Thursday night, for the first time in history, a sitting president appeared on a late-night talk show. This is a good thing! Or so I’m told. It’s a sign that he’s a true man of the people who really cares about us, unlike every other president ever.
As the most powerful human being in the world sat across from Jay Leno, in the same seat as such other historical figures as Britney Spears, Carrot Top, and that one guy from that one show, he made a really good joke:
A Late-Night Clown: Now, are they going to put a basketball — I imagine the bowling alley has been just burned and closed down.
The President of the United States of America: No, no. I have been practicing all — (laughter.)
A Late-Night Clown: Really? Really?
The President of the United States of America: I bowled a 129. (Laughter and applause.)
A Late-Night Clown: No, that’s very good. Yes. That’s very good, Mr. President.
The President of the United States of America: It’s like — it was like Special Olympics, or something. (Laughter.)
Ha ha! Because, y’know, would somebody in the Special Olympics ever be invited to a White House party? Assuming they could even pronounce “White House” in the first place. It was a really funny joke, and anybody who complains about it is just a frowny-faced stick in the mud who hates the idea of a black president.
Which is of course why he immediately apologized:
Obama called Special Olympics Chairman Timothy Shriver after the show to apologize and to express his admiration for the organization. Shriver accepted the apology and later said he hoped the gaffe would serve as an opportunity to knock down myths about people with disabilities.
So, to recap: The President of the United States went in front of a national audience and made a silly joke that really shouldn’t have offended anybody, but he showed his magnanimity by promptly apologizing. And we should all accept his heartfelt apology without question.
Works for me!
…
Hmm. Sorry about this, but I just thought of something. Remember Don Imus? He’s the old white radio host who once made a rude comment about a women’s college basketball team:
That’s some nappy-headed hos there. I’m gonna tell you that now, man, that’s some — woo. And the girls from Tennessee, they all look cute, you know, so, like — kinda like — I don’t know.
Naturally, this loathsome attempt at humor caused a national firestorm. Imus subsequently apologized — quite a number of times, actually — but everybody could tell he didn’t really mean it.
One of the wise national leaders who saw through Imus’s hollow apology? You’ll never guess:
“I understand MSNBC has suspended Mr. Imus,” Obama told ABC News, “but I would also say that there’s nobody on my staff who would still be working for me if they made a comment like that about anybody of any ethnic group. And I would hope that NBC ends up having that same attitude…”
“He didn’t just cross the line,” Obama said. “He fed into some of the worst stereotypes that my two young daughters are having to deal with today in America. The notions that as young African-American women — who I hope will be athletes — that that somehow makes them less beautiful or less important. It was a degrading comment. It’s one that I’m not interested in supporting.”
Though every major presidential candidate has decried the racist remarks, Obama is the first one to say Imus should lose his job for them.
You can see the difference, right? You understand why Imus’s ugly slur was unforgivable, and Senator Obama was right to call for him to lose his livelihood. You also understand why President Obama’s witty rejoinder was completely different, and why we should accept his apology. Even though he wouldn’t accept the apologies Imus made.
You get it, don’t you?
Then please explain it to me.
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The Mongolian Candidate.
LMAO, Pasta!
I really don’t think that making a joke, whether you are Dom Imus (and I hate the guy), or Obama (and I don’t trust the guy), demands immediate apology. Hell, even a real public slur, if that’s how you feel, go for it. No one has to like it, but if you don’t mean it, or you didn’t think it a big deal to begin with, apologies just come off as insincere and contrived.
I am so anti-PC. And for the record, I’m not hateful toward other races, “special” people, or anyone else. I just think that our society is way to sensitive, and that it’s sad a person can get away with something based on their status, as pointed out here.
“a sitting president appeared on a late-night talk show” AND managed to insult an entire group of people. The idiocy of this whole situation is just overwhelming. He should be apologizing for even being on Jay Leno! He had no business being on that show in the first place!
See, this is why he is so much easier to hate than Bush. I hated the way Bush’s administration handled most things, I hated some of the decisions they made, I hated the consequences of those decisions. I never hated George Bush himself, I wasn’t exactly his biggest fan, and I’m still not, but I never hated him personally. (I hated Clinton though…and Hillary…especially Hillary…It’s kinda hard for me to remember exactly why, but I remember I did. Funny, the things we forget…). Mostly because I know that all those decisions I never agreed with were not made solely by Bush – there was his administration, there was the Congress and many, many others who were also responsible. However, when you choose to go on a talk show and sit in that chair and open your trap and insult an entire group of people like that – it’s your decision, your choice, and you are the only one who’s responsible for that.
God damn it, I’m pissed! I think this is quite a big deal, this is major, for the president of the country to insult an entire group of people that. The Special Olympics athletes deserve more respect, they work hard, they overcome all the difficulties and they achieve great results. They do not deserve to be dismissed like that. That remark was extremely derogatory and offensive. You know, there were times when I thought Obama was being excessively criticized, now I think he’s not being criticized enough. I wonder what people would have said if he had said (for instance) “My bowling is so gay”. How come making fun of people with disabilities is no big deal?
“It’s like Special Olympics or something”…f*****g idiot. Should have just said “I bowl like I govern”, I’m sure most people would have caught his drift.
Here’s the difference for you Simon:
When you make a rhetorical gaff, you must immediately seek official absolution from a Kennedy.
You can skid through with a Shriver or Schlossberg; even a Lawford might work if you’re in a pinch. Bonus points if they still carry the actual Kennedy surname instead of tacking it on as a hyphenation or 4th middle name.
Just be sure to avoid the Smith branch. Besides being rather pedestrian of name they also spend a lot of time in the Hyannis village drunk tank. Smiths however, can be quite useful if you’re facing a DUI or RUI (rape under the influence) charge.
It would seem that Mr. Imus knew no Kennedys.
