type snow on the Super Bowl City? Postpone the game? Play the game and expect people to risk their life trying to get there?

I know weather is unpredictable but if you plan to host a Super Bowl in a city that is guaranteed to be cold you have to think how it will impact the game. Sure it could be 60 degrees but it could also be 10 with an inch of snow per hour falling.

[Flipping Birdie]

Well, then you're most certainly wrong. Language has been evolving, and terms that were once considered appropriate becoming considered rude and unacceptable, since the beginning of time. That's just language and zeitgeist. PC was a hysterical exercise in absurdity where perfectly acceptable terms that have no negative connotations are given forced new names to compensate for imagined slights. It the term is used as an insult, then it by definition does not qualify for the PC tag.

[callahan09]

I don't think this comment changes the public perception of Flacco at all. He's always come off as kind of a dim bulb, he stutters a lot and always seems salty to interviewers the way he calls things "a bunch of crap" and now "retarded" and "stupid" and he likes to make comments about how the media have an agenda and about how he doesn't care about anything. I think that's just Flacco's personality. He is a very regular Joe kind of guy. If he weren't a professional athlete, he has that kind of personality of the guy who would sit around a bonfire with his buddies drinking a 30 pack of bud light every weekend. He has that Jersey drawl in his accent, and his mannerisms and everything support it. Frankly, it's the very reason that the media and the public have never embraced Flacco over the years, and we should all have realized this before. He isn't the "sexy" choice for the media to fall all over, we've been saying that for years, and this is exactly what we meant by that all along. He doesn't do a politically correct, media friendly interview. He just says it like it is, like a down home kind of guy, which makes him come off sometimes as salty and unintelligent. I don't think he's either of those things, it's just the way his personality is as a very laid-back guy who doesn't over-think what he says.

[Ravens27Girl]

People need to stop being so sensitive and offended so easily. I'm so sick of 'political correctness' and putting nice soothing labels on everything so someone doesn't get their feelings hurt.

How about I'm offended by people getting offended? Seriously, people need to grow thicker skin SMH

[Beau Petard]

Just to keep the waters roiling, I actually agree with Scally more than it might appear, and for a lot of reasons, some of which I won't address.

But consider a couple things -

Flacco would have been better-served had he just not said his first 2 or 3 sentences in that quote. His point would have been clearer, and the focus would have been on cold weather, domed stadiums, etc., which is where his point belongs. He may be a good (elite? ) QB, but he needs to go back and re-study whatever media/PR training the Ravens provide to rookies.

On a grammatical and word meaning note, the use of the words "retard", "retarded", and their variations was and is a bit distorted (I'd say perverted, but then we get into a whole new debate!) in our culture. Flacco is certainly welcome to his opinion, but drawing an analogy of how Super Bowl games should be sited and using a distasteful term for the mental capabilities of less fortunate folks is, well...just plain ret...ooops!

[drunkmormon]

I should also point out that an evolving language and terms formally considered appropriate becoming impolite isn't what PC ever was about. When people accuse such examples as being PC, or a PC society run amuck, they don't really understand what PC is. Political Correctness, which was an academic issue in the 90's, was ridiculous. This isn't that.

Then you sir have no idea what PC is...

[Tommy_Carcetti]

Poor word choice by Joe. And to be honest, the blowback of people whining about hating "how PC we've become" is just as annoying as PC itself. I mean, times change, attitudes change, whether you like it or not.

But it's a tempest in a tea pot. Non-issue, he apologized, move on.

And poor word choice aside, he's got a point. If they are going to make the Super Bowl an event, putting it in a place where there is such a risk of inclement weather at that time of year is just, well, foolish. And don't think just because New York got the Super Bowl means Baltimore will. Or Pittsburgh. Or Cleveland. Or Cincinatti. Or any other northern market with an outdoor stadium. They got it because New York is self-fellating and wanted in on the Super Bowl action, practicality be damned.

[saintmatthew]

As a father I find myself very offended by the use of the motherfucker, but people keep saying it.

[drunkmormon]

As a father I find myself very offended by the use of the motherfucker, but people keep saying it.

+1

[BcRaven]

Just to keep the waters roiling, I actually agree with Scally more than it might appear, and for a lot of reasons, some of which I won't address.

But consider a couple things -

Flacco would have been better-served had he just not said his first 2 or 3 sentences in that quote. His point would have been clearer, and the focus would have been on cold weather, domed stadiums, etc., which is where his point belongs. He may be a good (elite? ) QB, but he needs to go back and re-study whatever media/PR training the Ravens provide to rookies.

On a grammatical and word meaning note, the use of the words "retard", "retarded", and their variations was and is a bit distorted (I'd say perverted, but then we get into a whole new debate!) in our culture. Flacco is certainly welcome to his opinion, but drawing an analogy of how Super Bowl games should be sited and using a distasteful term for the mental capabilities of less fortunate folks is, well...just plain ret...ooops!

