Louise:
Well hey now. It's been a while since me an my gal Thelma sat down and chatted with y'all an such. We reckined we'd sit a spell an fill ya in on all tha goins on in good 'ol Stink Creek. Mamma H an the raisin are still givin the energizer bunny a run for his money..OOOEE! They keep goin an goin! Twas nice of them ta come up for air and lend a little advice on our last post. My gal Thelma's been dividin her time between the Emperor, book learnins, an walks in tha woods with her racoon. I'm keepin busy myself. What with workin in Vegas! an the new seminar I'm teachin down at the senior center "Hidin your light under a bushel-feminine waxin an whatnot" Boy howdy! We is a busy group! Thats for damn true.
We've been havin ourselves a time here in Stink Creek. What ya might call a "heated debate". It all started a week or so ago when tha mayor, Percy Bentpole held a town meetin. Now, town meetins are a big deal here in Stink Creek. Folks is interested in tha goins on in our little community. So they is pretty much jam packed. Even folks ya might not never see in yer day to day come on out ta participate. It gives us a feelin a unity.
Well, the meetin started like any other..Reverand Porter led us all in prayer, an Percy's wife Euvula read one a her poems...she see's herself as tha town poet an such. She's always writin pieces for the "Stink Creek Current" an tha Pennysaver an such. This weeks poem was called "Whitenin yer whites in tha river a Perdition" that's all ya need ta know iffen ya ken me. I'll tell ya true, after about fifteen minutes, I was rightly glad that my gal Thelma had her flask with her, so was Mama H...an about twenty other folk. that Euvula an her dang poetry. makes ya wanna plug your ears and call for armageddon!
Anyways, after all the dronin on an such, Mayor Bentpole announced he was passin a decree. From now on, Folks in Stink Creek was gonna join tha world in bein "politically correct". We was only gonna use polite language an such. No longer would we use tha word "tetched" (as in tetched in the head) AND from now on(he looked straight at me an my gal Thelma when he said this) The huntin of dumbasses would be considered "a crime in tha eyes a tha "Lord! Well bounce my bosoms two weeks from Tuesday! What in tha hell does that mean?
Now folks, I understand the impact that words can have an such. But I'ma thinkin its in how ya use em an the intention behind em that matters more. Take "dumbass" for instance. Now some folks might take offense an such at the word "dumb"..sayin that this is how some folks with disabilities has been labled an it ought not be in use anymore. But where tha word started an what it all has turned into is two different things. For me an my gal Thelma, a dumbass is someun that causes harm. It could be a parent exageratin on their kids disabilities in order ta get recognition, it can be a snakeoil salesman or a person who is so dang caught up in themselves they can't see the world around em. Now I know my opinion aint too popular with some folks. The way I see things is we all would do better on changin attitudes than concentratin on words.
Change them an tha words will follow. Now I'm gonna let my gal Thelma chime in on this. I know she's got much to say.
Thelma:
One thing I ain't never been accused of is bein stingy in the verbage department, that's for true. Well, we sat there in that town meetin, and I tell ya, my face got to gettin redder and redder. Didn't help none that Edna and Willa, our nemeses, if ya will and I reckon ya will, were sittin across from us, pocketbooks held prissily on their laps, smug, tight lips and superior head-noddin, all but peein themselves in delight as Louise an I were told our dumbass huntin weren't politically correct and we should comport ourselves more appropriately for women in our advanced years. Bout advanced my ampleness right on up to the mayor to bend his pole some more, if ya ken me.
Now, we know it's a big campaign day, the day to try to end the "r"word, and we'll be the first to say that ain't right to hold those with differences as less than. Ain't right to use those with disabilities as the butt of jokes. And, lordy, I tell ya what if'n all it took was to strike a word from our lips to fix the world up, I'd jump right on the bandwagon, and will in the sense that I'll tell ya true, make fun of someone who's different in front of me, go ahead, try it on. See how ya like the purse.
The attitude is a damn sight more important.
Here in Stink Creek, we got lots of folks who don't fit the greater American culture's idea of normal. We all got our fair share of difficulties and disadvantages. Why Edna, for one, has that stick up her ass, and Willa's got that tendency to stalk folks and scream bully at people gettin their mornin paper. Luther's back home from the Sisters of Perpetual Agony, now, as well, and instead of screamin "Hide your chickens!" he's out there trying to give folks all manner of chickens: live ones, eggs, fried chicken, frozen chicken, stuffed chickens. Yeah, we'll admit there's a tendency to call some of our more colorful folks things like "tetched," or "not quite right, but not wrong neither." The mayor would have us refer to folks like Luther as chicken-centric or chicken-challenged.
It sounds great and all, it does, but it ain't nothing but lip service, especially if as ya say the newest politically correct thing, your disgust for the person is justa drippin off your tongue. Why, I'd rather be called tetched and have it said with love and acceptance than be called anything else that looks nicer on paper but in person reeks of hatred.
**Remindin our readers to take a stand not just on one day a year, not just for one campaign, but every day to make the world a better place, to promote the acceptance and appreciation of people with all manner of disabilities.**
A Call to Action
