A Rose by Any Other Name

People have been apologizing for using terms which other people, the people demanding the apology, find offensive. This is problematic on many counts. Most importantly, free speech is a right in the United States which is protected by the constitution. Also, these terms are perfectly legitimate words that carry meaning. They are not some made up derrogatory terms. And, the people complaining about these words were not even present when the words were uttered. What gives them the right to be offended?

Free speech, especially speech among friends, should require no apology to anyone outside of the group. Correct usage of words in public requires no apology. Complainers, your ignorance (lack of knowledge) is showing.

Negro and retarded are the most recent words to make the "Apologize to All the People Who Are" list.  Historically people have used a variety of terms for the groups of people referenced by these words. In my lifetime I have heard perfectly respectable television reporters use the terms colored, negro, black, African American and for a more general group "people of color." At one time the correct labels for the three levels of below normal intelligence were idiot, imbecile, and moron. I was taught the labels educable mental retardation, trainable mental retardation, severe and profound mental retardation when I was in college. Retarded became handicapped. Handicapped became differently-abled. Differently-abled became special needs.

It seems terminology changes when terms become insults. When a term is well understood and people do not want to belong to the group described, a new term is invented. How sad. If members of the described group could embrace their identity with pride there would be no insult intended or not.

Which brings me to my final point. You have a choice. You can be offended by something someone else says or you can not. Taking offense tells more about the person who is offended than about the person making the offending remark. The fact that any of this makes it to the news is very telling about the state of news reporting today.

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet."
Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2)