Here’s the deal. No telepromter. Without a script Obama is a walking, talking gaffe machine. Hie arrogance has no boundaries. He only apologized because he demeaned an oraganization founded by a Kennedy. Still people say stuff like that all the time.No big deal. It’s the hypocrisy of the man that really sticks in my craw. That’s The Crock O’Bama for you.
People need to chill out. He did speeches in Europe, traitor! He flubbed up during the oath, call the drama police. Now he made an innocent, off-the-cuff joke THAT MANY MANY PEOPLE MAKE and all of a sudden he’s the new social pariah. How many past presidents’ mistakes involve false wars, thousands of deaths, failed military operations, or actual crimes? Is Obama perfect? No. Did he make a swift, maybe less-thought-out joke as president of the United States? Yes. Does this mean he’s automatically on the level of half the other people reported on this site? Hell no. What he did was a little insensitive, but lets put it in context. He made a joke, he apologized, move on.
Meh…Imus wasn’t trying to make fun of himself like Obama was. Imus was being a dick. I’m not a fan of Obama, but I’m willing to give him a pass on this one. He apologized quickly…then decided to regulate the out of corporate bonuses…ok he’s a dick too! Man I love government sucking up to populist rage…let’s see what ELSE Congress can pass that they didn’t read.
I’m happy that our country is so solvent that our Prez can fly crosscountry whenever he wants to, appear on a late night talk show, make a comment on a group of people he appears to know something about, and then fly back home.
I want to see the Prez operate his administration on a budget like I have to……….THEN I might try to like him.
“So, to recap: The President of the United States went in front of a national audience and made a silly joke that really shouldn’t have offended anybody, but he showed his magnanimity by promptly apologizing. And we should all accept his heartfelt apology without question.”
Simon, honestly. I respect that you have the right to criticize the president, but your biting sarcasm everytime Obama moves is really disgusting. It’s one thing to criticize his policies – which you’ve probably done and do – but you ridicule everything. And God forbid anyone type a criticism of anything you say, because you’re immediately on the defensive with stuff like:
“It was a really funny joke, and anybody who complains about it is just a frowny-faced stick in the mud who hates the idea of a black president.”
Is that really what I’m saying to you? Is that really how every non-conservative reacts? Because you’re doing a great disservice to a lot of people by making the assumption that everyone worships the ground he walks on out of some hidden white-guilt. No. Calm down, because your internet rage doesn’t fit you well. I’d take these articles from you more seriously without comments like that.
In short? I’ll be happy to read your criticisms, but I will not be happy to do it if you make assumptions about me and people like me in the process, because I don’t. deserve. it. If I want men to degrade me without deserving it, I’d date Chris Brown.
hearts and puppies and love and kisses,
anni
Then you might want to stock up on barf bags, because he doesn’t seem to have any intention of changing.
That’s exactly what I just did. Or do you think he was right to call for Imus’s job?
So did Imus. The more he apologized, the more they went after him. Including — and this is the point, folks — Obama.
And I want to make sure I’m getting this right: Obama wasn’t making fun of people in the Special Olympics; he was just making fun of himself for sucking as much as they do. Yeah, run with that one.
Imus was fired because he was ragging on Hillary Clinton who was the presumptive nominee of the Democrat Party at the time. The “nappy headed ho” comment was just an excuse. As for Obama’s comments, somebody puts a microphone in front of him, asks him about it, and he tries to say something politic. I don’t hold that against him.
There you are again, Simon – going for the low-hanging fruit. Just because it happened doesn’t mean that you need to harp on it, or make it your only update today. I don’t come here to read the same I can read in the paper; I come here to learn something new. So let’s see if you can dig past the AOL banner page and give me something I won’t hear anywhere else, OK? It was a stupid remark by Obama, but you haven’t presented anything new on the topic.
I’m sorry if your minds are incapable of computing sarcasm, but you know what? After four years of “Bush’s Greatest Goofs” on calendars, day planners, and novelty books, when Obama proves himself the bigger screw-up and the media turns a blind eye, anybody who is inspired to wax sarcastic in response is welcome to it. If you don’t want us to mock Obama, maybe he should stop making a fool of himself.
It isn’t just the hypocrisy and insensitivity that bother me about this whole matter. What really bothers me is that a lot of people look up to Obama and a lot of kids are being told to model their behavior after his behavior. Even if he has apologized, there are a lot of people who just saw one of the most powerful men in the world mock a group that is already on the margins of society. On a conscious or subconscious level, at least some of those people will take this as a signal that it is okay to perceive people with disabilities as being inferior. It wasn’t that long ago that disabled people were being forcably sterilized and left in substandard institutions because so few people cared to make sure that they were being cared for in the most basic ways. Nine out of ten unborn children who test positive for Down’s Syndrome are aborted because the parents don’t want (or are unable) to “deal with it”. As a society, we already shun people with mental and physical disabilities, often because of discomfort or not knowing how to act, but sometimes, the shunning is active and malicious. The last thing we need is for the President to make insensitive remarks that give even a fleeting impression that such behavior and attitudes are acceptable.
People may not be perfect, but this is actually a tenet of basic courtesy: don’t make fun of other people/groups, especially those with less advantages than you!
There’s no difference. Obama still has his job and Imus is still doing morning radio. I should know because they took off one of the better morning radio programs in New York City to start broadcasting his mess.
In the end they’re both still working. Sure President Obama didn’t get fired but if he did, then we’d have President Biden. If you think the Obama gaff posts here are out of hand (not that I do), they’d have to create a whole separate blog on the site for Biden.
If Barack Obama says something, he’s just being politically incorrect and trying to be funny.
If a lower-class Conservative person makes the same remark, they’re dangerous and bigoted.
Whatever.
Just because it’s such rank hypocrisy that everybody notices means Simon should ignore it?
Hypocrisy on this level must be noted here. This particular event shows such a level of hypocrisy (not just for Obama, but for his apologists) that almost transcends “hypocrisy.” What to call it? Hypercrisy? Megahypocrisy?
I’m new here and even I can see that he has to point it out. Bread and butter.
