Op-ed: ‘Special needs aren’t funny’
March 23rd, 2009Mariane Leone, writing in the Boston Globe, says the president’s joke about Special Olympics was a “knife-in-the-heart” moment for many. An excerpt:
Obama’s presidency was hailed for breaking stereotypes. We have had a disabled president — Franklin Delano Roosevelt — but the fact that he used a wheelchair was kept hidden.
Now we have a “cool” president, and racial slurs are supposed to be banished forever, but it’s still OK to make fun of “retards.” After all, our president does it. On national television.
… here’s what Obama should learn from this: Stop your cringe-inducing attempts at humor, and try to bring about the change you promised when I voted for you.
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March 23rd, 2009 at 9:38 am
I agree, but maybe something good will come of it. There is a lot of attention on this subject that otherwise would not be. Also, I look forward to seeing a Special Olympics bowler visit the white house and school Obama on bowling. I suspect this will happen in the near future.