I am thoroughly convinced the newest holiday Juneteenth will at most only be around for one generation. I am not saying the country will let go of a day off from work, nope....moving forward on June 19th the mail will never run, banks will be closed and federal employees will laugh at the rest of us still required to think, write and work on a day without a purpose.
Americans lead the world in a few categories.....not the least of which is getting offended. That's right, one section or another of this country is sure to find what ever is considered normal the most offensive thing of all time. Let's review a few examples seen just during my lifetime.
Do you remember when RETARDED was a word everyone used? Today people so fear and hate the word retarded in many circles it is only referred to as "the R-word." Seriously, so afraid of being offensive to another segment of the population the R-word is placed on equal ground with the N-word (don't get me started down that road).
The word retarded goes back to the 1600's, but the 1890's is when it was first applied to people. So common was the word used that in 1961 it was introduced into medical and legal settings. No less than three generations managed to use the word and not destroy the world.......
We all know what happened.... people began to use the word retarded as an insult, "......OMG you're so retarded" and another million ways to insult people by suggesting they were not normal.
The solution, reclassify what we call retarded persons..... One of the first solutions I remember was Learning Disabled, (LD). Guess what, a few folks still used the word retarded, but any people soon mastered the art of insulting others by calling them LD.
LD or Learning Disabled had a shorter shelf life as a word than virgins do in the Ozark mountains...... and society moved on to words like Challenged or one of another half a dozen or so words designed to soften the hurt being known as retarded. The problem is once everyone knows the word......it is no different than being retarded.
The most recent word is SP-ED......holy shit are you kidding me, SP-ED simply sounds retarded, have you heard a teacher say, ".....I am a teacher , what kind? Oh, I am a SP-ED." When kids make fun of other kids today what do they say,...... they call them SP-ED's.
Personally I cannot believe anyone ever thought using SP-ED was a good solution, but never fear before long this generation will realize SP-ED folks are retarded and invent a new name.....
I wonder.....are people really offended? Or is this need to change terms a conspiracy? What is the oldest book you own? My oldest book was published in 1885....books last nearly forever, unless they get outdated. How does a book get outdated....... oh, I don't know, maybe new terms....
Concepts, ideas, the new "best" way to do something cycles..... Some changes are huge, others just slight revisions, but all require money be spent...... That is my theory, but the truth may simply be Americans want to be offended. It is a hard concept for me, I am old and come from a day when letters behind your name described your education or career. Not today, today letters behind your name may describe your education but are just as likely to describe who shares your bed.....
So why will Juneteenth only last a short period of time? It's because the name is retarded.... whoops I mean the word makes the freed slaves all those years ago appear to be Learning Disabled (LD), shit that was offensive.... I mean why are we making fun of their level of functioning, I mean clearly they are just SP-ED's.........
Let me be the first to suggest June 19th be known as Freedom Day. OMG, there I go again, I'm so retarded...... using the word FREEDOM, why so many people's ancestors died to free the slaves, how dare you call it FREEDOM there was nothing free about that day.......
Ok, ok...... how about June 19th - a Day Off work day
