I have written a more extensive post on how I feel about comedians and media personalities using the “R” word so that, hopefully, it will shed some light on why this behavior should be unacceptable in our society and why more education is needed.
I posted it here on my other blog. Please read and consider the consequences of such language that Silverman and many others seem to get away with.
I was reading this article in the Huffington Post. I was shocked to find at the end that the author of the post basically agreed with Silverman and thought that her rant against people with developmental disabilities was funny. This had me incensed! There were commenters who called the TED organization closed-minded for being angry at Silverman for joking about adopting “a retarded child with a terminal illness so it has an expiration date.”
The author of the article is Alex Leo and I hope you all make your way over to the HuffPost to give him your piece of mind. I gave him mine, but I doubt it will get posted, so I’ll post it on here:
Wait a minute. This supposedly liberal blog site disagrees with the people who said that Silverman’s rant wasn’t funny? Do you have any idea how degrading and horrible her comments were? Read them again. I work with people who have developmental disabilities and on average, they don’t live past 60 years of age. To joke about something like this encourages the segregation, the sneering, the bullying, and the abasing of people with disabilities once again in our society.
And the commentators on here are calling TED closed minded?
Come to my work one day and see how these people struggle with just trying to be accepted for a job. See how they handle the stares, reproaches, the outright discrimination towards them. Watch them battle the multitude of health problems that doctors don’t even care to actually treat.
They are the most over-medicated special population in the nation. Instead of grievance and loss therapy when a parent dies, doctors just subscribe more lithium or prozac. Because our society breeds the idea that we can shut them away in a corner and only take them out for comic routines for failed tv personalities to use to garner media attn for being “shocking,” like Silverman.
All comments are moderated. Let’s see if this one makes it up there. I doubt it, because it seems like the Huffpost would rather take the same route that our nation has always taken regarding disabilities and hide their heads in the sand.
I love Nat’l Geo, but recently on their twitter updates, they’ve been promoting their “Border Wars” series, the most recent such tweets promoting the next episode where an entire house full of illegal immigrants is raided and officers begin looking for something called “Coyotes.”
Whatever your views of immigration, these are people’s lives. They are trying to find a better way of life picking peas for a few dollars a day in the deplorable underground labor market that Big Ag supports and exploits because even that is better than the alternative in Mexico, which is usually smuggling drugs.
I understand the need for borders, but at the same time, we have some of the hardest immigration laws in the world, so there’s no real alternative if you want to come to this country as many legal immigrants end up being illegal because they c can’t navigate our ever-changing, f*d up system to renew their visas or apply for citizenship. It’s ridiculous.
And now Nat Geo is exploiting the chasing of these people through deserts and across miles so they can get ratings. What happened to you, Nat Geo? You used to be a voice in the world for other cultures. Now you’re just like every other sensational, greedy and exploitive television channel
I have to give credit to one of my favorite bloggers for pointing this out in my Google Reader.
A great segment involving The Daily Show having to explain to Republicans the health care system in Hawaii.
Republicans: 0
The Daily Show: 18,233,134,347.7
Dear Christian friends, I was pondering the idea of God Given Free Will when it struck me that I don’t remember ever reading that in the Bible. I don’t remember God saying, “I give unto you free will.” If I’m wrong, let me know, but please also include an explanation for the numerous passages in the Bible where it says God predetermined before birth or creation who was going to go to heaven and who was not.
What is the perfect balance between direct and republican democracy? Does our system do enough to protect the minority or does it do too much and stall the progress of the majority, the will of (most of) the People? Your thoughts?
Dear President Obama,
You have decided to have your health care summit on my birthday. All I want is to be able to afford to go to a doctor and find out why I have arrhythmia when I’m stressed out. I’ll be 26 years old.
Thanks.
My interpretation of this story:
Prez: Hey, GOP. We’ve had some bad feelings between us lately, and I know you’ve been feeling left out, but we’ve made a lot of progress over here with a plan to make health care affordable to millions of Americans, and so I’m hoping you’ll come on over and give us your feedback.
GOP: *Scrambles to come up with a strategy that involves the terms “socialism” and “elitist”* Erm-Well, maybe.
The Prez: Oh, ok, well just let me know. I’m having a summit. Reid is bringing some Chips and Dips. Pelosi has organic, domestic, wheat beer. I think it’s from Chico. Don’t worry, no Tofurkey dogs.
Some time later
GOP: You know Prez, we thought about it, and uh-well-we want you to scrap the entirety of what the House and Senate have worked for and start over.
The Prez: Hm. Well, I can’t really do that. The bills need improvement and we want your input, but on a basic level, these bills are really doing what we started out to achieve. They lower cost, raise coverage, and end the shady practices of insurance companies. But if you have more to add, please come to the summit and let us know.
GOP: No.
The Prez: No?
GOP: No. (Real) Americans (Teabaggers) don’t like your bills. We’re not going unless you start over.
The Prez: You know I can’t do that. Is there anyway we can compromise on this?
GOP: No.
The Prez: You know, I think that-
GOP: No.
The Prez: But, -
GOP: No.
The Prez: Oooookaaaay. Well, talk to you later then.
GOP: See! You don’t want bipartisanship!!! You’re not reaching across the aisle! You won’t let us carry out our agenda despite the fact that it’s been rejected by the American people in the form of sweeping elections!!! Damn you, you socialist muslim1!!one!!!
And that’s the story of how the GOP lost it’s fucking mind. Again.
Watching the pre-game BS on CBS, waiting for the game. I’m thinking that this story about Reggie Bush and five-year-old leukemia patient, Anna, is way more inspiring and tear-jerking than Tim Tebow’s “Don’t listen to your doctor” bullshit add. Just sayin’.
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