Sunday, 28 February 2010
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Family Guy and Down Syndrome Character
Okay, I admit, most days I live under a rock. I don't watch "Family Guy" anyway, so not watching the episode (two Sundays ago) where apparently there was a character with Down syndrome that poked fun at Sarah Palin, wasn't much of a stretch for me.
Now, as most of you know, I am not the mom running around demanding that you all bow down to my daughter and pity her based on her diagnosis of Down syndrome. When President Obama made his Special Olympics joke, I groaned. I did so not because I was offended, but because I knew that people would never let him live that one down. I was right; Sarah Palin jumped right in and made a big scene about it. It was a joke (not the best idea) but it was indeed just a joke.
I have said it before and I will say it again, Palin is in a unique position to raise awareness for those with Down syndrome, but I really wish she would just sit down and shut the hell up. She does not speak for me or my daughter.
No, I did not see the episode so I can't tell you if I would have been offended or not. I do know that the actress playing the character wasn't offended and here is a little info; she has Down syndrome. She says that she was raised by her parents that laughter was a good thing. She was also raised as a typical child without the focus on her Down syndrome.
This is how we raise Emily. Yes, I am a huge advocate for Down syndrome Awareness, and I will continue to be one. I absolutely hate the R word when not used correctly and will ask politely that it not be used in my presence. I don't like when people stare at Emily and then look at me with pity in their eyes, but I always just smile because I know the secret. I am not to be pitied, I have been blessed with an amazing little girl that has the most beautiful soul.
Emily will face struggles in her life. So will my other children. My job is to be here and do my best to raise them to face those challenges without excuses and to brush themselves off and move on with life. I will never allow Emily to use her Down syndrome as an excuse for anything. I expect the moon and the stars from her and I have no doubt she will succeed at whatever she chooses.
One episode of "Family Guy" does not make me want to go out and demand someone be fired. The stupid idiots that make the stupid comments following the article are the ones that I would like to see brought down a notch or two. Hey Sarah, you may not like the show, but look at how many people are talking about Down syndrome. If nothing else, people are talking and that always brings about awareness.
Did you see this Family Guy episode? What are your thoughts?
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About the Author
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- From: gwacemom
- Name: Ange
- About Me: I am a mom of five gorgeous kids. I may not always do things the "normal" way, but I always try and do right. I am passionate about raising awareness for Down syndrome and for CHD (congenital heart defects). The beautiful girl in my profile picture is the reason. She is the face of Down syndrome. Not at all what you expected, is it?
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Comments (172)
I didn't see the episode either, but it didn't seem to me like the show was making fun of people with Down Syndrome, or Sarah Palin. If the actress wasn't offended, I don't see the big deal.
I saw some clips of the episode. I caught a lot of flack for posting the link to the interview with the actress that portrayed Ellen, saying that I didn't care about those with disabilities. I even got a comment that said "Two of my children have autism - I'm highly offended that you would post this." Really? Because last time I checked, my daughter has autism as well. And if I'm not offended.... I mean... really.
It was a jab at Sarah Palin, pure and simple. Obviously they had to use the character with DS to say the line or it wouldn't make sense (you need some context to that). That was in no way making fun of her son at all.
But I agree - I think she uses Trig inappropriately to get her message across. I'm an advocate for my own daughter, but I don't treat her any differently than I treat my son (except a little more delicately, because obviously she's a girl and he's a boy, and he's generally more rough than she is... but that has nothing to do with her autism). My girl may not be able to talk, but she is sweet and gentle, and I imagine that she will stay that way for the rest of her life (though I would love it if she DID acquire speech at some point in time). Both of my kids are gifts, and she's just a little extra special because of her autism and she has to do things that her brother doesn't, which is a given, and I'm sure that you experience that too. But do I treat her any differently than her brother? No. She is expected to play fair and nice just as much as he is. When I switched her over to the gf/cf diet, the entire family got switched over as well. I'm all about equality here. :)
i don't really watch family guy anymore. i can't seem to find the humour in it these days. i am, however, extremely appreciative for this post. your stance on down syndrome awareness and the way you raise your children is extremely inspirational. i don't have any experience with down syndrome, personally, but i do feel enlightened by this post.
