Can we all agree that sometimes, some statements are just “PEJORATIVE”?

I realize that sometimes I am a little sensitive to certain things. Maybe it is because of my upbringing or my cultural background. Maybe it is because of my gender or my race. Quite frankly, I do not know what makes me sensitive when men call me girl (or when I am further south and “girl” turns into “gal” or “guhl” or when someone referred to me today as a “cute chiquita”) or when someone refers to me as something other than my name. Such comments are meant to be pejorative as their sole purpose is to disparage the hearer or belittle the person to whom such commentary is directed. I have no problem with “miss” or “ma’am” or even a “hey you.” Presumably, the intent of the latter is to get my attention or refer to me in a non-combative manner, while the former are pejorative.

Last night, I was watching the second Presidential Debate and the attitude of Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama. During the course of this debate and the first one, I do not recall Senator McCain calling Senator Obama by his name. Rather I remember McCain indicating that he was referring to Obama by motioning with his hand or head or using “he” or “him” which was fine. Last night however, McCain when discussing energy resources did not motion with his hand or call Obama “him” or “he,” instead he said talked about a bill he voted for and said something to the effect of “you know who voted for it? You might never know, THAT ONE” and pointed to Obama (as if we did not know who he was referring to). In reality, this is just one of the issues I have with McCain based on his performance in the debate. The other is his response to an African American man who had a question about the economic crisis. McCain's response was "but you know, one of the real catalysts, really the match that lit this fire was Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. I'll bet you, you may never even have heard of them before this crisis." Why would a person who is concerned about the woeful state of the American economy NOT have heard of Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae? However, I am not about to go there...

While I would expect McCain to be frustrated and disappointed with recent poll numbers, I would not expect him to act like…well, like THAT. What he did smacked of hostility and utter contempt towards someone who has served as his colleague in the Senate for the past two years. It is ironic that someone touts his ability to reach across the aisle could not even look across the foot and a half expanse that separated them and refer to him as anything else but “THAT ONE.” While the majority of the debate was forgettable, that one statement will be remembered and debated for some time.