Field Notes Inside an Integrated Communications Agency

Does it make you ‘light in the loafers’ to think the word 'pansy' has no place in a discussion between a governor and a candidate for president? Is it more acceptably ‘butch’ to take the term as 'authentic' and move on? Or is the word way too ‘frat boy’; deserving all the scorn the chattering class can muster?

I could throw around borderline slurs all day, but that's not the point. The point is communication and what gets lost when descriptive language gets a little too loose.

Gov. Mike Easley recently told a cheering crowd that Sen. Hillary Clinton's toughness makes Rocky Balboa look like a "pansy." The big news from that event should've been Easley's endorsement of Clinton for president. The questions should have focused on Easley's sway in the state and the endorsement's potential impact on the presidential race.

Instead, much of the media zeroed in on 'pansy.'

The comment itself wasn't all that surprising. Easley has identified himself as a "King of the Hill"-style Democrat, a nod to one of his favorite and an admittedly great television series. Easley says what he means, means what he says, keeps it simple, keeps it real. I swear, with my left hand on my lunch box, I get it.

Still, "pansy" – whether it’s a gay slur or a synonym for softie or both – became too much of a distraction. Taking on Uber-Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger (instead of blue collar champ Rocky) with a "girly-man" reference might have packed a smart political punch, but probably would’ve irked some. "Wimp" would've done just fine and has precedent. George H.W. Bush wrestled unsuccessfully (but man-fully) with the term through the final months of his one-term presidency.

Some bloggers are ripping Easley as a “bigot” for his word choice. His record suggests this is unfair. Moreover, the game of finger-pointing quickly becomes a house of mirrors. Does hurling the accusation of ‘bigot’ make you ‘knee-jerk’ and ‘politically correct’? If you get in a lather about ‘pansy,’ shouldn’t you also refuse to use its opposite number, ‘good ol’ boy’ (which, after all, is code in some circles for ‘backwards bigot,’ yes?).

See what I mean? Suddenly, the rational world of thinking, decision-making and explaining becomes a swirl of confusion, code and, finally, intellectual collapse.

When it comes to descriptive language, be smart about where and how to use it. I love hearing UNC system President Erskine Bowles talk about the “tsunami” of change coming to our economic landscape. It sweeps me up and makes me part of the cause. I hate – and I bet you do, too – hearing otherwise compelling messages muddled by words that push people out of a rational process and into the no-man’s/woman's/all-living-things' land of finger-pointing.