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)
Obama was comparing himself to someone with a disability. Big deal. I'm disabled and got the picture. It actually made me laugh imagining him being a gimp at bowling. Give the guy a break. One slip of the tongue doesn't make him a prick. He's just a guy that made a little faux pas so, leave it at that. At least he isn't like Bush, with his foot in his mouth every second of every day. There's a guy that is disabled, from the neck up.
I see absolutely nothing wrong with this. I thought I would be absolutely disgusted by all of the press this is getting, but it's nothing.