Claire McCaskill apologizes for 'hurtful term' used during live MSNBC interview

[melman]

Former Missouri Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill apologized on social media Thursday morning for language she used during a late-night interview with MSNBC’s Brian Williams.

In particular, McCaskill said she regretted saying the word “transsexuals” as opposed to “transgender.”

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McCaskill’s response came after Williams asked McCaskill when she felt the Democrats had become the “Whole Foods” party of the United States.

“I think it’s hard to pinpoint. I think it began around cultural issues,” McCaskill said. “The Republican party, I think, very directly adopted cultural issues as part of their main theme, whether you’re talking guns or issues surrounding the right to abortion in this country or things like gay marriage and the right for transsexuals and other people who we as a party have tried to, quote-unquote, look after and make sure that they’re treated fairly.

“As we circled those issues, we left some voters behind, and Republicans dove in with a vengeance and grabbed those voters, and you’ve seen this shift. You saw it in the South. I’ve seen it in the rural areas of my state. So we’ve got to get back to the meat-and-potatoes issues. We’ve got to get back to the issues where we are taking care of their families, and we also need to quit acting like we’re smarter than everybody else, because we’re not.”

https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article246986262.html

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[gabeana]

1. From reading another DU Post

you would think AOC should apologize

hmmm
The future of the DEM party is the youth quit swiping at AOC

[malaise]

11. Bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah

Nailed it

[malaise]

12. Bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah

Nailed it

[Goodheart]

2. Pardon my ignorance, but how has "transsexual" become a "hurtful" term?

And why?

[treestar]

4. +1

People should get a pass if they don't know.

[Withywindle]

6. Because sex and gender aren't the same thing

It's hurtful because it equates the two, and shows a lack of understanding of the difference.

Not all transgender people are offended by it, but a lot are, especially younger ones. We've learned a LOT about these issues, collectively, over the past few decades and I think it's important that language keeps up with that, and people follow along and educate themselves. Joe Biden had a great response to a question about this in his town hall. Using outdated terminology isn't the worst thing in the world, but it does kind of imply that you probably don't know any trans people very well or haven't kept up on learning about it, and therefore that you probably don't think they're important in their own right.

Yes, of course RWers will use this against us to rile up their transphobic and homophobic base. It does NOT follow that we should pander to them and throw huge parts of OUR base under the bus.

[LisaL]

15. Well, sorry, but it's not well known that's transsexual is now considered a hurtful term.

NT

[lagomorph777]

17. Fair enough, but the context of her statement is quite dismissive of inclusiveness.

Not a win for Claire.

[Withywindle]

18. Yeah, the problem isn't really the word

If she'd used that word in a context that was supportive, no one would mind as much. She was outright saying that she doesn't think trans and LGBT issues are worth fighting for if that hurts us in red areas, and that it's somehow not an issue of real substance that affects families and working people. As if trans people aren't working people and don't have families, somehow.

edit to add: and that "'quote unquote' look after" business is patronizing as hell. LGBTQ people have fought like hell for the Party - and we're running for office AND WINNING. Danica Roem absolutely obliterated a fundie Bible-banger in a purple district in VA 2 years ago.

She apologized, and she should.

I'm not trans but I am LGBT and I stand with them.

[Silent3]

23. I knew (and briefly dated) a transgender woman about 20 years ago...

...who described herself as "transsexual", so I've used that term one or two times myself, certainly meaning no offense. The language has apparently evolved some since then.

I know now that "transgender" is preferred, and why it is preferred, and I've gotten used to that now. But for most people it's not a word that comes up in their everyday conversation, so expect it to take a while to catch on, without being too judgmental about everyone who doesn't immediately fall in line with the new vocabulary.

Getting really militant about words like this is definitely one of the things that has turned "PC" into a term that is often sneered, and can do more harm to our causes of inclusion and sensitivity than the help these kinds of changes in vocabulary are trying to foster.

[Goodheart]

25. Good post.

[Behind the Aegis]

32. Good points.

Also, remember it went from "transsexual" to "transgendered", to the preferred term, "transgender". I also feel many people do not take into consideration a variety of factors and the knee-jerking PC only serves to cause backlash. It is important to respect people and their terms, but there has to be a curve for learning and understanding. I am that way about "sexual orientation" versus "sexual preference", with the latter having been long out of favor, so when it is used, then it indicates someone who doesn't care (or is making a right-wing point), more than someone who doesn't know, but that isn't always the case.

