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Original poster

Tiger Woods does a Richard Curtis

20 replies

marthamoo · 11/04/2006 18:13

\link{http://www.24dash.com/content/news/viewNews.php?navID=7&newsID=4721\Here}

I can't see that anyone else has posted about this but apologies if they have and I'm duplicating.

I think it's good that this has got so much publicity - unlike Richard Curtis' use of the word in 'Love Actually' when it seemed it was only Mumsnetters who were up in arms (thanks to lou )

OP posts:

hulababy · 11/04/2006 22:06

Saw this in the paper earlier. Stupid man.

I don't understand the whole "it's not as offensive in the US" arguement at all Why isn't it? It has the same meaning.

Janh · 11/04/2006 22:34

Result of AOL survey is interesting:

Do you find Tiger's remark offensive?
votes
Yes 2433 22%
No 8807 78%

Should he have apologised?
votes
Yes 5700 51%
No 5540 49%

Total Votes: 22480

It was not offensive to the majority there because people recognise that he didn't know it was offensive - not because they think the word is inoffensive - it just doesn't carry the same baggage in the US. (DD1 just told me that the kids at summer camp talk about "spazzing out" when they get excited and hyper - they even out it in the yearbook - "remember the night we all spazzed out?")

A (small) majority do think he should apologise though (don't know if he has or not?) just because many people here have been offended.

This is just like the Bratz thing. The US equivalent to Scope is called \link{http://www.ucp.org/index.cfm\United Cerebral Palsy} - it was established over 55 years ago and I don't think the word spastic as a noun was ever commonly used there as it was here. It really does have different connotations in the US and while it would be nice if they were aware that it is offensive here it is unreasonable to expect them all to know that (IMHO ).

2 nations divided by a common language...

sis · 11/04/2006 22:42

Hmmm, I wonder what the origins of the term 'spazzing out' etc are? I suspect it is the same as spastic and therefore historically offensive in both countries. But i admit to guessing here,

colinandcaitlinsmommy · 11/04/2006 22:44

I never even heard about it here, it is so not reported (at least where I am). Janh hits the nail on the head with her post, I had no idea that it was offensive, until I read a thread by Lou33 a bit back. I don't think many people even use the word here (at least in my circle), but I've made a mental note not to use the word. Not sure if I ever have, though.

Original poster

marthamoo · 11/04/2006 22:48

No, that's interesting, Jan - I didn't know it wasn't as offensive in the States. But I still wonder where the word 'spaz' comes from then, if it is in common usage there in the sort of context you describe. If in the USA it's not a slang term for spastic, where did it originate?

OP posts:

Janh · 11/04/2006 23:09

Well, yes, it must derive from spastic, but in the US that's an adjective, not a noun, and not specific to those with cerebral palsy.

Could it be argued that the word spastic has been misappropriated and corrupted in this country?

Janh · 11/04/2006 23:19

Mind you, if you look either word up in an American online dictionary they are categorised as "offensive slang".

It's so subjective. I would never use the word, but I bet I know some perfectly nice people who do use it, just because it doesn't have the same impact on them (and they don't know lou )

Original poster

marthamoo · 11/04/2006 23:20

Janh...do you like golf?

OP posts:

Janh · 11/04/2006 23:45

I know some perfectly nice people who play golf, yes, moo

(What happened to SorenL btw?)

Jimjamskeepingoffvaxthreads · 12/04/2006 11:35

I heard that the american use- as being over excited and hyper and waving arms around does derive from the word spastic, as in the UK version.

The Fat Controller was changed to Sir Topham Hat so as not to offend Americans. Maybe he should just apologise for being unintentionally ofensive on a British news channel and thank the general public for educating him about the origins of the word.

Wouldn't kill him to do that would it.

hulababy · 12/04/2006 11:41

Has he not apologised then?
That is ou of order. he should definitely apologise, because even if he didn't intend to offend, he did offend.

Janh · 12/04/2006 11:45

\link{http://sport.guardian.co.uk/golf/story/0,,1751801,00.html\This} says he has.

hulababy · 12/04/2006 11:49

At least that is a start.

Jimjamskeepingoffvaxthreads · 12/04/2006 11:49

oh well fair enough.

Marina · 12/04/2006 11:50

On autopilot though, if the wording is anything to go by. I was one of the Mners inspired by Lou to write to RC's office and got a letter back, not a particularly contrite one I felt :(
Agree with everyone here that as its derivation is the same in the US it is just as offensive to use the term.
I'd quite like to hear of him offering to spend some time helping out on a project for disabled American children if he means his apology.
This is such a parpetty parp topic for me - there are plenty of appropriate words out there for TW's performance at the Open and I am happy to send him a list

Janh · 12/04/2006 11:56

It would be good if this got as much publicity in the US as here (but candc'smommy says it hasn't )

Janh · 12/04/2006 13:40

\link{http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/sport/2006/04/12/sgwood12.xml\Very interesting bit} in the Telegraph:

Is he off the hook yet?

colinandcaitlinsmommy · 12/04/2006 16:02

I'd say a very large percentage of us Americans don't know the origin of the word. The general meaning to most of us is an overly hyper person. I have to admit when I first read the Lou thread, my feeling was you were all over-reacting. I had to actually hear the pain in her voice to understand that it had a deeper meaning to some people. DH had the same reaction to this thread, and I had to go point him toward the Lou thread to "get" it.

I haven't heard anything about the story on TV, and when I looked it up on Yahoo news, the only stories on it were coming from UK media. It would have been a great opportunity to educate us, but it looks like it isn't going to be.

FWIW, I don't know if he works with disabled children, but he spends millions on his own foundation that works with underpriveleged kids.

Janh · 12/04/2006 16:23

Very interesting article by the BBC's disability editor \link{http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4902432.stm\here} and lots of readers' comments.

Allegedly "an LA Times reporter got Tiger to re-word his sentence replacing spaz with wreck so he could report it with no problems". If that's true the reporter should be sacked.

SofiaAmes · 13/04/2006 07:16

I am american and I didn't know the word was considered offensive until I heard so recently on mumsnet. And I grew up in the land of ultimate pc (berkeley).
Spastic as an adjective refers to spasmodic movement. The use of it as a noun to describe cp is a result of the meaning of the adjective. As someone else mentioned, the use of the word as a noun in association with the disease is not a common usage of the word in the usa. I am in my 40's, grew up in the usa and am extremely well educated and have never heard the word spastic used to describe cp. I don't think I am unusual in my ignorance.

Having said that, now that I know that it could be offensive, I wouldn't dream of using the term (not that i ever used it before). I think the behavior becomes condemnable if once one is told that something can be considered offensive, one continues to use the term.

By the way isn't it a little hypocrital to condemn someone for using a term in an inappropriately derogatory fashion by calling him "stupid."

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