Hi, I'm Sarah Palin and I'm down with the syndrome!
For those who are unfamiliar with the cartoon show Family Guy, I can best describe the show as.well the most exaggerated characteristics of a family all rolled up into a hour cartoon show. On their Valentines Day episode, the son in the show Chris Griffin falls in love with Ellen, a girl with Down syndrome. The reason Im even blogging about this is because of the clip segment below:
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TA_FlpnYNaI#t=0m56s">Clip that has Sarah Palin in a huff</a>
Here's the embedded full version of the segment from last week's "Real Time with Bill Maher" in which Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlene defends the joke:
Text:
Ellen: You gonna be this rude all evening? You havent asked me anything about myself.
Chris Griffin: Oh, um, Im sorry, um, uh, so what do your parents do?
Ellen: Thats better. My dad is an accountant and my mom is the former governor of Alaska.
*LOL* Okay, stop. Now, the next day former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin came out and said that the joke was, another kick in the gut. Now granted she does have a right to free speech and the right to be offended so I viewed the Family Guy episode and looked to see how it was offensive. The result was: I didnt find anything in regards to what she was talking about. The character, Ellen was not stupid but portrayed as intelligent. I could understand if the show said that people with Down syndrome were not very smart and have no place in society and we should feel sorry for them. This joke didnt do that. If anything, it made fun of the Sarah Palin brand (notice how I didnt say her) where she will use anything to gain political points (and money), even if its her own children.
Its funny how when White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel used the word retarted in a closed door meeting when referring to a group of liberals protesting the Democratic party, Palin quickly called for his resignation. However, conservative talk show radio host Rush Limbaugh used the word on air an abundance of times and she said nothing to him. Her excuse, Oh well, hes a satirist. He was making a statement. Well so was Family Guy! They were making fun of how you use your children as part of your political scam only to have it blow up in your face like the relationship with your then pregnant daughter Bristol and her fianc Levy Johnston. Wonder how well that worked out. She also claims to be an advocate for special needs children yet when she was governor she slashed the budget for special needs children by 62%!
Andrea Fay Friedman, the actress who played Ellen came out recently in support MacFarlane and in a nutshell said Palin has no sense of humor. Andrea who has Down syndrome herself (Im glad they got someone with it to play the character) said, In my family we think laughing is good. My parents raised me to have a sense of humor and to live a normal life. My mother did not carry me around under her arm like a loaf of French bread the way former Governor Palin carries her son Trig around looking for sympathy and votes. Ouch. She [Andrea] shot a bulls eye into the brand that is Sarah Palin.
Based on Andreas statement and the portrayal of characters with disabilities in the entertainment world (Forrest Gump, Rain Man, Ray Charles) all of these characters while have a disability have an extraordinary gift and wanted to be treated like normal human beings! Now Palin, its one thing to have legit disagreements with policies in the government. But when youre in the public eye as much as you are, stop trying to play the victim every time someone criticizes you. It leaves anyone with a brain to draw the conclusion that you will never be taken seriously as a political candidate for a town council position let alone the President of the United States. Finally when you develop your political brand, do us a favor and leave your family out of it. They will only be fair game to comedians and commentators alike.
Then again as far as her becoming President, Bill Maher said it best: I wouldnt put anything past this stupid country.
For those who are unfamiliar with the cartoon show Family Guy, I can best describe the show as.well the most exaggerated characteristics of a family all rolled up into a hour cartoon show. On their Valentines Day episode, the son in the show Chris Griffin falls in love with Ellen, a girl with Down syndrome. The reason Im even blogging about this is because of the clip segment below:
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TA_FlpnYNaI#t=0m56s">Clip that has Sarah Palin in a huff</a>
Here's the embedded full version of the segment from last week's "Real Time with Bill Maher" in which Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlene defends the joke:
Text:
Ellen: You gonna be this rude all evening? You havent asked me anything about myself.
Chris Griffin: Oh, um, Im sorry, um, uh, so what do your parents do?
Ellen: Thats better. My dad is an accountant and my mom is the former governor of Alaska.
*LOL* Okay, stop. Now, the next day former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin came out and said that the joke was, another kick in the gut. Now granted she does have a right to free speech and the right to be offended so I viewed the Family Guy episode and looked to see how it was offensive. The result was: I didnt find anything in regards to what she was talking about. The character, Ellen was not stupid but portrayed as intelligent. I could understand if the show said that people with Down syndrome were not very smart and have no place in society and we should feel sorry for them. This joke didnt do that. If anything, it made fun of the Sarah Palin brand (notice how I didnt say her) where she will use anything to gain political points (and money), even if its her own children.
Its funny how when White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel used the word retarted in a closed door meeting when referring to a group of liberals protesting the Democratic party, Palin quickly called for his resignation. However, conservative talk show radio host Rush Limbaugh used the word on air an abundance of times and she said nothing to him. Her excuse, Oh well, hes a satirist. He was making a statement. Well so was Family Guy! They were making fun of how you use your children as part of your political scam only to have it blow up in your face like the relationship with your then pregnant daughter Bristol and her fianc Levy Johnston. Wonder how well that worked out. She also claims to be an advocate for special needs children yet when she was governor she slashed the budget for special needs children by 62%!
Andrea Fay Friedman, the actress who played Ellen came out recently in support MacFarlane and in a nutshell said Palin has no sense of humor. Andrea who has Down syndrome herself (Im glad they got someone with it to play the character) said, In my family we think laughing is good. My parents raised me to have a sense of humor and to live a normal life. My mother did not carry me around under her arm like a loaf of French bread the way former Governor Palin carries her son Trig around looking for sympathy and votes. Ouch. She [Andrea] shot a bulls eye into the brand that is Sarah Palin.
Based on Andreas statement and the portrayal of characters with disabilities in the entertainment world (Forrest Gump, Rain Man, Ray Charles) all of these characters while have a disability have an extraordinary gift and wanted to be treated like normal human beings! Now Palin, its one thing to have legit disagreements with policies in the government. But when youre in the public eye as much as you are, stop trying to play the victim every time someone criticizes you. It leaves anyone with a brain to draw the conclusion that you will never be taken seriously as a political candidate for a town council position let alone the President of the United States. Finally when you develop your political brand, do us a favor and leave your family out of it. They will only be fair game to comedians and commentators alike.
Then again as far as her becoming President, Bill Maher said it best: I wouldnt put anything past this stupid country.
VIEW 3 of 3 COMMENTS
cadavre:
I gotta find a way to keep some amount of blue....I dont really see why it matters, I mean, I'm going to be WASHING dogs...
cadavre:
exxxxactly!