I was watching the Tonight Show last night when Obama made his Special Olympics comment. I cringed as he said it, but brushed it off. I knew the comment wouldn't go unnoticed, but I wasn't expecting an uproar of this size. The CNN home page has three separate stories about it right now. Except for those rare times when a major story takes over the entire home page, you NEVER see that many articles about a single incident. Personally, I think it's being blown way out of proportion.
I have a personal connection to those served by Special Olympics. My son is challenged by a developmental disability. He works extremely hard to learn things that come naturally to other kids. For example, at age six he still can't talk and isn't potty trained despite years of effort on his part and ours. But no matter what his challenges, he's a wonderful person who deserves to be treated with love and respect. Although I'm totally on the "show respect" bandwagon, Obama's comments just don't bother me. Poor choice of words, yes, but let it go.
When I was a kid my friends and I told Pollock jokes, like "how many Pollocks does it take to screw in a light bulb." The thing is, I honestly didn't know that Pollocks were real. I had no idea that a Pollock is someone from Poland. I thought Pollocks were about as real as Martians, but instead of being little and green they happened to be dumb. Our Pollock jokes weren't about real people or even a stereotype, but about imaginary creatures. I don't think I found out what a Pollock is until I was in my teens.
Today when I hear Pollock jokes (which isn't very often), I find them mildly lacking in tact but not offensive. They don't bother me because I know they are about mythical creatures. Nobody associates people of Polish anscestry with the characters in Pollock jokes. The Pollock title may have racist origins, but today they're no more racist than Martian jokes. I'd prefer the jokes were converted to something like Lemming jokes, but if you don't I'm not gonna storm off in a huff.
Obama's comment was, in my opinion, along the lines of a Pollock joke. It was lacking in tact, but not worth all this outrage. I simply don't believe it was a reflection of how he truly feels about people with special needs.
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