Rangel Uses 'Disabled' to Belittle and Dismiss - Like 'Nigger'

Photo: Rangel during CBS interview

Charles Rangel, (Liberal-D) Manhattan U.S. Congressman, tried to belittle, disparage, depreciate, discount, minimize, and otherwise insult Gov. Sarah Palin in a CBS interview today (text and video).

The Liberal Democrat said that Sarah Palin is disabled and

"Ya got to be kind to the disabled."

She will not be touched by the ham-fisted wielding of the word "disabled".

But, I AM INSULTED, MR. RANGEL!

I am insulted because I am disabled. I am a cripple, one of millions in this nation and around the world. To use "disabled" to diminish Mrs. Palin is to diminish me and those millions. "Disabled" should not be used to put down anyone anymore than "nigger" should be used.

Rep. Rangel thought he would disarm Mrs. Palin by calling her "disabled." Perhaps he meant to say Sarah Palin was genetically inferior because her infant son, Trig, has Down's Syndrome. That's equally loathsome. But he has only angered millions of disabled individuals and made a fool of himself.

I am crippled, but I am not a walking insult to society. I contribute to the society, the country, the nation, and the world. Five days a week, I get out of bed, go to work, produce goods and services, and pay taxes. Millions of other disabled, crippled, and challenged people do the same. Everyday.

Everyday, we get up to be stared at, pointed at, to hear the rude whispered comments, and the crude comments not whispered, to be treated as objects of curiosity. And then there's the incessant acts of kindness.

We are too often passed over for many work assignments (if we're lucky enough to have jobs), denied promotions and pay increases, restricted from many jobs and careers, overlooked as life partners and mates. When we stand our ground as people of dignity against the slings and arrows, we're said to be rude, arrogant, demanding, ill-mannered, ungrateful... we don't know our place. In short, uppity.

Charles Rangel said Sarah Palin was "disabled" in a manner denoting pity. The pity itself is dismissive. It means that I am not like normal people. And let's not kid ourselves, we all know what normal is. Mr Rangel spoke in a disrespectful manner reserved for anyone or anything thought to be beneath us, those held in contempt. His words said disabled people are beneath him, worthy only of contempt and easily dismissed.

Disabled people are not beneath anyone. Least of all, Charles Rangel, (D-Manhattan) U.S. Representative.

We are not three-fifths of a person and two-fifths beast. We are not house niggers to be recognized only when drinks need to be served. We are not cockroaches to be sprayed with Zyklon-B. We are not animals or pets to be put to sleep. We are not things to be ignored or thrown in the trash. We are not an insult to be used to denigrate others. We are human beings to be addressed with respect and dignity as any other person expects to be addressed.

It pains me to print Rangel's words here, but everyone needs to know the bigot that is Rep Charles Rangel, D-Manhattan (breitbart.tv):

NEW YORK (CBS) ― Already under fire for his tax troubles, Manhattan Congressman Charles Rangel really put his foot in his mouth on Friday.

In a CBS 2 HD exclusive interview, Rep. Rangel called Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin "disabled."

The question was simple: Why are the Democrats so afraid of Palin and her popularity?

The answer was astonishing.

"You got to be kind to the disabled," Rangel said.

That's right. The chairman of the powerful House Ways & Means Committee called Palin disabled -- even when CBS 2 HD called him on it.

CBS 2 HD: "You got to be kind to the disabled?"

Rangel: "Yes."

CBS 2 HD: "She's disabled?"

Rangel: "There's no question about it politically. It's a nightmare to think that a person's foreign policy is based on their ability to look at Russia from where they live.

Republicans think Rangel's comments are insulting as well as shocking.

"Charlie Rangel's comments are clearly disgraceful," Rep. Peter King, R-Long Island, said. "This is just another liberal Democrat who can't accept an independent woman running for president."

King, who is co-chair of the McCain-Palin campaign in New York, watched Rangel's comments with CBS 2 HD. He was particularly upset because Palin's 4-month-old son, Trig, is disabled. He has Down's syndrome.

"We should be sensitive to her or any woman who has a child or family member who has any affliction at all," King said. "And so to use the word disabled in the context of a female candidate for vice president who has a child who is disabled really is wrong. Charlie owes her and the entire disabled community an apology."

Advocates for the disabled are also upset.

"It makes me feel as if he's trying to put her down, trying to say she's not good for the presidency or the vice presidency," said Michael Imperiale of Disabled In Action Of Metropolitan N.Y.

"A disabled president ran this country. He was disabled. His name was Roosevelt."

...And John Kennedy, George Washington, Dwight Eisenhower, Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Jackson, Grover Cleveland, Woodrow Wilson, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton. All were disabled in some way or other with bone, nerve, and muscle injuries, depression, hearing loss, combat wounds, but they all served their terms, the nation and all were contributing members of society endowed by their Creator with dignity.

Stupid, Mr. Rangel is not a disability, but you are sorely afflicted with a serious case.

Now for tonight's entertainment. A short scene from the 1980 movie about John Merrick... The Elephant Man.






The life of Indigo Red is full of adventure. Tune in next time for the Further Adventures of Indigo Red.

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