Oh, dear.

[fabrisse]

Representative Paul Kanjorski said (via The Washington Post's political coverage):

"We're giving relief to people that I deal with in my office every day now unfortunately," Kanjorski said. "But because of the longevity of this recession, these are people -- and they're not minorities and they're not defective and they're not all the things you'd like to insinuate that these programs are about -- these are average, good American people." [emphasis mine]

You'll be happy to know his office is affronted to think anyone could construe these remarks as racist.

From their release:
Anyone trying to politicize this issue clearly doesn't get it. Congressman Kanjorski is fighting for all Americans who are struggling. Any statement saying otherwise is grossly misinformed.

In fairness, Representative Kanjorski is trying to protect a program for homeowner mortgage help that is currently available in Pennsylvania through state funding and creating something similar nationally. He's defending it as not helping the "imprudent, the wasteful."

While I can admire him for thinking of this type of program and trying to help the unemployed, it doesn't change the fact that his remarks are, in fact, racist.

Comments

[eanja]

Ah, I just assumed defective was some catchall terms for drug addicts or gay people or the mentally ill or whoever else doesn't quite qualify as decent normal folk.

[moria923.livejournal.com]

I thought it meant people with disabilities, and that his comment was definitely ableist. But you're probably right: we often aren't on anyone's radar screen enough for them to think of making pejorative comments about us.

[eanja]

Oh, it probably does include people with disabilities, but not overtly, because decent normal people are supposed to feel sorry for the disabled, whereas gay people or drug addicts or whatever chose to be defective and are therefore unforgivable.

There are so many potential underlying assumptions about what constitutes normal or decent in that statement that it's almost impossible to guess what they all are. Who knows what religion, or politics or weight limit or education level someone needs to qualify as normal and decent.

[fabrisse.livejournal.com]

Well, you served in the military, so you're probably okay even though you're Catholic. *sigh*

I think the hardest part of some of this is that I know what he means. I grew up with that from some of my relatives. Aaargh!

[eanja]

Plus I look enough like a media approved suburban lady that people assume I'm a lot more straight-laced and acceptable than I hopefully really am. (Pretty sure the poly would knock me right out of the decent category if it were obvious).

[fabrisse.livejournal.com]

Weirdly enough, I don't equate defective with physically handicapped -- and sorry for the ableist language there.

Defective seems to be used for the people who have mental issues ranging from severe depression to schizophrenia. The underlying theme seems to be, "if they'd just pull themselves together they could be useful members of society."