Governor David Paterson: A Perspective Check
Today’s thoughts on “Living Without Limitations” is all about a perspective check:
Did you catch last weekends Saturday Night Live’s skit spoofing Gov. David Paterson of New York State? If you didn’t see it, maybe you have been hearing all the noise that has followed in its wake.
My take is that this is good news for people with disabilities. Think about it, a blind guy is Governor of New York State …An”openly blind” guy…Governor of NY! Plus, the guy has enough cache to merit a skit on SNL. Well, we have arrived!
It’s easy to forget the fact that we have already had a disabled person in high office. Then however every effort was made to hide the fact that the President of the United States of America, FDR, could hardly walk. Somehow a disability showed weakness, so it was painstakingly hidden. Today the disability of a public servant is not hidden. We have come so far in fact, that it’s acceptable fodder for a comedy skit. Or, it should be acceptable fodder, but we still have some raw nerves it seems. Too bad.
My only beef with the skit is that it just wasn’t that funny. Funny would have been if the Governor showed up and spoofed himself.
It’s too bad that Paterson jumped right into “outrage” before consider the situation from many angles. The same goes for The Federation for the Blind and other disability advocacy organizations. We had the chance to say, it’s great that we are at a place that it’s alright to poke fun at someone specific who has a disability. His character was not being attacked, his accomplishment as a guy in the public eye was being exploited. Haven’t we been aiming for equal access? He wasn’t selling pencils on street corners in New York City, we was holding a graph on the economy upside down. It wasn’t super funny but it was not degrading.
Take the risk and express your HONEST thoughts on this. I would love to hear what you have to say.
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Chef Mark | Dec 18, 2008 | Reply
A free society thrives on free expression, commentary, satire, and occasionally, even outright meanness. The freedom to say and do what we like, and have others wrestle with the ideas, os what sets us apart from the capriciousness of monarchies and dictatorships. It’s messy, and yes, sometimes, downright ugly and meanspirited. BUT, the moment we have ANY public official calling for ANY degree of censorship, we risk it all. I think it’s even more dangerous when the powerful elected official decrying it is the subject himself of the joke. While he’s not calling for censorship, it’s dangerously close, when the person in the highest position in the state is criticizing the right of free people to say what they like.
In a more highly evolved republic, we might take this as a great opportunity to talk even further about WHY we find things like this funny. Also, more highly evolved societies tend to be ABLE to alugh at themselves in the first place, and not immediately attribute satire to intolerance.
Lighten up, Dave, and take the compliment. As Rachel said, it means you’ve arrived!
Rachel | Dec 18, 2008 | Reply
Mark,
You raise some amazingly important points.
>>>I think it’s even more dangerous when the powerful elected official decrying it is the subject himself of the joke. While he’s not calling for censorship, it’s dangerously close, when the person in the highest position in the state is criticizing the right of free people to say what they like.<<<
He has, in his haste, done a disservice on a multitude of levels. I completely agree with you Mark.
We also really do need to ask “why do we immediately attribute satire to intolerance?” Why?
Thank you!
Rachel
FireHorse | Dec 18, 2008 | Reply
I haven’t watched SNL for years, but I know I’ve seen cartoons, etc. of sighted individuals accidentally displaying a graph upside-down in the past. (On the other hand, those were always seen as commentary to the person’s intelligence, so maybe that’s why Gov. Paterson finds it offensive?)
susan kuhn frost | Dec 18, 2008 | Reply
Rachel I agree. It is a sign of acceptance and arrival — like when you are a new step-parent and the kids stop being stand-offish and start making fun of you. It’s good!
Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)is a great role model for a politician responding to ridicule. She is very short and ordinary looking, single, Catholic school grad, was made royal fun of as she was making her way in politics in the 1970s; she laughed with those who make fun of her and had even better jokes to tell about herself. This made her a beloved politician; people feel good about her and about about themselves being around her.
Lighten up! Being PC is a crutch that you don’t need.
Jennifer Cole | Dec 18, 2008 | Reply
I actually was really glad to read the perspectives here. It seems like every other day the disability community is up in arms about something someone said. I agree words carry power, but really… haven’t we got more important things to do? Violence, abuse, lack of support, isolation because we are seen as less than human. Is getting your panties in a wad really going to change how people think of disability and PWDs? Media makes fun of *everything*, and I for one am glad people are getting over treating us like glass enough to include us in that.
Chris Thiede | Dec 18, 2008 | Reply
First, if I remember correctly, the skit did attack Patterson’s character, as it talked about his penchant for cocaine. I don’t know enough about NY politics to say whether this was fair or not.
But I do agree that it’s progress when a person with a disability can be made fun of on the same plane with anyone else. The skit made fun of him, specifically, not every blind person alive. If he thinks it’s off-base, he should respond as an individual.
I think if you try too hard to protect a certain group, you treat them like children. I won’t pretend I know what it’s like to be blind, but it seems to me that kind of patronizing protection is more demeaning than the original joke.
Rachel | Dec 18, 2008 | Reply
John Sternal (http://www.understandingmarketing.com) commented on twitter “I know lots of disabled that want no special treatment. Does that mean they are all fair game like the rest of us?”
“Rest of us?” With an aging population the “rest of us” is going to be PWD (people with disabilities) not the other way around. That said, the sooner WE can laugh at OURSELVES the better.
Humor is a place where lines are toyed with, that’s why we laugh. Jokes can blur that separation between “us and them” thinking, because we see we are all easy to poke fun at.
Beth LaMie | Dec 18, 2008 | Reply
Some of the best comedians in the world are the ones who can laugh at themselves. If we can’t take a joke, regardless of our situations, then we are taking ourselves too seriously.
Life is too short to not enjoy a good laugh, wherever it comes from. It just would have been so much better if SNL had created a really funny skit instead of going half way.
In all seriousness, I am totally impressed by what people with disabilities (like Paterson and our very own Rachel) have accomplished. Is it in spite of a disability or because of it?
Rachel | Dec 18, 2008 | Reply
You’re right Beth, life is too short…Pick and chose your fights.
You said:
>>>In all seriousness, I am totally impressed by what people with disabilities (like Paterson and our very own Rachel) have accomplished. Is it in spite of a disability or because of it?<<<
You brought up something so key to my message Beth that I
can’t miss this opportunity to address your comment.
I would like to think that Paterson, myself and other PWD are doing what we do not “in spite of or because of” our disabilities.” We are doing things that you find impressive because we are doing them well. If you’re impressed and our work is shotty, you are doing us and everyone else a disservice.
A disability is just the parameters someone needs to work with to articulate their dreams. Be impressed when someone has found a creative way to express their dreams for themselves and done it well.