# Jerks mocking the handicapped **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 23, 2001, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerks-mocking-the-handicapped/59110 "2001-03-23T05:07:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![poohpah\_chalupa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/91b2a8/32.png) [@poohpah\_chalupa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/poohpah_chalupa)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2001, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerks-mocking-the-handicapped/59110/21 "2001-03-24T05:11:32Z")
that’s _hilarious_. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2001, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerks-mocking-the-handicapped/59110/22 "2001-03-24T11:02:20Z")
Thanks poopah chalupa. I’d been trying to find the right words to respond to how I felt about that reply to the OP, and you did it for me. And Jeu\_D’Esprit, thanks too. I had’nt really meant to listen to the conversation of customers. At least at the time the little twerps were speaking they were alone in the cafe(it was the slow part of the afternoon). ---
**Author:** ![ChiefScott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@ChiefScott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChiefScott)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2001, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerks-mocking-the-handicapped/59110/23 "2001-03-24T14:46:31Z")
[shouts]Timmy![/shouts] ---
**Author:** ![sulawesi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@sulawesi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sulawesi)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2001, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerks-mocking-the-handicapped/59110/24 "2001-03-26T04:42:00Z")
The other day I saw a bumper sticker that said ```auto Hire the handicapped, they're fun to watch. ``` Seriously, how could someone find that funny? It really pisses me off to see people acting like that toward any group of people, and the fact that someone was willing to display their bigoted message to every passing motorist is bewildering. I really don’t understand what goes on inside some people’s heads. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2001, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerks-mocking-the-handicapped/59110/25 "2001-03-26T05:50:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by blessedwolf \* > **For that matter, I KNOW that most of the posters here are adults who find some things funny that hit other people where they live.** How? > [@](#): > > **I’m not going to say that it’s right, but let’s be honest here: everyone who has NEVER made fun of someone due to something they can’t help** (Raises hand) > [@](#): > > **…anyone who’s never felt uncomfortable around someone with a serious and visible medical condition** How is this related? I can feel very uncomfortable about someone’s medical condition without making fun of them for it. > [@](#): > > **For all those who are raising your hands right now, you’re lying. And if you’re not lying, then I’ll forward your name to the Pope for beatification.** (lowers hand) OK…I guess I must be a liar then. :rolleyes: > [@](#): > > **Who watches Malcolm in the Middle? Is everything about it funny except Stevie? Are we not allowed to find humour in situations that are uncomfortable?** I’m laughing _with_ Stevie, not at him. I laugh at the things he says and does, not because he is handicapped. > [@](#): > > **Bullshit.** Quoi? > [@](#): > > **We laugh at other people as a defense mechanism. Not because we truly think they’re inferior, but because deep down (and sometimes NOT so deep down), we can envision ourselves with whatever ailment/infirmity/handicap that they have, and _it scares the living shit out of us!_** This is a very valid and reasonable point. > [@](#): > > **Remember: these are teenagers. Their existence is defined by testing social boundaries. By doing things that they probably shouldn’t do _so they’ll learn the proper way to behave._** You do realize this makes no sense at all? So, teenagers make fun of the handicapped, get egged on by their peers, and we adults are supposed to just ignore them. What have they learned? 1. Their friends, who are sooooooo kewlies and so mature think their joke was funny, and 2. It must be OK, since no adults told them otherwise. A “Lord of the Flies” system of social development does not normally work for developing useful interpersonal skills. > [@](#): > > **Let them be teenagers. Let them be rude, crude, coarse and thouroughly rotten.** Funny…I tend to give teenagers more credit than that. I don’t think being a teenager has anything whatsoever to do with being rude, crude, and coarse. > [@](#): > > **Maybe they’ll grow out of it, maybe they’ll become comedians, maybe they’ll join these boards and say something off-colour that that will end up with Coke/tea/diet Dr. Pepper sprayed onto monitors across the globe.** And maybe monkeys will fly out of my ass too. Or maybe they will become bigoted, racist sociopaths whose primary goal in life is to be elected Grand Dragon of their local Chapter… > [@](#): > > **I’m not one to quote that Jesus fellow, but it seems that there’s an awful lot of stone-casting going on here.** Oh come on, man. Define irony: referring to Jesus to defend those who mock the handicapped. > [@](#): > > \*\*Step back for a moment. Look at the things that you used to find funny and/or repulsive. Look at the things you still find funny, then come back and tell me how fucking perfect you are. \*\* Um…I’m pretty flawed. Miserably so. That doesn’t mean I have to make matters worse by being an insensitive assholic bigot who mocks the handicapped. ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2001, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerks-mocking-the-handicapped/59110/26 "2001-03-26T06:18:50Z")