And just because somebody whines about it doesn’t mean I shouldn’t. You’ll take what I give you and like it.
And let’s not forget why they’re even joking about Obama and bowling. Remember that incredibly patronizing, insulting stunt on the campaign trail? The one where he, at a fundraiser with other rich elitists, generalized working class voters as getting “bitter” and “clinging to guns or religion”? Then when people *gasp* picked up on the condescension and stereotyping, they took him BOWLING, as if that would somehow mitigate the damage. Did some aide get this off Wikipedia or something? “Bitter working-class people like guns, Bibles, and bowling.” And then he tanked, making the whole debacle that much more stupid. That was the moment he lost my vote, my respect, and frankly, I started to hate him.
“Just because it happened”
Not “happened”. “Transpired”. Didn’t you learn anything from our master of apology and superior intelligence Mr. Chris Brown?
“he made an innocent, off-the-cuff joke THAT MANY MANY PEOPLE MAKE”
1. It wasn’t all that innocent
2. Would it be naive of me to assume that the head of the state is usually held to a higher standard than “many many people”?
Anyone else feel like they slipped into bizarro world when Obama was inaugurated? Wasn’t like the WHOLE reason he was elected the fact that he was smart, and the ‘best speaker since Kennedy’?
I remember having a 12 hour political debate with a flaming liberal on a transatlantic flight once. I bring it up because she made a point that I’ve heard a lot of Democrats make: the best politician conservatives have had in the last 60 years was a flaky actor.
Congratulations Democrats – that’s what you’ve elected. He’s an actor, nothing more. He got elected by ACTING Presidential. But like nearly all actors, when you take him off the script, it’s a train wreck.
Ooooh. Right on Simon. I get what you’re saying now. You’re right. Imus did apologize and they went after him hard anyways. I see what you’re saying about the comment as well. I think there is more to this story than just the comment he made. One is AF1 being used in such a cavalier way. Was there more to the Cali trip or did he specifically go for Leno? He could have visited Edwards AFB out here in the AV to get a glimpse of the weapons programs he wants to arbitrarily cut…and that are keeping America safe…we have a runway and everything!
You never answered the part I cared the most about, Simon. Why is your criticism of people like me necessary with your dislike of our president?
It’s not.
I don’t dislike you or think you’re racist because you don’t like him. I don’t think you don’t have a right to criticize him, because it’s etched in our founding principles. I did, however, vote for him, and I am a (social) liberal, so I feel like your comments about OMG U MUST BE RACIST IF U DUNT LIKE OBAMA are targeted at me (and unfairly so).
Christopher: He also held a “town hall” meeting at the OC Fairgrounds, so it wasn’t just Leno.
Why are you taking my criticism of the president personally?
If you don’t do the things I’m mocking, then I’m not sure why you think I’m talking about you.
Well, I blame the Republican Party for all of the President’s current goofs, gaffs and gumups. If they hadn’t offered up an over the hill candidate, when the media told them to, it’s possible that Russia and Iran would not be whispering together and laughing.
And, another reason not to blame the President: Making fun of, and telling lies about handicapped people, was quite hunky dory with the media before the election. Something has changed, so there.
@AllyKat
I agree, you don’t make fun of someone’s disability. You just don’t go there.
This is just so f****ng embarrassing…for the President of the country to appear on some talk show and make an idiot of himself like that. This is just not an appropriate or acceptable conduct for the head of the state. Extremely embarrassing. And sad.
To me, this is merely another example of the mask slipping to reveal the true contempt O and his cronies feel, not just for Special Olympians, but for all flyovers. We all think Special Olympians are a bunch of retards, right? I mean, while we’re cleaning our guns to go to Walmart and patrol for black gay atheists we can brutally assault afore we’s headin’ to church. So his “joke” was funny to US, right?
Wrong.
Huh.
I typed in Deceiver.com but my browser redirected me to SimonWritesOnlyForAnni.com
Malware? Virus? Help!
Since no one can read/google/turn on the TV/think around here, Obama didn’t fly to Cali to be on the show and fly back. He was there *anyway* for other things and I’m sure the whopping hour or two that Leno took won’t make a bit of difference regarding ANYTHING ever. I swear, people look for things to whine about.
Making that joke was completely idiotic and I don’t excuse that. However, I think they went overboard with Don Imus, and I think you’re going WAY overboard now. This wasn’t even intended to be derogatory toward anyone, it was just STUPID.
There are much more pressing issues that you can hate on him for. But a “special olympics” joke, really? I feel like that’s the people focus on when they have no idea what’s going on in the world.
My first thought about Obama’s freudian slip… was ehhh people make comments like this all the time. I am more attune to it because my 12 year old has Noonan’s Syndrome, I don’t take these comments seriously. It is said out of ignorance because most of us do not interact with people with disablities regularly so they are easily marginalized. Kind of reminds me of segregation.
Simons pull out of the archive gives this a whole other spin. Good one!
Hey, Nixon appeared on Laugh-in to show he was an average likable guy, maybe this is Obama’s attempt at that. As far as the apology maybe Shriver accepted it because Obama gave him a nice boxed set of DVDs – suitable for visiting heads of state.
Average takeaway at DailyKos: “My mother is mentally retarded and I wasn’t offended at all.”
These guys need an anti-defamation league.
Pointing out that Obama called for Imus to be fired for the same kind of mistake Obama just made, and that we’re supposed to accept the apology from one but not the other, that’s “overboard”? Anything’s possible, I guess.
They can’t just say, “yeah, he f’ed up.” They are incapable of saying it. The left has so much invested in this guy, that he is incapable of blemish.
They cannot admit that if anyone but a card-carrying leftist said it, they would be all over him.
Hypocrites. They’re textbook hypocrites.
I think Obama should have just gone all out:
—-
POTUS:
“Jay, what’s better than winning a gold medal at the Special Olympics?”
JAY: “What?”
POTUS: “Not being retarded.”
—-
Come on…you grinned a little.
