Politically Incorrect

"Mean Girls" star Lindsay Lohan is accused of being, not quite mean, but insensitive. A group representing the mentally disabled wants Lohan to stop using the word "retarded." Lohan has used the word several times recently, saying that rumors of her getting breast implants were "retarded," her reported feud with Hilary Duff was "retarded" and a recent ambush by the paparazzi was "so retarded!" US Weekly says The Arc of the United States has written Lohan, telling her that the word is "deeply wounding" to the mentally disabled. --

Back in the 1980s, we were using this slang term exactly the way Lindsay Lohan does. It's got a 20+ year history of use--plenty of time to become entreched in the slanguage. Is it offensive? Maybe. But jumping all over a teenaged girl for using it seems me to be a bit excessive. Somehow I don't think mentally challenged kids all over the nation are feeling "deeply wounded" by Lindsay Lohan.

I wonder if the gay & lesbian community would write me to complain of hurtful language if I publically declared that the 1982 "Safety Dance" video by Men Without Hats was "totally gay." No one spoke out for all the hunchbacked children of the world when Disney thoughtlessly released their animated "Hunchback of Notre Dame." And how could Shrek II allow a character named "Puss in Boots" when 'puss' is a hateful slang term? Just think how all the wimps feel!