All this reminds me of one of the funniest things I ever heard. One of my best friends is in a wheelchair. One night we were out in Towson, when this older lady, kinda plump came up to him. (Picture a woman who should be carrying a nasty little poodle named “Snookums” and you got it) She looked at Andy and said “Why, you do _so well_ with being _physically challenged!_” in a sugary sweet voice. You could tell she thought she was being nice but she was being condesending as hell. She even spoke slowly, to boot. Andy cocked his head back, smiled, and said " Lady, I’m not physically challenged, I’m a fucking cripple!" The look on her face! I laughed so hard I wound up spitting my spleen out onto the sidewalk. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2001, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerks-mocking-the-handicapped/59110/27 "2001-03-26T10:26:09Z")
Weirddave, tell you friend that I wish I had the talent for comebacks HE does! ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2001, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerks-mocking-the-handicapped/59110/28 "2001-03-26T15:13:43Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by blessedwolf \* > [@](#): > > I’m not going to say that it’s right, but let’s be honest here: everyone who has NEVER made fun of someone due to something they can’t help\*\* (Raises hand too) > [@](#): > > \*_Remember: these are **teenagers.** Their existence is defined by testing social boundaries. By doing things that they probably shouldn’t do so they’ll learn the proper way to behave. \* Let them be teenagers. Let them be rude, crude, coarse and thouroughly rotten._ As a teenager, I just want to say thank you for calling me, personally, rude, crude, coarse, and rotten. My existence may involve testing social boundaries (Can **matt** get away with wearing lots of earrings? Can **matt** get away with participating in a demo? Can **matt** get awat with running for Parliament? Can **matt** get away with being a faggot?), but in so doing I typically try to avoid being an asshole. ---
**Author:** ![jabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/db5fbb/32.png) [@jabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabe)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2001, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerks-mocking-the-handicapped/59110/29 "2001-03-27T10:46:05Z")
I have to agree with blessedwolf on some points. EVERYBODY has picked on a total stranger sometime in their life. If you are one of thoes (raises hand) people, fuck off, you have done it too. Being a fat guy, I am one of thoes people who have been picked on a few times in my life. Do you know what I do? I ignore it and forget it. People who are handicapped, or fat, or Jewish, or whatever, should realize that anyone who picks on them is DIFFERENT than them (read: ignorant) and thoes DIFFERENCES should be accepted as well. Just my opinion. Later ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2001, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerks-mocking-the-handicapped/59110/30 "2001-03-27T12:23:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jabe \* > **I have to agree with blessedwolf on some points. EVERYBODY has picked on a total stranger sometime in their life. If you are one of thoes (raises hand) people, fuck off, you have done it too.** No, EVERYBODY has not. And don’t tell me to fuck off. ---
**Author:** ![Francesca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@Francesca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francesca)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2001, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerks-mocking-the-handicapped/59110/31 "2001-03-27T13:06:28Z")
So, if it’s teenagers mocking, people with disabilities are suddenly immune? It’s offensive/annoying whoever says it and it’s _not_ ok to let them get on with it and ignore it. Aren’t we about fighting ignorance? I agree with you that at one time or another, the vast majority of us have laughed cruelly at someone else at some time in our lives, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be ashamed of ourselves or angry at other people for doing so. My parents are both profoundly deaf, i grew up around many, many deaf people and have worked with disability rights organisations. It’s astonishing how differently people with disabilities get treated and that includes being sniggered at by stupid teenagers in a coffee shop, not just once but many times in many situations. I agree - it’s because most people are afraid when confronted with a situation they feel uncomfortable with. But that doesn’t make it acceptable. So you’re uncomfortable? Deal with it yourself. My mum and i used to have fun with the people who stared/laughed at us (she has a typical “deaf” voice that turns heads) - we would make up outlandish, meaningless signs to embarress them into being unsure whether