Aside from being unfunny and insulting, Obama’s comment is also yet another sign that he didn’t have enough political experience to be president. When you’ve been a governor or when your senate career consists of something other than running for president and having people fawn all over you, you learn to watch what you say. Obama’s never had to deal with that scrutiny – from anyone at any time of his life, as far as I can tell – and as a result his manners are on par with a high-school sophomore. The sad part is, Obama could probably say he wishes Hitler were still alive and in power and some people would find a way to defend him. In the entire history of American politics, has there ever been so much praise for someone who did so little to deserve it?
“Obama could probably say he wishes Hitler were still alive”
Now I know what would have made that talk show even better.
Jay Leno- Mr. President of the United States…
Barack Obama- Just call me Leader.
some punctuation marks don’t work here.
Jay Leno: “Mr. President of the United States…”
Barack Obama: “Just call me Leader”
“while we’re cleaning our guns to go to Walmart and patrol for black gay atheists”
LMMFAO…Beige, you are killing me here…
But seriously, why can’t those presidents just be normal? Why do they (all) have to act like swine and embarrass us as a nation in front of the whole world? One is sticking his alcoholic red bell pepper nose under the skirt half his age, another one can’t seem to be able to locate the door…or the dictionary. And now this fool, prostituting himself on the talk show and cracking “jokes” that would make Chancellor Hitler blush. Is it too much to ask that the President of the United States act in a dignified and appropriate manner?
“In the entire history of American politics, has there ever been so much praise for someone who did so little to deserve it?”
Tal, sit down. Get comfortable. Let me tell you a little story about these folks we like to call the Kennedys. Well, I personally like to call them other things, but never mind.
Beige made an excellent point there – the Kennedys set the precedent that Obama is now being held to. In their defense though, it’s pretty rough when the only two that were really decent people were killed. I’ve always considered JFK to be overrated, but he DID stand up to the commies on more than one occasion, so he’s earned a soft spot in my liberal-hating heart. His brother was ahead of his time, and probably could have done a lot of good.
That being said, the rest of the family is pretty much a total wash.
Not only are they a wash, but at least one is a TERRIFICALLY good swimmer. Leaves others behind, so to speak.
Obama is also a hypocrite for demanding the firing of Imus while taking money and inviting vulgar misogynistic rappers who call women bitches and hos.
I’m impressed with some of the Obama hate here. Here’s the difference for Simon and those of you who don’t “see it”:
The group which Imus insulted has been subjected to a long, difficult and often violent civil rights struggle to get rights and be treated with respect and equality in United States culture. African Americans are still attacked today for their race, and insulting racial language is often used those times as well. Not to mention that the comment was made specifically to particular members of that group when it was said, who most certainly didn’t deserve such a comment.
The disabled have certainly struggled in society, but they did not (and do not) suffer such violence or inequality just because of who they are. Yes, Obama’s comment was inappropriate and he was correct to apologize once he realized his mistake, but the two are hardly as comparable as you’re making it out to be.
Oh … so we’re going to go down that road, are we? Comparing and contrasting people’s suffering?
Yikes. I’m neither disabled nor black. But I’m Polish. And all those Stosh -n- Stella jokes really hurt my feelings.
Seriously, I don’t know who has had it the toughest: Jews, Special Olympians, African-Americans, women, gays, Latinos, the morbidly obese, “little people,” conjoined twins, bald chemotherapy patients, or high school band geeks. (Sorry if I left out any oppressed groups.)
Angst is angst. But Rob’s comment demonstrates one thing: When it comes to promoting your suffering, blacks have the best public-relations machine, hands down.
“The disabled have certainly struggled in society, but they did not (and do not) suffer such violence or inequality just because of who they are.”
This is why no one wants to listen to blacks cry about their suffering anymore, because you seem to believe that no one on Earth but you has ever had it badly. Or ‘as badly’ in this case. To compare yourself in any way to their struggles is to insult them beyond repair. Case in point is the recent gay rights movement. The first real backlash they suffered was when a few of their leaders DARED to compare their struggle with the civil rights movement.
Frankly, there are a lot of groups that could compete for ‘most stepped on minority’. You probably just don’t think of them because frankly… they’re white for the most part. Jews for instance have been persecuted by pretty much every place they’ve ever lived, for about 4000 years longer than white people were enslaving blacks. Then you’ve got my people, the Irish – who were invaded and occupied for the better part of 600 years (hell, we STILL don’t have the whole country back, when are we getting a celebrity concert?). They were treated as little better than slaves in their own country, and eventually starved to the point they either died or left. Ever bother to wonder why every third person you meet in a nation of 300 million people is Irish, and they only have that one tiny little island for all those people to come from? I’ll give you a clue, it’s not just our aversion to birth control. A whole bunch of Slavic races and especially the Armenians also have a pretty good shot at the title.
If you wanna talk about current events – sure Africa gets all the press, but it’s hardly the only shit-hole on Earth. People act like Africa is the only place where people regularly trade one oppressive tinpot dictator for another every few months, or are starving and dying of disease. South America and Southeast Asia are just as bad if not worse. I’d rather head to the Congo than Cambodia any day of the week.
But lets finally move on to the subject – the disabled. This story hits close to home because I am ashamed to say that my state (Indiana) was in the news recently for it’s own sordid past in regards to this issue. We just got around to apologizing for employing a eugenics program in the early part of the 20th century that sterilized thousands of the mentally retarded. It’s easy to forget that while the Nazis were gassing Jews, gays, and yes – the mentally ill, we were rounding up Japs and sterilizing our own mentally ill citizens. When blacks were being sold into slavery, the mentally ill were being ‘excorcised’ to death or locked in dungeons to rot. When blacks were being forced to drink from separate fountains, the mentally ill were being experimentally lobotomized and electro-shocked into catatonia. Who marched for them?
You might take the time to consider these things in the future before trying to start a pissing contest over who’s had it harder.
