Freudian Slips: A Vote To Amend Our Ways

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Location: Irony, New Jersey, United States

Life takes us many places. It's a box of chocolates and a Hansel and Gretal trail of candy wrappers. I have filmed as an actor in The Happening, Invincible, The Lovely Bones, The Bounty Hunter, The Greek American, Bazookas, Limitless, TV's Its Always Sunny in Philly, Outlaw, New York, The Warrior, The Nail, Game Change, Cold Case, & commercial work includes The Philadelphia Eagles, Septa, Coors, Turbo Tax & Carnival Cruises. Freudian Slips spotlights irony in short story format.

October 01, 2007

A Vote To Amend Our Ways

On November 6, 2007, New Jersey voters will decide on whether to amend Article II, Section 1, Paragraph 6 of the New Jersey Constitution with ballot question #4.
To describe people with disabilities, the archaic demeaning language of “idiot” and “insane” has remained embedded in our State’s constitution dating back to the first sent telegram in 1844. Sixty-three years later, political correctness will rear its ugly head to recapitulate the denial of the right to vote with a progressive lightning rod.
New Jersey voters now have a chance to replace these two offensive outdated phrases with the wording “a person who has been adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction to lack the capacity to understand the act of voting.”
While contemplating the blessed need for legislative wordiness as a substitution for what sounds like name-calling, a competent enough fellow accidentally spilled his ordinary looking friend’s coffee in front of me at a convenience store.
The man minus a beverage scolded, “You fu@k-in idiot!”
You crazy, dawg.” scoffed the scalded man, he of no thumbs. “You ain’t right neither.”
What was a hanging chad in me now tore at the suffrage. My vote is that we may have evolved little since 1844. It is still within my constitutional right to say so.

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6 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

My six grade teacher always called me a nincompoop. Nincompoop or idiot, it's still an insult to one's intelligence. I agree with you, Joe, not much has changed.

9:09 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm guilty of calling my husband a "dumbass" or him salling me "stoopid" but we know it is in jest.

The other morning while I was out having breakfast with my 'rents, my dad (quite jokingly) said to Dinker she was "dumb". My mom and I were aghast. Dinker thought nothing of it (thank G-d). I said to my dad, "I know you're joking, Pop, and so does she ... but she may remember this one day and not recall it as a joke."

Certain words in our house are banned around the kids. "Dumb", "stupid", "idiot", "retard", "moron", and "hate" are right up there with all cuss words.

1:41 PM  
Blogger Joe Tornatore said...

mommanator,
See what you are missing?

et,
Was it just a hit or a miss sort of thing or did she call you a nincompoop every year that you repeated the sixth grade? lol

Maidink,
banned words in the household. I love it.

6:50 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never harm me" Nonesense! It's about time.
--Charles A. Carroll, author-victim, Victim's Advocate
Author of the book, HARD CANDY: Nobody Ever Flies Over the Cuckoo's Nest

7:22 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Joe, Sister Sylvia called me a nincompoop at every opportunity, of which there were many; she considered my breathing a viable excuse for the "nincompoop" label.

8:08 PM  
Blogger Joe Tornatore said...

anonymous,
Thanks for stopping by Charles.

et,
nonsense

7:29 PM  

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