[samnsara]

3. everyones tired. Fox showed a collection of bidens misstakes during his speech tuesday night..

..we are all on the same team. Lets cut each other some slack during these tense times. Claires not anyones enemy ffs.

[AngryOldDem]

5. +1

They’re all running on fumes right now. As much as we’re on edge, it’s 1,000 times worse for them because people expect them to have all the answers.

Cut her a break, folks, and stop casting stones.

[Fahrenthold451]

7. She's 67 years old from Missouri

My mom, a good liberal, wouldn't know that is a disparaging term. She gets a pass from me.

[Tommymac]

24. It's n ot so much the term as the context of McCaskills statements.

She is speaking from the perspective of White Majoritism. Totally 'tone-deaf'.

McCaskill didn't realize the word is offensive, more importantly she doesn't realize her political perspective is too.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

8. She needs to also apologize for bashing the Democratic Party and advocating dumping...

... vulnerable constituencies

Shame.

[melman]

14. Yes

I won't be holding my breath waiting for that tweet.

[cwydro]

22. Yeah let's keep on with the circular firing squad.

This is why we lose.

People need to get a grip. And I’m a member of the LGBT+ community.

[Arkansas Granny]

9. I can't speak for Claire, but I find that it is sometimes hard for me to stay on top of the

correct terminology for various groups of people. When I first met transgendered individuals, transsexual was the term that was used by them and by all who knew them. It has just been in recent years that I became aware of the term transgender. There was no disrespect intended then or now.

[Historic NY]

10. I am confused...

I thought Transsexual meant a person who had surgically changed to the gender they identified with.

Transgender was a person that lived with the gender they identified with .


I've known people with both status's

[Mike Nelson]

13. Apology...

... accepted. I have confused the terms, also. I don't think she is hostile to either group. We all learn new stuff.

[Boogiemack]

21. Ditto

[cwydro]

16. Yeah, let's beat up on those who are good leaders.

Good lord, no wonder we keep having problems.

[JonLP24]

29. She is a TV personality now

Not a leader or I don't look at McCaskill for guidance on anything.

[cwydro]

31. I think she's great.

I guess we’ll have to disagree.

[Oneironaut]

19. Meh...

“Transsexual” is archaic, but not really offensive to me. Some trans people use the term for themselves, but I’m not a fan of it.

I don’t see this as a big deal. I think a simple correction of the correct term is enough.

PS - People on Twitter get angry about everything...

[Tommymac]

26. So do Karens. The self-centered tone-deafness is the problem.

It's all about them and they don't even try take the time to try and understand other people's perspective.

It's an offensive hurtful term for a lot of people. A politician should know this simple fact and respect it.

[Oneironaut]

27. I kinda agree, but sometimes people are not knowledgeable - especially about trans issues.

I think in this case she simply didn’t know, and simply correcting someone using this word is reasonable. I don’t believe there was hurt intended.

Our country as a whole needs more exposure to trans issues, tbh.

[albacore]

20. Ummm.... not making light of that mis-use of words...

But.

Could we maybe focus on the Big Things for just a minute?

Biden should have walked away with this election.
trump - and trumpism - should have been resoundingly rejected.

Instead, trump has -so far - SIX FUCKING MILLION more votes in this election than he got in 2016.
68,887,097 2020 .. so far.
62,984,828 2016

This country is fucked 8 ways from breakfast.

Can Dems argue and shame each other later, perhaps?

[Wounded Bear]

28. For fuck's sakes, Democrats always run on meat and potatoes issues...

The rubes in the hinterland are NOT FUCKING LISTENING!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dems always run on issues like wages, jobs, health care, ad nauseum. All the rubes hear are Limbaugh and Faux Noise screaming SOCIALISM!!!!! COMMUNISM!!!!!

And they don't hear anything we say about rights, real rights beyond guns, gawd, and gays.

The only Dems we can get elected in those red states are DINOs who are anti gay and pro guns.

[W_HAMILTON]

30. I didn't see any Republican ads attacking LGBT people...

...but there were many in my area starring AOC and Sanders.