“The disabled have certainly struggled in society, but they did not (and do not) suffer such violence or inequality just because of who they are.”
Are you freaking kidding me?!!
You know what the real difference is Mr Rob Al-fu@*ing mighty, one group can speak out about the injustices they face the other cannot. How many mentally retarded have been raped or have been killed by the very people who are supposed to care and protect them? You have no god-d@mn idea do you Mr. Rob from New York because you have never dealt with the disabled and retarded. There is not a more innocent group in this whole freakin’ society. You are right they cannot be compared because we will never know how many have been mistreated, abused, neglected, raped or killed because they are the silent minority, you self-righteous b@st@rd!
Rob in NY,
Throughout history the mentally handicapped have been regarded as demon posessed. Shunning was one of the better things that could be done to them
The mentally handicapped were shuttled off to the concentration camps long before the Jews were.
Until shockingly recently the way of dealing with the mentally handicapped was to sterilize them and lock them up in institutions that would drug them into oblivion, strap them down, or corral them in tiny rooms. Some families opted to just lock the family shame in the attic or basement though.
They are easy victims for predators who would harm them, rape them, steal from them.
They were used as guinea pigs for all kinds of treatments, sensesory deprivation, hydro therapy, electro-shock therapy, ice pick lobotomies . . . .
Currently people will avoid making contact with someone they see is mentally handicapped. As if they were afraid Down’s Syndrome was contagious. A mental handicap can be socially isolating
They did and do suffer violence and inequality because of who they are.
And ultimately, yes, blacks, Jews, Irish, Gypsies, etc have all had a hard go of it, but they can fight for themselves (not saying that they should be or should have been left on their own to do so mind you). The mentally handicapped cannot. More than any other group of people they do need to rely on other groups for their rights.
Rob in NY,
Don’t you DARE tell me that the handicapped don’t have it as bad as African Americans. They never have it easy. Take, for example, a girl I happen to know. She’s had 18 heart surgeries in her 15 years of life, is a little on the slow side learning wise, and is the butt of jokes more often then not. Her peers like to make fun of her on a daily basis, and you know what, she never complains. And you’re telling me that her suffering isn’t as bad as African Americans? They can fight back. Can she?
The bottom line is that suffering is suffering, and it doesn’t matter what minority you are. No one deserves to made fun of for something that they can’t control, whether it be race, or a disability, and no apology is going to make that sick attempt at a joke any less insulting.
Rob, you could have saved a lot of typing by stating it plainly: “It doesn’t count because it doesn’t hurt my feelings as much.”
Sorry guys… I appreciate the effort you’re making to equate the disabled experience with the African American experience in this country, but this comparison between Imus and Obama is still false.
“How dare you compare the suffering of these two groups!” (Pardon my paraphrasing)
Well, if the article we’re discussing literally compares the Imus situation to the Obama situation, of course we have to “compare and contrast” what both groups have suffered. Everything the handicapped have gone through, African Americans have suffered as well (including medical experimentation and shunning by society). It is foolish to pretend otherwise.
Physical harm against the disabled has generally (pay close attention to that word) been of a different type (domestic abuse/sexual abuse by a caretaker, etc) than that suffered by African Americans (violent anti-Black organizations, the KKK, lynchings, they were considered property, Jim Crow Laws, etc). Not to mention their history as slave labor with everything THAT entails, along with the need for the civil rights movement. The list goes on and on.
The handicapped have indeed suffered tremendous injustices (and I never said otherwise), but to claim that, as a whole, they are somehow worse off than African Americans is simply not true.
Lets not lose sight of the fact that I’m not the one forcing the comparison here. Simon did that by implying that the Imus comment is equivalent to the Obama comment. Again, was Obama correct in making that comment? No. Does this deserve the same level of response as the Imus comment? Also, no.
And by the way, “Kim,” Are there particular handicapped people who have it worse than particular African Americans? Of course. But I’m not talking about particular people. I’m talking about these situations as a whole. My condolences about your friend.
So you think Obama was right to call for Imus to be fired, and his apology for this is sufficient even though he didn’t think Imus’s was.
Good point: Imus didn’t make his comment on the Tonight Show, in the capacity of President of the United States.
OMG. I could just link here all day long, because this stuff truly is Just. That. Good.
You guys need to get off of this. I am the mother of a Special Olympian. He made a tacky off handed comment the likes I have heard many times from family, friends and coworkers. Example: Oh! he’s acting so retarded. He didn’t mean it any more than they did.
Those we should be worried about are Legislatures in conservative states or any state who want to put a nice name to a bill that would shackle our kids to the wall and then they would throw food at them. You know like they did in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Most of these politicians feel our kids are a waste of money and they don’t want to spend any on them. The Bush administrations attitude is “why would we want to spend money on them?”. Sara Palin just refused Federal funding for special needs kids. Their ideology won’t let them help these kids. They don’t produce therefore they are of no value. The education system spends a fortune on these kids and then they lose all they’ve gained because there are no programs to continue to keep these kids functioning. What these kids need are after graduation activities. Most disabled work shops are aimed at high functioning Downs Kids. My son is autistic and has cp. He needs more supervision than the other kids, but he’s a good worker. There aren’t any programs in Oklahoma and as long as the Wing nuts control our legislature there won’t be any programs. They won’t even require insurance companies in our state to pay for PT, OT etc. for autistic kids. They will however spend money redesigning our State Flag. Can you imagine how much money it would cost to replace all our state flags just in the area of government?
My son would love President Obama. So forgive him. I have. My son has.
Ask yourselves how many times in conversation you’ve made a comment like “that is so retarded” or “look at the retard”. Most of you are guilty of it and when you said it most of these people understood what you were saying. I know their parents did.
BTW, if you could fire a President for a tacky comment, G.B. wouldn’t have been in office 48 hours.
So let’s say we do have a contest for the most oppressed, downtrodden, spat-upon, raped, etc. (Hey, don’t forget the Native Americans – the white man certainly did them no favors, eh?). What would the winner receive ?