we were joking or not and looking away - my mum would typically make a sudden huge sweeping cross with her hands and then turn to whoever was staring at us and pull a ridiculous cross-eyed “gurning” face. Occassionally she would suddenly do seagull impersonations and start screaching and running around. I love my mum 🙂 You’d be surprised at what people say if they don’t think you can hear them. Most people, when i’m with deaf people, assume that i’m deaf too since i don’t use my voice when signing (why would i?). I’ve heard “Get out of the way you fucking spastics”, “Wow, they’re soooooo brave, i can’t believe they can go out all on their own” (really!) and much laughter at the sound of deaf voices. Most people get a shock when i turn around and ask if they have a problem - if they would be embarressed at being overheard then they just shouldn’t say it in the first place. There’s a ridiculous amount of ignorance about disability and if we don’t point out to people when they’re being stupid they won’t learn. It doesn’t have to bo pointed out in a nasty way, but it does have to be exposed. Fran ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2001, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerks-mocking-the-handicapped/59110/32 "2001-03-27T14:22:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jabe \* > \*\*I ignore it and forget it. People who are handicapped, or fat, or Jewish, or whatever, should realize that anyone who picks on them is DIFFERENT than them (read: ignorant) and thoes DIFFERENCES should be accepted as well. Just my opinion.Later \*\* Bullshit. I will _never_ buy into the smarmy PC line of crap you’re peddleing: being a cruel abusive asshole is **not** a “difference [that] should be accepted”. All values are not equal and I refuse to “accept” abusive assholes and celebrate their different opinion. The only way to overcome this kind of evil (yes, I think someone mocking a retarded person is evil.) is to fight it every time you see ti. I’m fat. I won’t put up with people calling me names because of that. I won’t ignore it and I won’t forget it or blow it off. I’m Jewish. I won’t put up with people calling me names because of that. I won’t ignore it and I won’t forget it or blow it off. And I’ll speak out when I see it being done to someone else. Fenris And no, I have **not** “picked on a total stranger sometime in [my] life”. Never. Not once. Have I been rude, insensitive, thoughtless? Yes. Have I engaged in the sort of intentional random abuse you’re talking about? No. Not once. ---
**Author:** ![Kayeby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de0a6/32.png) [@Kayeby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kayeby)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2001, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerks-mocking-the-handicapped/59110/33 "2001-03-27T14:24:46Z")
Forgive me if I choose not to lower myself to the standards described in the OP. Forgive me if I do not accept their behaviour or condone it by my silence. What sort of screwed up society do we live in where people condone such spite towards a complete stranger? Where those who express shock/anger at these actions are told to get fucked? To some: (raises her hand) To others: (raises her finger) ---
**Author:** ![Hibbins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ce73a5/32.png) [@Hibbins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hibbins)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2001, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerks-mocking-the-handicapped/59110/34 "2001-03-27T16:51:55Z")
To denigrate these teenagers for “making you uncomfortable” (by what they said), would seem to put the OP in the same class as “those who make fun of others”. We can’t be all knowledgeable from day one, and some situations won’t present themselves to us as early as to others. Did you offer a quiet “that isn’t appropriate” response? If there is no reaction, no lesson can be learned. No matter how ugly individuals try to paint human reaction in this example, it is far better in my opinion than the reaction the majority of natures creatures have to handicapped individuals of their species. ---
**Author:** ![KJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b2d939/32.png) [@KJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KJ)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2001, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerks-mocking-the-handicapped/59110/35 "2001-03-28T01:01:55Z")
> [@](#): > > I’m not going to say that it’s right, but let’s be honest here: everyone who has NEVER made fun of someone due to something they can’t help, anyone who’s never felt uncomfortable around someone with a serious and visible medical condition, raise your hand. ::raises hand:: I’m not saying all jokes involving retarded people are bad (The South Park episode, “Timmy 2000,” is great. And Malcolm in the Middle has some good jokes too) but… > [@](#): > > “why did we have to look at them?” Why? It’s a fucking library cafe, that’s why. It’s a public place. What do these people want, a special “retarded people” section? Do they want retarded people to stay home and do nothing? That’s just rude. And ignorant. As a teenager, I am offended that these people would give adults the impression that all teenagers are (and, god forbid, should be) “rude, crude, coarse and thouroughly rotten.” ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2001, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerks-mocking-the-handicapped/59110/36 "2001-03-28T01:02:06Z")
