CofC English Professor Explores Derogatory Phrases in Politics

^{Above: Donald Trump at an Erie, Pa., rally on Sept. 29, 2024, at which he said Democratic rival Kamala Harris was ‘mentally impaired.’ Dustin Franz/AFP/Getty Images}

Kathleen Béres Rogers, professor of English at the College of Charleston, has published an article for The Conversation concerning the issue of demeaning language in political speeches.

Rogers says these derogatory phrases are part of a culture that uses measures of intelligence to measure the worth of a human being.

“Terms such as ‘low IQ,’ ‘idiot’ and ‘mentally impaired’ have a traumatic history, one that many cognitively disabled, lower-class and minority people continue to live with today,” says Béres Rogers. “I believe politicians and their constituents should understand the destructive history of these terms – and think twice before using words like these as an easy means to attack one another.”

Read the complete article on The Conversation.