Guys, give it up. Rob and others like him have apparently based a large segment of what they call “values” on the eternal and competitive victimhood of blacks. Never mind the progress that’s been made; never mind the vast strides in racial parity that have taken place. Apparently martyrdom looms so large in that legend that if pulled out, the whole structure topples. Screw anyone else who’s ever been through anything horrible, because it just simply can’t compare. Those Africans who sold their own people into slavery? Disregard that. Black-on-black crime? It’s our fault. (Well, not mine, because I’m not wholly Caucasian myself, but whatever.) It’s okay to make fun of anyone in the world, to say whatever cruel things you want, as long as you revere anyone who’s black. Because they’ve had it worse than anyone.
I can’t wait to see the look on my neighbor’s face when I tell him that despite his achievements as a heart surgeon, he should hang his head in woe because HE IS OPPRESSED.
Les, I wasn’t going to say anything, but yeah, what about the Native Americans? My mom wants to know. She and her side of the family are still waiting for reparations on that whole Trail of Tears thing. (I mean, the Qualla Boundary is a lovely place, but WE HAVE SUFFERED, DAMMIT.)
I want to apologize for breaking down and using name calling and desparaging Rob. One of the things I enjoy about this site is that we can argue without resorting to that level.
That being said, Rob needs to read some history and travel to some third world countries. I do not believe in the term racism myself. What people call racism I call tribalism or on a larger scale nationalism. The us vs them mentallity. Unfortunatley the human condition requires us to pit ourselves against each other and we will look for reasons for seperation; be it skin color, type of car, shoes, bandana’s, etc. Case in point is the violence in Africa where one tribe is tyring to wipe out another or in China where ethnic groups are segregated and given substandard housing/jobs/oppurtunities. You ever hear teo dark skinned black lady’s talk sh*t about the litghter skinned black girl cause she ain’t “black” enough? Happens all the time, people would call that racism but is it?
Rob I would just to say to you that if you think “African-Americans” have it so hard today in the US you should try going somewhere else. One thing my father has always taught me is excellence has no color and in the business world when you are really good at your job nobody cares about the color of your skin.
Well personally I think that if you are the one that is destined to free the American people from both the economic recession and the Matrix, you should get a Mulligan when it comes to making fun of certain groups….
Oh, and btw, does anyone want to guess what the average score is for Special Olympic Competitors is for Bowling? The upper 200’s, the same average score as regular professional bowlers. Guess the President is actually worse, much worse.
Simon, let’s keep things in perspective here. To insinuate that Obama should lose his job over this comment (or that such a comment would justify calling for his resignation) is just silly. I don’t completely agree with Obama’s support to fire Imus, but he’s entitled to his opinion.
You also seemed to miss my point: The response between these two situations is appropriately disproportionate. If you want to hate on Obama, that’s fine. You’ll have plenty of opportunity over these next four years. I’m just suggesting that you reserve the outrage for real matters. Obama rightly deserves some criticism over this, but trying to turn it into something bigger than it is, really looks petty. You are compare apples to oranges here. Your examples with regard to PETA and their spokespersons are an example of properly calling out hypocrites, not this article.
“It’s okay to make fun of anyone in the world, to say whatever cruel things you want, as long as you revere anyone who’s black. Because they’ve had it worse than anyone.” -Beige
Beige, you need to grow up. I was making no such point. I’m approaching this discussion civilly and with respect to other people’s opinions. You should learn to do the same and not put words in other people’s mouths.
I don’t recall slinging any actual insults, Rob. And even if I had, shouldn’t a facile, flip apology get me off the hook?
Your argument above clearly implies that nobody else’s suffering really compares to that of blacks (“as a whole”). It’s a ridiculous argument, not only because of its sweeping generality, but because it’s patently untrue. That attempt to secure deed and title to the moral high ground is what keeps Sharpton and Jackson in their jobs as professional grievance-mongerers, so obviously it works, but it’s ridiculous anyway.
If we all “loved our neighbor as ourselves”, we wouldn’t be having these silly conversations. The ideal that one group suffers more than another is silly. All groups have had their turn. Japanese, Irish, Hispanics, Italians, Blacks, menatally ill, mentally handicapped, poor, Cathloics, Protestants, etc. We always seem to need someone to kick or blame. The only time we seem to work side by side is in disaster. I guess we should be grateful for that at least. (except in New Orleans of course. I don’t know what happened there and I hope it never happens again.)
That’s exactly what you’re complaining about.
Why? Imus did. He was just some guy on the radio. Are you actually saying that the President of the United States shouldn’t be held to such a high standard?
And so are we.
[remainder of pseudointellectual nattering snipped]
The White House.
Neither did Imus. Obama didn’t think his apology was sufficient.
Change!
So Rob: Today, and today only, I have a special offer for just for you.
I’m going to wave my magic wand and make you either black or seriously mentally challenged.
What’s it gonna be?
Choose your choice.
That sorta settles the whole stupid “worst off” debate, now doesn’t it?
Minnow – nice way to put in perspective
Les Paul: “So let’s say we do have a contest for the most oppressed, downtrodden, spat-upon, raped, etc. (Hey, don’t forget the Native Americans – the white man certainly did them no favors, eh?). What would the winner receive?”
Simon: “The White House.”
Best. Exchange. EVER.
Simon, the fact is the conservatives in government have no use for the handicapped. I know because I deal with the legislature in my state. My son has a better chance with Obama and progressives, than he does with the Bushes and the conservatives. And even if I were a conservative I would go with those who would help my child.
Imus is an abrasive smart ass. He dissed everyone and the more agressive he got the more he thought he could get away with it. He did it on purpose and as part of his act. So he went a little too far. God knows most of the people he went after wanted to ring his neck. Obama just made a comment about his bowling. No, he shouldn’t have done it but we as human beings can’t control everything we say all the time. How many times have you used the word retarded without thinking? We all do. And don’t tell me you haven’t laughed at a person you thought was retarded, because if you haven’t you are a catagory of one. I just stopped when I had a handicapped child and realized what I was really doing. Most of us don’t know because we don’t live with handicapped people or have handicapped children. I don’t expect reason on this site, but unless you live daily or have a relative who is dealing with a handicapped family member, your just blowing smoke.
