‘Bachelor’ Juan Pablo Blames Latino Background for Insensitive Language
Juan Pablo Galavis keeps making headlines for his insensitive comments.
The "Bachelor" star previously spoke out against the possibility of a gay or bisexual bachelor, and now he's offended people by defending his use of a deragotary word for those who are mentally handicapped.
He retweeted someone else who used the word. "Not every flower can save love, but a rose can," Galavis tweeted. "Not every plant survives thirst, but a cactus can. Not every r----- can read, but look at you, little buddy!"
People called him out for using the slur and though he removed the retweet, he defended what he wrote.
"People, try to be HAPPY and enjoy JOKES and SARCASM," his first Tweet said.
He followed it up with, "In Venezuela the R word is USED commonly and by NO means is it to OFFEND anyone... #Relax #DifferentCulture #Respect."
Once again, Galavis has used his culture as a scapegoat. What he fails to understand, of course, is that he is not respecting people who are mentally handicapped. And that just because a group of people does something doesn't justify using an antiquated slur.
Twitter users argued with him that his Venezuelan background was not an excuse for using the word, and expressed their disappointment with him. He even replied to one user and told her to stop following him if she felt insulted.
He also told people that they needed to travel and learn culture, as if it was his culture, or what makes him Venezuelan, that was insulted.
It's not the first time a public figure has used this insensitive word. Ann Coulter used the word on Twitter to describe a 2012 presidential debate.
Special Olympics John Franklin Stephens penned an open letter to the political commentator.
"I'm a 30-year-old man with Down syndrome who has struggled with the public's perception that an intellectual disability means that I am dumb and shallow. I am not either of those things, but I do process information more slowly than the rest of you. In fact it has taken me all day to figure out how to respond to your use of the R-word last night," his letter began.
The letter says that he didn't understand why she used the word and explained why the wrong should be banned.
"No one overcomes more than we do and still loves life so much," he explained.