Silverman’s TED routine zings with frequent use of ‘retarded’
February 15th, 2010
From Michael Arrington at Techcrunch.com via the Washington Post. Also, MediaPost.com, HuffingtonPost.com:
Appearing at the exclusive TED conference in California last week, comedian Sarah Silverman performed a routine that made liberal use of the word “retarded,” web sources are saying.
The gist of her remarks: She said she’d like to adopt a “special needs child” so that people would think she was an “awesome person,” but she’s concerned that a “retarded child” would never leave the nest. So she’s decided that she would adopt a “retarded child with a terminal illness so it has an expiration date.”
The TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) conference draws heavy hitters from around the globe, and is devoted to what it calls “ideas worth spreading.” In addition to Silverman, speakers this year included Bill Gates and James Cameron. Bill Clinton, Al Gore and Gordon Brown have appeared in past years.
Silverman’s routine drew criticism from conference organizer Chris Anderson, who twittered that he thought it was “god-awful.” Anderson later “admitted he was out of line,” reports Mediapost.com.
Arrington writes that Silverman, who has built a career challenging taboos, was…
“following suit behind Megan McCain and Stephen Colbert in making fun of Sarah Palin. She didn’t say this, but I knew this. Why did I know this? Because this is a trend with comedians right now and I know why they are doing it. They are doing it for a cause. They don’t want that word turned into the “R word”. Saying the word “retarded” can only have extreme negative power if you let it and Sarah Silverman is brave, because she got on stage in front of some global minds and dropped it over and over and over.”
Silverman was among celebrities featured last year in MTV’s “How’s Your News?” a comedy/reality show in which reporters with disabilities traveled the country in search of news.
(Photo from www.ted.com)
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February 16th, 2010 at 11:21 am
Sarah Silverman IS brave — brave enough to line her pockets generating laughs at the expense of other people who happen to have cognitive disabilities. She purposely chose to focus on this word because she knew it would generate more attention for her. After all, all publicity is good for a shock based entertainer.
If it’s such a brave move to focus on a denigrating term, then wouldn’t Sarah be a fan of the Nazi Party’s stereotypical jokes about Jews? Yes, sure, those repetitive nasty cartoons, editorials, jokes, and comedians really helped the Jews overcome their aversion to name calling, discrimination, and genocide, didn’t they?
The promoters of this conference, as well as the attendees, should have had the intestinal fortitude to walk out of her presentation. Instead they gave her an audience and paid her well for her nasty little production. The promoter’s about-face left no doubt about his lack of backbone and integrity.
What’s next for Sarah — jokes about genital mutiliation? NAMBLA? Child molestation? or just more exploitation of some targeted group to make sure that those targeted can just “get over it?” (and make Sarah money, of course!)
February 16th, 2010 at 8:44 am
This raises so many questions.
Shouldn’t a TED speaker be setting trends, not following them?
If a TED speaker were joining in a trend shouldn’t it be something sophisticated and emergent? Should it really be something as common and uninspired as playground bullying?
And telling people with cognitive disabilities I’m saying this over and over because you shouldn’t let it hurt you… is that really a cause? I feel like slapping you and blaming you when you feel pain must also be a cause then. Will we see that on TED next year?
And brave?? Would it have been “brave” to use a racial slur?Then why is it brave to use a disability slur? Especially since the NAACP has way more firepower than Special Olympics… wouldn’t slurring them be “braver?” Will we see racial slurs on TED next year?
February 15th, 2010 at 10:36 pm
Arrington is a psychic now — so am I. I knew it too – every media h** will jump on the bandwagon to get some air time at the expense of people with cognitive disabilities. Why? because the consequences are mild. TED knew she would “cause” controversy. Is this the “cause” Arrington is referring to? Silverman has made comments about how she loves the “r …..ed” and said she even has volunteered for the Special Olympics. Yeah and some of her best friends are black too. Did the overuse work for the “n” word? Did it stop its negative power? Will this ever end? I find out today that the Down Syndrome Association of Los Angeles has Sarah Silverman on their docket for an upcoming fundraiser. Really?! I asked for a refund. How much more can we take people? Who can we trust? Who has our back?