I don’t know why I’m bothering with this. You all are going to do what you do.
You don’t like Obama for what ever reason and your sitting around waiting for him to make a mistake, any mistake. Admit it and go on, but leave my son and his fellow travelers in this world out of it. They are not your excuse to dislike or hate a person.
Yes: Point out that Obama is asking for the forgiveness he wasn’t willing to extend to someone of lower station. I’m not sure why that upsets you so much, but I hope your day gets better from here.
Nobody is “sitting around waiting for him to make a mistake”. He’s providing ample fodder for a blog that concerns itself with hypocrisy. Period. And while I hope that things get considerably better for Happy Camper’s son and his “fellow travelers”, because it would be nice to know that SOMEONE benefited from Obama’s presidency (besides Obama), I’m not holding my breath.
Well, it’s true that I had to do some digging to find evidence of his gaffe. He only said it on the Tonight Show.
Happy Camper, you and I have something in common but vast differences in who we think will help our children. My daughter has had an undiagnosable syndrome (until recently); she has distinct features and is severally mentally handicapped (retarded for the lay person). We lived in California for the first 11 years of her life. Pretty progressive and liberal state, right? What kind of assistance did we get from the state? 0! That would be less then 1…we got the big zip!
Why? Because she did not have a clear diagnosis. Benefits for the severally handicaped are voted on year to year and the bill lists specific conditions only.
Why? So the state politicians can brag how they helped kids with Down’s Syndrome or DiGeorge or Williams or Cerebral Palsy or whatever. “See what nice people we are, we care about the sick little children.” The handicap are nothing but political pawns to them.
My conclusion is that politcians, be they left or right, conservative or liberal, care more for their careers then our children. One political party does not care more or less than another party.
The Oklahoma State Legistature voted down an amendment that required that no Oklahoma insurance carrier can provide coverage for erectile dysfunction unless they also provided coverage for autism spectrum disorder. The amendment was killed in a strict party-line vote. R-59 D-37.
I our state sexual pleasure is more important than kids in need. The Repubs would rather insurers pay for Viagra than pay for autism treatments. That’s the priorities of our Christian Conservative Men anyway. Considering the sex scandels up at the Capital I guess we know why.
I called you on it because you’re writing on a website full of people who – for the most part – support your writing and if not then you’re choice to write it. The extremely defensive stance you’re taking on your article – your ridicule of would-be critics – is inappropriate here. You’re not on a liberal blog. You’re on your own website where if someone gets too out of line or unfair with you, their comment being posted is in your discretion, right? (unless I misunderstand the point of moderating them)
All I’m saying is it makes you look angry at us, because you’re saying these comments TO us, not the liberals who you find so obnoxious.
It’s like every time someone around this hellhole of a town says or jokes that women should be in the home and those who can’t take their “joke” are just feminazis. If I’m in the room, I’m going to be offended. It means that I have to take the comment at face-value or I’m totally in the wrong here. So when you’re insulting a base that likes him – whether they’re the “he can do no wrong” liberals or just everyone who considered voting for them – by calling them reverse racists if you can’t have your say, I feel like if I criticize it at all, you can simply tap your finger at the comment you made and say, “See? I told you so.”
“The Oklahoma State Legistature voted down an amendment that required that no Oklahoma insurance carrier can provide coverage for erectile dysfunction unless they also provided coverage for autism spectrum disorder. The amendment was killed in a strict party-line vote. R-59 D-37.”
Yeah – because those two issues are completely connected and should be put into law right next to each other. I think it’s ridiculous that we support do-nothing welfare mothers with 12 kids but can’t manage to keep up with filling all the potholes around here. Maybe I should write a law demanding that as long as they are paying for useless people they have to pay to fix my potholes – it makes about as much sense as trying to connect ED coverage with autism.
Did you bother to think about WHY they cover one and not the other? Maybe because you can fix ED with a simple pill that costs virtually nothing now that there are generics on the market. Coverage for someone with autism is a life-long commitment that will cost the company millions of dollars. You never cure autism, you just keep supporting the person their entire life. People forget that medical insurance is run by COMPANIES. Companies are in business to make money, not make you happy.
Anni, I can honestly say I have no idea what you’re talking about. Obviously this whole thing upsets you, but for the life of me I can’t figure out why.
Again: If you don’t do the things I’m mocking, why in the world would you think I’m talking about you?
Scott F. So you support big institutions that chain people to walls and throw food at them. Like they did in the 18th and early 19th centurties. With an attitude like that you could be an Ok. state legislator.
ED and Autism are both diseases. Accidents aren’t related to ED either but insurance companies cover them. Autism isn’t a mental illness. It’s brain damage. Im some states they are covered by insurance. Insurance companies provide coverage in other states for such as PT, OT and speech. They just don’t have to cover them in OK.
The rate of Autism has gone up significantly in the last 10 years. Parents will out live these kids and then what? Oh, I know big institutions that chain people to walls and throw food at them. Like they did in the 18th and early 19th centurties. You better make sure nothing happens to you to damage your brain or you’ll end up changed to the wall next to them. No one may want to waste money on you either, particularly if your dying because you smoked too much. That’s where most of the money goes, diseases related to smoking, heart, lung, cancer etc.
BTW, Viagra can kill you. Remember if you get an erection that lasts more than 4 hours see your Dr. immediately or it may fall off.
D—-Your right about most politicians. We have one that really wants to help, but the leadership at the state just says NO. They don’t like kids or women in Ok.
They made it clear to us our son needed a diagnosis too. So he was diagnosised with autism. He also has some CP so they threw that in too.
Actually Camper, it sounds like the Republicans in your state felt that no insurer should be forced to pay for Viagra just because they cover Autism.
