Won't somebody think of the retarded children?

[alias_sqbr]

So, something I've been pondering for a while is the attitudes people have towards "stupid people" and how these relate to attitudes towards the mentally disabled.

Now, some people think it's ok to make fun of mentally disabled people.

Most people, I would say, think it's not. Which, you know, good. I've known a bunch of people with downs syndrome and other cognitive disabilities in my life and they were as deserving of respect and decency as anyone else.

But there's a long and established history of people making fun of others for being "stupid", and this consistently blurs the boundary and coopts medical words for the mentally disabled (ie "Moron", "idiot", "retard") Personally I think this is deliberate, in order to accentuate the insult. I was discussing this with Cam and he said "Yeah, but noone actually uses "retarded" to refer to actual disabled people any more, so it's ok to use it as an insult", but Google disagrees (as do a lot of examples of people using it as an insult) I wonder if it occurs to these people that the mentally disabled do actually use the internet...

And a question that has occurred to me from time to time: if it's not ok to make fun of people with well below average intelligence, why is it ok to make fun of people for having mildly below average intelligence? At the same time, if you can't make fun of that what can you make fun of?

Of course I have a somewhat unusual definition of "stupid" anyway, since on the one hand I'm smarter than most people (certainly most of the kids I knew growing up) but at the same time do a lot of really dumb things. (I guess that answers my second question: you can make fun of me :))

Also, googling found me this interesting youtube video, of a woman with autism talking about being considered "retarded", and why she doesn't deny it as vehemently as a lot of other people in her position.

So, as is usual for me, no point exactly just a bunch of vaguely connected thoughts. What do you guys think?

Comments

[greyreviews.livejournal.com]

Rule 1.
EVERYTHING is funny.

Handicapped, Terrorism, Race, Fatties, Rape, Animal Cruelty, Murder, Holocaust, Paedophilia, White Middle-class Males, we are all hilarious to someone.

Seriously there is no subject that someone cannot make a joke about. The secret is not worrying about what is or isnt funny, because it all is. Rather all one has to do is keep in mind that not everything is funny to everyone and target your humour accordingly.

For instance, i recently saw the following image done up as a fake motivational poster with the tagline "Patience. Good things come to those who wait." I literally fell of my chair at work laughing, then had to madly scramble back to the pc and alt-tab out before any of my co-workers saw it.

http://www.flatrock.org.nz/topics/odds_and_oddities/assets/wanting_a_meal.jpg

Its safe for work. but the slogan makes it a joke that certainly will not be universally appreciated. Accepting that not everyone shares your sense of humour is far more important than debating if it is good or ok to laugh at retards. Because after all....

http://www.themadpigeon.com/photos/uncategorized/1_58.jpg

[alias_sqbr]

I didn't say it wasn't funny, I asked if it was ok. As in, ethical. I fully admit that sometimes it is funny (to me, anyway)

I mean I actually have a really cruel sense of humour, but I don't tend to use it (except on Cam, who's used to it) because I judge my actions by "is it ok" before I ask "is it funny". This may be one of the ways in which you and I differ :P

Of course most people are happiest laughing at those they do not empathise with, so those who care about/are the butt of a joke are less likely to find it funny.

[greyreviews.livejournal.com]

Well the logic still essentially holds. It is ethical to make the joke itself, the lack of ethics you suggest only applies if the joke is being made directly at or about someone you know it will, or has a high likelihood to, hurt or offend.

At which point you might as well ask is it ethical to punch retards? Punching in and of itself is not a bad thing, you can punch a bean bag all day even if imagining it to be the retard who lives down the street and you are not being unethical. However, as soon as you punch the retard itself (yes I went there) it becomes unethical.

Once again its a time, place and audience issue, even when it comes down to ethics. Ie. Right time, place and audience:



Wrong time, place and audience:

[alias_sqbr]

Yes, and I'm sorry if I was unclear: I'm not saying that jokes about mentally disabled people, or using the word "retarded", are always 100% unethical regardless of context. I agree, there are contexts in which they would be entirely appropriate.

I'm saying that they are unethical in the context in which they are used. The specific context I was thinking of is online discussions, especially in the culture which has grown up around gaming etc. There are two reasons I think it's unethical:
(a) There may actually be mentally disabled people present (ok, it's unlikely in any given conversation, but I'm sure there's plenty in the gaming etc culture in general)
(b) It encourages a pre-existing belittling and insulting attitude towards the mentally disabled which then manifests itself in society as mistreatment and predjudice. e.g. Anti semetic jokes are still racist and not-ok when there's no jews around :P

However, as soon as you punch the retard itself (yes I went there)

Wow, you're nearly as edgy as Mark Millar :P

Also, was that meant to be a clip from a "Die Hard" movie? Your comment makes a lot more sense to me if I assume you meant to use the clip from "The Office" with that Chris Rock joke in (which illustrates your point quite well)