Obama's "Special Olympics" Moment
President Obama had a foot-in-mouth moment last night on The Tonight Show when he said of his bowling performance "That was like the Special Olympics or something." He must have realized as soon as it came out that, funny or not, it was a stupid thing for a US President to say, and he called the chairman of the Special Olympics later from Air Force One to apologize.
I'm posting this because I'm conflicted on how to feel about the whole thing. The developmentally disabled are some of the most discriminated-against members of society. When a "normal" person does something unwise they are said to be acting "retarded." Disabled people are mocked openly, even by people who are otherwise sensitive to the stigma of ridiculing disadvantaged minorities. So when even the President of the United States can't resist getting a dig in, I can see why this would be humiliating and infuriating to disabled people and those who defend their rights and well-being.
But there is another way of looking at it. We all make fun of each other to a certain extent. Humor is a universal human trait and serves important functions like releasing tension, elevating mood, and allowing us to talk openly about subjects that are uncomfortable or taboo in "polite society." For better or for worse, much of the humor that is actually funny (as opposed to elephant jokes) occurs at someone else's expense. If you did a survey of what jokes really make people laugh, I think you'd find that most of them are offensive to someone. If you can't make a joke that somebody or some group might find offensive, you don't have much to work with.
One point of view is that an egalitarian society is one in which anybody can make fun of anyone else, and that nobody should take themselves so seriously as to believe they are above caricature. What sort of message does it really send when the do-gooders tell us that we can't make fun of this person or that group? Does exemption from lampooning really show respect to a group or does it subtly dehumanize them, making them less than equal to the rest of us silly monkeys who like to point and laugh at one another?
I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Even if you think what I'm saying is totally retarded.
I'm posting this because I'm conflicted on how to feel about the whole thing. The developmentally disabled are some of the most discriminated-against members of society. When a "normal" person does something unwise they are said to be acting "retarded." Disabled people are mocked openly, even by people who are otherwise sensitive to the stigma of ridiculing disadvantaged minorities. So when even the President of the United States can't resist getting a dig in, I can see why this would be humiliating and infuriating to disabled people and those who defend their rights and well-being.
But there is another way of looking at it. We all make fun of each other to a certain extent. Humor is a universal human trait and serves important functions like releasing tension, elevating mood, and allowing us to talk openly about subjects that are uncomfortable or taboo in "polite society." For better or for worse, much of the humor that is actually funny (as opposed to elephant jokes) occurs at someone else's expense. If you did a survey of what jokes really make people laugh, I think you'd find that most of them are offensive to someone. If you can't make a joke that somebody or some group might find offensive, you don't have much to work with.
One point of view is that an egalitarian society is one in which anybody can make fun of anyone else, and that nobody should take themselves so seriously as to believe they are above caricature. What sort of message does it really send when the do-gooders tell us that we can't make fun of this person or that group? Does exemption from lampooning really show respect to a group or does it subtly dehumanize them, making them less than equal to the rest of us silly monkeys who like to point and laugh at one another?
I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Even if you think what I'm saying is totally retarded.