“Ask yourselves how many times in conversation you’ve made a comment like “that is so retarded” or “look at the retard”. Most of you are guilty of it and when you said it most of these people understood what you were saying.”
Does it make it alright because people make those comments in conversations? If that is the case what was the big deal with Isaiah Washington? He used a term (fa**ot) that many people use in converstation. There are still many people who use the “n” word in converstations. Does that make it okay to use that word, even if you are black?
I don’t think Obama should be fired over this. I think the point here is that when someone made a questionable comment (Imas) that offended a group of people there was no excuse for it and no apology was good enough. The President makes a questionable comment that offended a group of people we are told to lighten up. It was a joke. He apologized. Every one says those things.
Ok I don’t know what a converstation is. I meant conversations. Now I am as bad as Bush, making up my own words.
Yeah there Happy – because if I don’t support FORCING private companies (which are the property of private citizens) to cover a specific disorder then I must support chaining them to walls and throwing food at them. You must have a jetpack to make that kind of leap in deductive reasoning.
My uncle happens to have been born with a severe mental retardation caused by his oxygen supply being cut off during delivery. Our family has always made sure he had the best care possible, he lives with his sister, not off in some home chained to a wall for Christ’s sake.
These people run a business for profit, it’s as simple as that. My father at various times worked as a claims manager at 2 of the 3 largest private insurers in the nation. He also worked four years as a claims manager for California’s govt. insurance agency – which I honestly don’t think exists anymore, but I don’t live in California. Now, between private sector and public, you wanna guess which one shafted their patients worse?
The govt. plans made you go to the worst, most run down hospitals, had the highest copays, payed for only the most generic of medicines and treatments (terming the rest ‘experimental’). You know why? Because they aren’t forced to compete. If enough people get fed up with a private insurer, they can pressure their employer to switch carriers – or simply try to find another employer who has a different carrier. The market works those things out in the long run. If a carrier is shafting the mentally disabled, then you need to get it out there for everyone to see and anyone with a conscience will do their best to avoid doing business with them. Having the government force a private company to change their policies is not the answer – it’s socialism. It’s actually the textbook definition of socialism, meaning that the government is in the business of running businesses.
I don’t understand why I try and talk to you when you try to make everything I ever say sound ridiculous compared to the wisdom contained in yours. I give up. You win with everything, forever.
Happy Camper,
“My son has a better chance with Obama and progressives, than he does with the Bushes and the conservatives”
Obama isn’t associated with progressives, he’s associated with liberals. Progressive minded people can be and are in both parties, but just often in different manners.
“The Oklahoma State Legistature voted down an amendment that required that no Oklahoma insurance carrier can provide coverage for erectile dysfunction unless they also provided coverage for autism spectrum disorder. The amendment was killed in a strict party-line vote. R-59 D-37″
What about the amendment a year earlier that would have required autism coverage, but didn’t even associate with erectile dysfunction and ended up making it past the representatives and into the senate? It sounds like there’s more going on than “Republicans hate the handicapped.” That is to say, it could very well be somewhat related to business practices. Forcing every insurer in the state to have the same coverage over a certain area doesn’t totally affect business practices since everybody would have to. This bill instead linked autism to something completely unrelated which, although gave a little bit of choice to the insurers, it’s a bound choice. That is to say, they can choose between raising their costs which would put off many of their current customers with neither problem or they could deny both which would put off their current customers with ED or autism. What’s more, many of the people who currently have autism would likely be denied coverage if seeking insurance because it’s already known that they have it and thus the company knows it’ll lose money and consequently, they’ll be out of all insurance because of this bill (probably not a good thing). It would only really be good for those who seek family coverage under the thought that a child in the future may have autism, but the families that currently have autism would still have to seek out coverage that wouldn’t include autism anyway and likely at a higher cost for the coverage given due to the change in companies if the current plan is company based. Of course, a new law forcing autism coverage to extend only to those not yet born when the law was passed could help alleviate some of those problems, of course, but that’s not what this bill would have done.
“Autism isn’t a mental illness. It’s brain damage”
Actually, it is a mental illness. It’s a developmental disorder, and those fall under the category of mental illness. It’s certainly not brain damage in any sense of the word since brain damage must be acquired.
“The rate of Autism has gone up significantly in the last 10 years. Parents will out live these kids and then what? Oh, I know big institutions that chain people to walls and throw food at them. Like they did in the 18th and early 19th centurties”
I think you mean that the children will outlive the parents because otherwise the parents can still take care of the children if they’re the ones living longer especially since autism is one of those conditions that maintains a normal life expectancy. Though maybe you were hinting at something else that I didn’t quite catch (it’s late). Anyway, it depends on what you mean by ‘big institutions that chain people to walls and throw food at them.’ That is to say, this was common practice throughout most of history (rather than just the 1700’s and 1800’s) not necessarily for the mentally ill, but rather for criminals which could indeed include criminals who also happened to be mentally ill. Further, such institutions weren’t “big institutions” so much as “huge institutions.” That is to say, it wasn’t like there was some company out and about who’s job was to round these people up in most cases (though that’s not to say that there wasn’t the occasional ‘here and there’ thing going on). It was the national, or at the very least, local government. And there’s not a chance in heck that not limiting the entrepreneurial rights of businesses is going to push the local governments back to similar times. Also, even when the child outlives his or her parents, there are still institutions today that are state or charitably run to take care of such individuals and I can assure you that I haven’t heard of any recently that “chain people to walls and throw food at them. Like they did in the 18th and early 19th centurties”.
Oh well. Can’t say I didn’t try.
“Viagra can kill you. Remember if you get an erection that lasts more than 4 hours see your Dr. immediately or it may fall off”
We’ll Superglue it back on. No one will be able to tell the difference. Ah…and you thought glue was just for sniffing.
P.S. Sorry, I usually don’t post anything like that…but I was extremely bored. Sometimes I get bored, you know