You Can't Say That in the Chicago Tribune

I strongly recommend Steve Chapman's column in today's Chicago Tribune, about "Roseanne Barr and the Persistence of Prejudice," but I am linking it here because of a single quote. Chapman notes that Barr's racist tweet about Valerie Jarrett was not the first time she compared an African American person to an ape.  He pointed out that Barr had "once referred to Susan Rice, President Barack Obama's national security adviser, as  'a man with big swinging ape (testicles).'”

Apparently, you cannot say "balls" in the Trib, even in a quote. I asked Chapman about the expurgation, and he told me that it took him by surprise.  Other platforms are not so squeamish, including the New York Times and the Washington Post.

Comments

[Enrique Guerra-Pujol (priorprobability.com)]

Does the Trib let you write "cojones"?

[Steven Lubet]

Apparently, yes. Though mostly on the sports page:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/search/dispatcher.front?target=all&spell=on&Query=cojones&sortby=display_time%20descending#trb_search

[Deep State Special Legal Counsel]

Rod Blagojevich, who is back in the news, said "testicular virility." I respect his civility, probity, and sagacity.