thank you for this.
i didn't see it, but it doesn't sound offensive.
i think it was simply intended to be a jab at palin
I know I'm gonna get flames for saying this & it's not because of my voter's registration card. Sarah Palin is such a big kid, it's ridiculous. She acts so high school. She got pissed when a democrat says the word retarded but a REPUBLICAN says it & she says "she understands it because it's satire"? I say, just like with the N-word (Which I also despise), if they cant say it, neither can you. It's not fair. She uses her son as a prop. I never thought it was "amazing" that she did an interview saying she considered abortion then decided against it & got a national pat on the back. Millions of other parents do the same thing every day with little or no help at all & they dont get anything.
The joke on Family Guy wasnt directed at down syndrome individuals or meant to be offensive to them. Sarah Palin thought the SNL jokes was funny & even did a cameo on the show. Then when she lost the election she complained that it turned people against her & it was hurtful.
I also tell people not to use the word retarded out of context & people seem to be shocked because my generation uses it alot. It's not a word that should be used to describe stupidity or bad actions.
I saw the episode, but I honestly did not hear the part where it reveals that this is supposed to be a joke towards Sarah Palin. Honestly, I was playing a video game while the episode was on TV. The creator of Family Guy makes fun of whoever he pleases, he honestly does. Yes, this was obviously a jab at Sarah Palin. Yes, she probably could do a lot more as an advocate for DS awareness. To me, it was slightly offensive that they put such a serious situation into a show designed to poke fun. However, the voice actress for the character was not offended. She had a pretty good standpoint, being taught that laughter is good. I believe this was only meant to be a jab at Sarah Palin, and surely not a jab at the issue of Down Syndrome itself.
I saw the episode. I think that they did a great job portraying how SOME down syndrome children are. It's true that lots of kids are meaner only because that's the life they have lived. They have been allowed to treat people this way because they are "different". Now, I know that not all people who are born with down syndrome act this way, but it's a big eye opener when Family Guy makes an episode out of it.
Maybe instead of treating our children with "disabilities" like they are disabled and enabling their behavior we should focus more on who they are as people and realize that what we let our children get away with will not only affect their lives but the lives of those around them.
As for the word "retard", I have a mentally challenged 25 year-old brother who has the mentality of a 12 to 15 year old child. Now, he can drive and even holds a job. He's my best friend, as I am his. I know that I can use his shoulder to cry on whenever needed, but he also has trouble understanding simple things that go on in day to day life; for example, since he is still living at home and has a job my parents ask that he pay "rent". Which isn't a large amount of money, maybe less than an eighth of his income. They are simply trying to teach him that he can't keep spending his money on things that he doesn't need. Which he does quite a bit.
Anyway, back to the term "retard". I must admit that I use it willy-nilly. I often use the term in sentences like "Wow, that was retarded." and "Duh, you're such a retard." A lot of the time I don't even realize I'm saying it, and when people call my brother a retard I find myself getting a little defensive about it because I know exactly who he is and how hard it is for him to go through life being different from everyone else.
I haven't seen it yet, but in all honesty people need to learn to not be so offended by family guy as they make fun of everything. Nothing is off-limits. They have made fun of things that have hit home for me and I laughed because I could see the humor in it. The ones for me were the Stroke episode, and a recent one about being in a coma- too many shows and movie show people waking up from a coma all the time. One most people who go into a persistent vegetative state do not wake up, and IF they do, they do not wake up to be the exact same person they were before as if they had been asleep.
These topic hit home for me because for the last 9 years of my dad's life he had strokes and finally in the end he went into a coma after having one and we had to terminate life support.
If I got offended every time people joked about these topic or said uneducated things I would always be upset.
