*Sigh*...
It doesn't matter to me whether or not anyone makes fun of your son. I'd point out, instead, that while nobody in his Special Ed class makes fun of him, people in a 'regular' school was.
My POINT, anyway, is not that anyone was directly making fun of people with a disability. BUT, by saying that a regular person is LIKE a person with a disability, you're implying that the 'normal' person is somehow superior to the person with a disability, therefore diminishing the value of the person with the disability.
It's not a hard concept to grasp, really. It's also why "Special Ed" isn't funny as a character - so my criticism stands, whether you were basing it off of a character on TV, your son, or someone else.
Ahh - see there? Think about an "ADHD Award" (or ADD Award), where someone posted a picture of your son. Anyone who acted like an ass was given it. Why isn't that funny? It's the same thing. It's not funny because it diminishes the importance of your son. Your son IS not a disability, but he HAS that disability. By mocking someone, SAYING they have that disability, you lower that person below a 'normal' level, and lump your son in there with him.
As far as being sensitive about it, you're right. Probably too much so, especially for a forum of this type - nobody wants to talk about that sort of thing. What would be the POINT of arguing with Retard Monkey about that? Or (whoever the hell it was who originally came up with that Generation Matrix thing, and Biosboy who copied it). There's simply a lower standard of acceptance with people like that. Some people will go through their entire lives unable to grasp the idea that they're doing something that hurts other people, and you just can't reach them.
But, if you want, someone PM him and tell him to look at the posting. I'm sure he'd have witty, insightful comments that defend him admirably. Tell you what, BenJeremy- consider it a compliment that I consider you intelligent enough to call you out on what you said. I respect most of what you do on the forum, I think you're probably a good guy in person. I just called you out on this, that's all. I wouldn't have called other people out (as mentioned above) because it would be a waste of time.
Cheerio's comment is what I'm talking about, in particular. To take another example, would you give a "wheelchair award" to someone who ended up crippled because of their own carelessness or stupidity? (Say someone who fell asleep at the wheel or tried some daredevil ski trick or something). Of COURSE not - because it's not funny. Or hell - even someone who got drunk, drove, hit a pole and ended up crippled. Would anyone even consider a "cripple award"? The difference is that society has actually bothered to tell kids that it's not nice to make fun of someone with a PHYSICAL disability - but mental and emotional disabilities (and you can go down the list, here - psychosis, schitzophrenia, you name it, it's funny as hell) are fair game. |