Thanks Anthracite, Kayeby, Francesca, and Fenris. I appreciate your reactions and comments. I just hope I don’t see that particular group of idiots(the mockers) in again. But I think they must go to the high school down the street, as the time they were there pretty much coincides with the end of the main school day. We get a lot of teenagers in at that time. Most just get their cookies and coffee or pop and move on. I CERTAINLY wasn’t implying that teens as a class are like that. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2001, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerks-mocking-the-handicapped/59110/37 "2001-03-30T19:32:47Z")
From **Anthracite** : > [@](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > : > > I’m not going to say that it’s right, but let’s be honest here: everyone who has NEVER made fun of someone due to something they can’t help > > (Raises hand) And **matt** : > [@](#): > > (Raises hand too) \<#include disclaimer.h\> // I am not Blessedwolf, and cannot speak for him Anth, Matt, I’m sorry. But . . . You’ve never laughed when someone tripped? When someone accidentally made himself look ridiculous? When someone said “subliminable” on national television? _Never?_ Matt, you’re a teenager. You _know_ that many teens are dickheads. Not all, certainly, but a damned lot of them. ---
**Author:** ![Jeannie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e480ec/32.png) [@Jeannie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeannie)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2001, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerks-mocking-the-handicapped/59110/38 "2001-03-31T04:40:18Z")
Okay, I think most people here are aware of what I do for a living. A couple stories: A co-worker took a group of our clients to an amusement park. A bunch of kids (my co-worker says they were about 15-16 years old) were pointing and laughing. One of the clients asked Kim, “What are they laughing at?” Kim said, “Why don’t you go ask them?” He did. The kids turned bright red and ran in the other direction. My ex-boss took a client out for lunch. This woman kept staring at the client. She (client) asked my boss if she knew the woman staring at them. My boss said, “I don’t. Maybe you know her from somewhere, and she’s trying to place your face.” So the client walked over and said, “Excuse me, but do I know you?” The woman (visibly uncomfortable) said, “I don’t think so, why?” “Well, you keep staring at us and I wondered if we’ve met and I just don’t recognize you.” At a ball game a couple years ago, we brought about 20 clients to see a game. One of my guys has autism and hates crowds and noise (his mom insisted he go to this game, I know not why). He kept jumping up out of his seat and trying to leave. On his way up the stairs, he bumped into a woman who had been sitting near us. I’m sure she could tell from the way most of our clients talk that they were mentally challenged. When he bumped her (lightly), she shouted at me, “What the hell is his problem?” I yelled back, “What’s yours?” I apologized to my boss later for being unprofessional, but she thought the whole thing was pretty funny. Overall, people are pretty nice (if condescending at times), but I hate the ones who stare and I’d like to smack the ones who are rude. ---
**Author:** ![Broken\_Doll](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbce88/32.png) [@Broken\_Doll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broken_Doll)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2001, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerks-mocking-the-handicapped/59110/39 "2001-03-31T09:15:05Z")
I have alot of thoughts in my head at the moment on this topic, so sorry if they don’t come out that intelligibly. Firstly, people can have the attitude that people who are handicapped in some way should just deal with being constantly put down for not being “normal”, but until you are in their position, you don’t know how they feel. They are not constantly strong enough to ignore people’s comments. They have enough to deal with in their everyday lives without the added insults from the fucktards around them. This topic really gets to me because I’ve had many disabled and deaf friends in the past, all of them beautiful people [and in my opinion 100x better than the “normal” friends I’ve had] who didn’t deserve the shit they got thrown at them by society. As I said before, life is hard enough as it is without the added insults from other people. I just put it all down to ignorance. Sorry if this didn’t make sense. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2001, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerks-mocking-the-handicapped/59110/40 "2001-03-31T18:37:09Z")
_Raises Hand._ I have never, ever picked on a total stranger for any reason. I have never made cruel comments, laughed, or pointed at people who are physically or mentally disabled/handicapped. And I never will. That kind of behaivor is not acceptable. Maybe your parents raised you to think it was ok to mock the afflicted, but mine taught me manners and respect. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerks-mocking-the-handicapped/59110.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerks-mocking-the-handicapped/59110.md?page=3)