@daisyj78@xanga - "If I got offended every time people joked about these topic or said uneducated things I would always be upset.". I agree, especially with Family Guy. It pushes the envelope sometimes but even Seth MacFarlane has said he doesnt do or say alot of things because it would be too offensive.
A lot of other shows do the same things as Family Guy but no one says anything because they're geared towards adults & people associate cartoons for children. I agree Family Guy isnt for young kids but common sense would tell you that. Cartoons have been used to advertise adult things in past decades.
Yeah palin is exploiting her kid for media attention. She called for obama's chief of staff to be fired because he used the "r" word, then when someone told her rush limbaugh used it recently as an insult she smiled and said "no that's satire."
I said as much on some dude's blog awhile back and was immediately banned.
I have something to add to this blog, thanks to a newspaper article.
i didnt watch it. i just don't think family guy is really that funny. i liked it when it first came out, but the humor got tiresome after the first season. the people who got offended by that should just get the hell over it though, freedom of speech. if they want to make a joke about down syndrome or sarah palin that is likely not very funny, its their right. people just need to get over it, if you don't think somethings funny, then quit watching the show or paying to see the comedian.
I think on a show like family guy they make fun of everyone equally. I respect that. I respect that the voice actress understood that.
If you didn't see it then why are you posting about it. It was funny as hell.
i didn't see the episode, but i have seen previous ones. family guy makes fun of EVERYTHING. they make fun of gay people, of asian people, and of diseases. i understand that sarah palin would be a little upset about it because of her son, but she is causing way too much trouble with it. can you imagine if everyone that family guy made fun reacted in this way? everyone would be offended.
i saw it. as i recall, there was only one part where they actually made fun of people with down syndrome, and that was certainly offensive. the rest of the episode, they didn't really make fun of down syndrome, but the girl seemed pretty horrible.
Saw the episode - and aside from the Palin jab that they set it up for, it also actually seemed to just point out that people with Down Syndrome are people, just like anyone else. I think that was the overall point the writers were trying to make, at least at the end of the episode. It didn't seem to me like the character was written explicitly for that ONE Palin crack, as it was literally a good 1.5 seconds of the show, lol. But the episode started with Chris regarding her as "different", only to find that she was just another person; no reason to not treat her like everyone else. That, to me, seemed like the REAL point, not "oh, Palin has a child with Down Syndrome".
The family guy episode wasnt even offensive. It was simply Chris likeing this girl with DownSyndrom, and he even said that she was the most beautiful ever. That... is indeed very cute.
And you.... will be a good mom. :]
I rarely ever watch Family Guy anymore, but I did happen to catch that episode.
From what I remember, the line in which Sarah Palin was mentioned was something along the lines of, "...my mom, the former governor of Alaska."
I didn't even think it was that big of a deal until Sarah Palin decided to issue a statement.
Her criticism of the media always frustrate me because she's always thrusting herself into the public eye and then complaining when they say anything about her.
as much as I like to arbitrarily get offended by things that are strictly in opposition to my political sentiments, I have to say that seth mcfarlane is a terrible, terrible person.
I'm an Aspie (Aspergers' Syndrome), and quite frankly, I don't really care when people make fun of me or the disorder. I know who I am as a person, and I know what it is, so I don't really care what people think.
Granted, Downs is different then AS, but either way, I think they share the same principle.
Hear, hear.
To add: the joke in the episode was that the girl with Down syndrome turned out to be a snobby bitch. So Family Guy was basically saying, "LOL @ girls with Down syndrome, they're not usually snobby bitches, so it's funny that this one is!" Which isn't even really an insult. It was just an absurd situation.
I saw it, and people need to get over themselves about tv shows, people are always going to put offensive things on tv for shock value because people will watch it, and that's that. No use complaining about it, it's not going to take all of the offensive stuff off television.
@Iobot@xanga - Yeah, that's what I thought. The Palin reference was seriously like 1.5 seconds long, or however long it took the character to say that ONE line. I didn't think that the concept of the entire episode that dealt with that character had to do with Palin at all...just something thrown in.