Sticks and Stones vs. Words
Political correctness has no sense of proportion.
Rock thrown at a small girl gets little response from authorities and elite cultural improvers.
But an accurate sign warning of the danger supposedly hurts feelings of a thirteen year old stone thrower and wanderer with the mind of a three year.
And the hypothetical hurt feelings arouse authorities and elite cultural improvers to express their (politically required) condemnation and to consider what (largely ineffectual, one hopes) actions they might take.
My opinions follow immediately. Link to -- and copy of -- news story is further below.
It was once a commonplace saying, known to all:
"Sticks and stones / May break my bones / But words will never hurt me."
Or as a better authority described an obvious lack of proportion:
Matthew 23:23-28 KJV Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. (24) Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. [ ... ] (28) Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
The obvious remedy is also a commonplace saying:
"Good fences make good neighbors."
And the government does bear ultimate responsibility for sons who are truly unmanageable by parents.
Moses gives the principle. (With the material and technical resources of our age we can readily provide more nuanced responses.):
Deuteronomy 21:18-21 KJV (18) If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them: (19) Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place; (20) And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. (21) And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.
From a KSL.com [Utah] article, Family Upset About Sign In Neighbor's Yard (Note: Sizeable video also available at link with easy and quick (with dsl) download):
Family Upset About Sign In Neighbor's Yard [/] July 21st, 2006 @ 10:00pm [/] Sam Penrod reporting
A cardboard sign is hanging in a tree, directed at a boy with developmental disabilities, and the boy's mother isn't happy.
Neighbor: "I'm not taking the sign down, last night was the first night of peace we've got in a long ----- time."
Carrie Heaton, Colton's Mother: "They've put up this sign now, that we feel is very discriminatory against my son."
The cardboard sign is hanging in a tree in the Central Utah town of Nephi.
It is also being denounced tonight by advocates for the disabled.
The boy's family noticed the sign pointed at their home on Wednesday night, and tonight it is still there. That's despite our visit to the neighbors who put it up.
Advocates for the disabled are outraged, calling it insensitive and in the same category as a racial slur.
Carrie Heaton, Nephi Resident: "You are a good guy."
Colton Heaton: "Yes I'm a good guy
Carrie Heaton, Nephi Resident: "Yes you are... Pats"
13-year-old Colton Heaton is developmentally delayed. His mother says he is more like a three year old.
Carrie Heaton, Nephi Resident: "He looks normal but once you start talking to him, you can see he has these problems and he's just a loving little guy, he thinks we're just a great big family."
But now a cardboard sign is hanging in their neighbor's tree -- spray painted with the words: "Caution-- Retards in Area." His mother says it is fortunate Colton can't read the words.
As we were filming the sign, we could see the neighbors who put it up were outside, so we approached them for their side of the story.
Sam Penrod, Eyewitness News: "Why did you put that sign up?
Neighbor: "I've been harassed for six months, my daughter has been assaulted."
Sam Penrod, Eyewitness News "By who?"
Neighbor: "The young boy, we got pictures and everything and they would not press charges because he is handicapped."
The neighbor claims Colton threw a rock at his young daughter. Other neighbors told us they have frequently found Colton wandering onto their property.
Still, the Disability Law Center says using offensive words is the wrong way to handle a difficult situation.
Fraser Nelson, Executive Director, Disability Law Center: "People with disabilities are probably the last group for whom we continue to use language that is hurtful and offensive. Instead of being someone who is mentally retarded, you are a person with a developmental disability and that means really what we are valuing is the person."
Tom Brownlee, Advocate for those with Disabilities: "When I was growing up, people always used that word in front of me and called me retarded."
Someone who knows how hurtful that word can be is Tom Brownlee, who today is an advocate for those with disabilities.
Tom Brownlee, Advocate for those with Disabilities: "I hate that word, it was very offensive and I just want them to see that people with disabilities deserve the respect that they are entitled to."
Both Brownlee and Nelson are hoping the community will stand up against any behavior that lessens the role of people with disabilities in society.
Fraser Nelson, Executive Director, Disability Law Center: "Regardless of cognitive disability I may have, I'm a person and people do not deserve to have signs pointed at them, making fun of them, scaring them, harassing them."
We contacted Nephi Police and they are working with the Juab County Attorney -- who told me tonight -- he finds it distasteful and derogatory and is researching what legal options may be available, since the neighbors still refuse to take the sign down.
The Disability Law Center is planning to meet with local officials to offer sensitivity training there in Nephi. [My ellipses and emphasis]
