Monday, 23 March 2009
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President Obama and His Special Olympics Joke
by Mama Pig As you all know; I do not watch television. All my news comes from the ten minute ride to the school in the morning or from online. I heard a snippet on Friday about something our President said the night prior. I wasn't in the car long enough to find out exactly what was said, but it made me curious.
Later on that day I happened to see the article online. It was a video clip of the "incident". I watched, I listened, I wondered what the uproar was exactly about. You all know that I would be the first and most likely the loudest to exclaim outrage if I felt that President Obama meant any disrespect by his comment. Was it the smartest thing in the world to say; probably not.
You can watch the video below:
As the parent of a child with a disability; was I offended? Not for one second.
He was trying to be funny. He spoke without really thinking of what impact his words might have on the public. Haven't we all said something only to immediately think, "oh crap, I really shouldn't have said that"? I know that I have many times, a few times today even.
What really bothers me is that now I read that Sarah Palin is "outraged" over his comment. Now really Sarah; I admire you for getting information about Down Syndrome out there for the world to see; but outraged? Perhaps a bit offput, but outraged?? Did he suggest that we line up all people with disabilities and place them on an island somewhere? No, he made a bad joke and has since apologized. If you want to be outraged about something, why don't you try focusing some anger on AIG and this ridiculous bailout that allowed them to pay the very people that ran the company into the ground, millions in bonuses. Now that is something I could get behind.
I am one of the most outspoken advocates for awareness and inclusion for all people with disabilities. Jokes about people with disabilities will make me more angry than a bear spooked out of hibernation. While I think the comment was a poor choice; I don't think he meant harm. I would rather focus on getting this country back on financial track and less about a stupid joke made during an interview on late night television.
Would you be outraged about this situation or would you just consider it a bad joke?
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About the Author
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- From: mamapig
- Name: mamapig
- About Me: Hello everyone. I am Mama Pig. I am a very busy mom of eight children. Five by birth and three my marriage. While it is a busy life, it is one I wouldn't change for the world. Our oldest is 18 and will be graduating in May. We are even in the boys/girls department with four each. Two just turned 14, two just turned 12, one will be 10 this year, and the babies are 4 and 2. There are no twins in the mix, just step siblings that happen to be close in age. You will read alot about Down syndrome when you read my blog. Our youngest daughter was born with Down syndrome as well as a congenital heart defect. These are two issues I am extremely passionate about. I just resumed classes at the local community college. My goal is to someday reach law school with the hopes of focusing on family law.
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Comments (252)
eh. Its barely even a joke.
EVERYONE makes jokes that could be seen as offensive. The only difference is that while we make sure to hide our jokes away amongst our friends, he let it slip on television.
Was that comment really all that offensive? No. And really, if anyone told me they were outraged about it, or said that they would never make a comment about people with disabilities I would call them hypocritical and a liar.
What has happened here is that within his first 2 months in office Obama hasn't solved everyone's problems so the sore losers in the election are trying to rile everyone up by picking at ever little thing.
No, I wouldn't be outraged. A little surprised, maybe. But you know, no matter what, if you think about it, anything that comes out of your mouth can offend someone. It's just really a matter of how serious they take it. And since you really have no control over their response, you pretty much have to deal with it.
Did Obama mean anything bad? No, of course not. It was a joke, like you said. Let it be said and let it be done with.
I was actually expecting that this was a gonna be an angry "Watch what you say" post, but I was surprised that it wasn't. I would have still said the same thing though. :)
No, it doesn't bother me at all. However, with my inability to score above even 100 in bowling, what Olympics can I participate in? The REALLY Special Olympics?
I'm not outraged, but I think Obama is a moron. If Bush had said something like that, he would be lynched for it. But since Obama is the "cool" president that all the liberals and movie stars love, everyone brushes everything he does off and makes excuses for him. It's a double standard.
It wasn't the smoothest thing to have said, but people need to chill out and stop being so obsessed about being PC that we can't have dialogue about anything! Should I be offended, since I can't bowl anywhere near a 127? You can find offense in anything and everything, and be miserable, or you can let things go and enjoy life.
@IamKelleyK@xanga - I completely disagree. I think that the reason that Obama's comment caught my attention at all is because he generally is such an eloquent speaker and rarely makes these mistakes, so I have come to have very high expectations from him. It's news when Obama says something dumb.... If Bush had said something like this, people would not be talking about it a week later, because it wouldn't even make the top 25 list of dumb things he's said or done.
It was just a bad joke. Proof that he is merely human like the rest of us. At least he aplogized!
@IamKelleyK@xanga - I agree, how many times has some GOP politician been on the news for weeks because of something stupid that he or she has said. There is definitely a double standard in the media on who gets a free pass and who doesn't.
I do get a little tired of all of the PC crap. Most of the time people are not saying things to be mean or vindictive or to offend one group or another. When you have a microphone in your face all the time at some point you are going to slip up and say something stupid.
@HappyMedium@healthkicker - It's easy to rarely make mistakes when you travel with teleprompters all the time.
@IamKelleyK@xanga - It's not a double standard, there is a reason why all those celebrities like him, and why he is the cool president, don't ya think?
and anyways, I had to watch this twice to even catch the joke, and to be honest, I am not offended one bit. My sister was physically and mentally disabled, but I'm not in an uproar about it and neither is my mom.