Perhaps every time we're about to speak, we should take a step back, count to 10, form our words, then say them slowly so we do not offend anyone. Then nobody will really say what they mean in their own words. It's called Political Correctness. Joe Flacco, IMO is a decent young man, married with a young child, and has never been in trouble with the law. The media loves to ferret out anything that can be construed as controversial just to sell newspapers, magazines, or air time. His use of the "R" word means nothing to me, but there are those who will jump on it and make a mountain out of a molehill. Maybe newsworthy people should not give interviews at all (?) ... Bc

[CptJesus]

Hooray for living in the world of the butthurt political correctness, where you dot every I and cross every t and don't you dare say anything offensive about anybody ever.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

[akashicrecorder]

Whoa! Now it's not OK with the PCers to say "Gay"? That's fuckin' ridiculous! When I grew up, the correct term was "queer" or "homo" which somehow later were deemed to be offensive by Lefty. Then it turned to "gay" as the PC term, with "queer" and "homo" became the bad guys according to the pointy-headed Leftists who make up these rules.

All of you who support PC should read the book "1984" to get an idea as to why normal Americans resent PC's intrusion into our lives.

You didn't read my post correctly. "Gay" is offensive when meant with NO connection to literal gay people.

Gay is obviously still used to describe people who are gay. It is INAPPROPRIATE however to use it simply to describe something as a negative. Someone who is homosexual is gay, something you find annoying or stupid should be called annoying or stupid, not gay or retarded.

No one is trying to control anyone. You're still free to complain about queer retard crippled nigger broads. No one will stop you. We'll just think less of you.

Precisely.

[drunkmormon]

You didn't read my post correctly. "Gay" is offensive when meant with NO connection to literal gay people.

Precisely.

An insult is an insult when it is meant as an insult? That is just happy, and I am not referring to homosexuals in any way...

[akashicrecorder]

Hooray for living in the world of the butthurt political correctness, where you dot every I and cross every t and don't you dare say anything offensive about anybody ever.

The basic lack of empathy displayed by some of the posters here is disturbing.

Perhaps every time we're about to speak, we should take a step back, count to 10, form our words, then say them slowly so we do not offend anyone.

You say that sarcastically, but isn't this the foundation of basic manners, which I am sure your parents aimed to teach you when you were young? So because it takes minor effort to not make someone feel bad about who they are, it's not worth it? Cool story.

[Mr OC]

Context is everything; it's not a word that is obscene, it's the intent behind it. I think it would have been different if Joe had said "whoever came up with that idea is a retard". Nevertheless, it gets some people worked up. I know a guy named David who gets worked up when someone calls him "Dave".

Unfortunately, words are the trigger. Lenny Bruce used to do a bit about the "N word", and Lenny was far from racist.

[akashicrecorder]

An insult is an insult when it is meant as an insult? That is just happy, and I am not referring to homosexuals in any way...

You should get a little less drunk there, mormon.

"Gay" in a dictionary sense refers (in addition to "being happy," of course) to homosexuality. That's why gay people/homosexuals refer to themselves as "gay." It's not an insult, to them or by the literal meaning. It's an insult when it's used to describe something bad; e.g., it's common for young folks to say, "That's so gay," not meaning something homosexual, but something they think is dumb/they don't like.

Reading comprehension ...

[Ravens825]

Oddly enough my wife's best friend has 2 autistic children. I just asked her if she would be offended by what Joe said and he response was "NO".

It is all about context. To me the idea IS retarded. It is also moronic, stupid, asinine, dumb and any other word you can find that means the same thing.

Merriam Webster defines retard as.............
Definition of RETARD
transitive verb
1
: to slow up especially by preventing or hindering advance or accomplishment : impede
2
: to delay academic progress by failure to promote
intransitive verb
: to undergo retardation
— re·tard·er noun
See retard defined for English-language learners »
See retard defined for kids »
Examples of RETARD

The chemical will retard the spread of fire.
The problems have retarded the progress of the program.

Definition of RETARD
1
: a holding back or slowing down : retardation
2
often offensive : a retarded person; also : a person held to resemble a retarded person in behavior




It does not have to be offensive when used in the proper context. Do we not have fire RETARDant?

[Captain Silver]

When did America turn into a bunch of pussies? You people need to get thicker skin and not give a damn about what people say unless it is directed at you.

[Ngata Da Vida]

Am I glad that "retarded" is not considered a publicly polite word anymore? Yes
Am I pissed at Flacco or do I think he's a bad person for saying it? No
Did I cringe when I read that he said it? Yes

+1. I am a board member of an organization that provides assistance to those with developmental disabilities. I also am guilty, in my younger days of using words such as this in a perjorative context. I think the vast majority of us, especially men, used "retarded" or "gay" or "fag" to put down others. The point is, those of us with a modicum of maturity outgrew it. It doesn't make us hate mongerers, we just know better now.

Joe is still young, but should know better. I think he recognized that the second it came out of his mouth.

[akashicrecorder]

Oddly enough my wife's best friend has 2 autistic children. I just asked her if she would be offended by what Joe said and he response was "NO".

OK, good for your wife's best friend. If only your wife's best friend was the only person in the whole world, then the fact she personally is not offended would mean no one else has to/should be.

often offensive : a retarded person; also : a person held to resemble a retarded person in behavior

Cool, so you just ignored this part of the entry.

It does not have to be offensive when used in the proper context. Do we not have fire RETARDant?

Was Joe talking about fire retardant? Because THAT would be a "proper context."