People are putting him on a crazy pedestal and watching his every move just so they can catch him in the wrong. Personally, this hasn't changed my opinion in the least.
xoxox.
Thank you. I was confused as to what the uproar was about...no, it wasn't the most tactful thing to say, and should he have made the joke? No, probably not. But seriously? As far as slip-ups go, it could have been much worse. If Bush had made the same joke...I would feel the exact same, and I truly dislike that man.
The real issue is the whole two-party system...the party who isn't leading the country sits and waits for the leading party to make anything that could be considered a mistake. Talk about bloodthirsty. We're all human; get over it!
Without a teleprompter, he's basically lost.
Everyone says something like that in their lifetime. Everyone says something and then puts their foot in their mouth. I don't like what he said, but I think some people are going overboard in how angry they are about it. It kind of reminds me of that one woman who got very angry over that one movie that made a joke about "retards." She was disabled and got a lawyer and all that jazz. Anyway, it makes me wonder where she is and why she's not trying to make a huge deal of it.
@IamKelleyK@xanga - Absolutely! I personally find it reprehensible that people even thought of voting for this joke of a man. He is obviously way more concerned with his image than with sound Constitutional adherence. (Think about his campaign--now think about the millions of T-shirts bearing his glorious face that were the foundation of his campaign. This seriously will be classified as some kind of cult in the near future, I hope.)
@oordzofrur@xanga - My thoughts exactly!!! The "change" of socialism is well on its way.
@IamKelleyK@xanga - Agreed.
I personally don't think it's a big deal what he said. However, Bush would have gotten ripped apart if he said anything remotely close to that. Obama is not that great.
um... i didn't even catch it when he said it, lol. perhaps i'll watch it again? probably not. because, obviously, it was not that big of a deal.
he's human. at least he's not making up words and can say 'olympics' correctly.
yeah he needs to watch out what the hell he's saying, though. you're a public figure.
and sarah palin can suck it.
@laytexduckie@xanga - LOL, I don't think you were the only one that thought this would be a slam for the comment. I look at it like this; he has gotten millions of people talking about what is an appropriate comment and what isn't. As the very proud parent of a child with Down syndrome; I thank him for bringing this issue to the forefront. For all those wagging their fingers; I can bet they all have made a misstatement in the past and will perhaps think twice the next time.
I think it's just a bad joke. I think people expect a lot more out of President Obama (or any other president) just because of the position of power that they are in. If they have one little slip up they are considered a failure, and are the hot topic around the dinner tables across America. Plus, how could we forget all of the tabloids and other media? give the guy a break people.
I am not the mother of a child with disabilities so I take my cue from someone that is
I DONT THINK ITS THAT SERIOUS PEOPLE ARE JUS LOOKING AT SHIT TO GET MAD ABOUT... AND YOU CANT COMPARE HIM TO BUSH SORRY BUSH WAS AN ASSHOLE HE LET THOUSANDS DIE BECAUSEAND IM NOT EVEN TALKING ABOUT THE WAR IM TALKING ABOUT HURRICANE KATRINA OR HAVE U ALL FORGOT THAT HE LEFT THOSE PEOPLE FOR DEAD.....
@IamKelleyK@xanga - It's not a double standard...Bush is a moron regardless of what comment he makes. Obama is intelligent and I'm sure that if said something truly offensive he would get ridiculed...not sure lynched would be appropriate given the nature of jokes. I think that if Obama messes up as badly as Bush, he will get criticized just as much, but at the same time, almost everything Bush said was unintelligent. I mean the man actually said that Iraq had to "get governnin'". How retarded is that?
I don't think the joke was meant the way people are making it out to be and he even said that it wasn't. It was a pure slip of the tongue and most people if not all people have those at the worst moments. I think people need to get a life and get over it. He didn't say that there was a problem with people with disabilities or anything like that and I don't think he even meant it that way.
It was a mere slip of the tongue, forgiven. If Bush had said that he would have been more criticized. Just sayin'..
Like that one chick and her Jewish cousin nose joke... forgot who.
Um.. I honestly don't see how this could be offensive. I mean, really! He was making fun of himself. It came out in not the best way possible, but it was just a jab at himself.
I don't even like him and I will stick up for him on this one.
Now about his education plans...
I think the joke was in poor taste but as the parent of a developmentally disabled child, I am not even a little offended.
The fake outrage offends me greatly. Every time I take my son out in public, he is stared at and we are looked down upon for daring to include our son in every day life. Even if all he is doing is holding our hand (apparently is some sort of crime for a 14 year old to hold his mom or dad's hand while in a parking lot). My family is marginalized, discriminated against, and left behind every day by some of the very same people who are crying foul over some stupid joke that was more about the president making fun of himself than making fun of anyone else. I am more offended by people crying for an end to welfare (which supports the developmentally disabled) just to lower their taxes by a few dollars each year.
As the parent of a child with autism, I was disgusted to see the president of the United States tell the world it's ok to go ahead and make fun of her. I wonder what the reaction would have been if it had been George Bush and he "just made a bad racist joke". What would the raction have been then?
This little "Obama can do no wrong" thing is getting a little tired. My daughter deserves the same dignity as everyone else, even if she isn't the next celebrity president.