[Nfbf-l] from the FCB list on SNL

[Lappland]

thought you may find some of these comments interesting. i especially like the response from mitch which is toward the end...
 this

Before Penny's post appeared, I said this.

Paul

-----Original Message-----
From: Edwards, Paul 
Sent: Tuesday, December 16, 2008 1:12 PM
To: 'Sheila Styron'; 
leadership at acb.org
Subject: RE: [leadership] SNL skit

I would love to be able to say that I agree with the posts or the press
release but I do not.  I think that the press release did little harm
but no good.  I believe that we should consider a very different
app-roach.  Is it the blindness angle that was offensive or the notion
that a public official was unfairly and inappropriately satirized.  In a
real sense, I think that our country has become far too willing to
demean those willing to hold public office.  We accord neither the
offices nor the individuals much respect.  More than that, if an
official is disabled or black or a woman, we use all the stereotypes
available to pillory that individual in the stocks of ridicule.  Is it
any wonder that many of our most talented and capable potential
politicians refuse to play?

I believe that our press release should have spoken much more about the
respect due to a person prepared to accept the responsibilities of high
office.  I also believe that the fact that the individual in question
has characteristics such as blindness should be acknowledged but not
stressed.  We will not and, I think, cannot seriously affect the
stereotyping of blind people.  I think we should provide more
information on just how individuals who do large jobs accomplish them.
I think we should encourage, if not, forcibly require people with
disabilities to clearly and  loudly  demonstrate just how they do the
jobs they do.  The fact is that many blind people are happily in the
closet pretending they do not have much of a disability and trying their
best to appear straight and non-disabled.  I think that they are as
guilty of hypocrisy and wrong-doing as are those who satirize them.

Paul

-----Original Message-----
From: Sheila Styron [mailto:sheilastyron at everestkc.net] 
Sent: Tuesday, December 16, 2008 12:56 PM
To: 
leadership at acb.org
Subject: RE: [leadership] SNL skit

One more post on this, and then I'll crawl back under my rock. Last fall
there was an episode of Ordinary Housewives where Carlos got a guide
dog,
that made me laugh till I cried. Anyone knows who watches this show even
once that it is totally out there. Carlos was issued a middle aged
golden,
already gray around the muzzle, lots of character - The dog jumped on
everyone like it had never received a day of training in its life - very
un-guide-dog-like - Gabriella, the conniving wife was jealous of the dog
which kept growling at her except when she indiscriminately fed it
treats -
Carlos slept with it which stuck G sleeping on the couch - She took the
dog
back to the school and said it wasn't working out for her husband and
told
him it had run away - the dog beat her back to the house and so on.
Obviously, this was totally ridiculous, and I doubt that anyone watching
thought it was a realistic portrayal of life with a guide dog. The
public
doesn't know much about guide dogs to this day, and I have experienced
no
negative repercussions from the airing of this widely viewed program. I
feel
lucky to have caught it since I really don't watch much television, and
I
was amused not offended. 

Sheila Styron
Kansas City
816-896-6552
sheilastyron at everestkc.net

-----Original Message-----
From: Mitch Pomerantz [mailto:Mitch.Pomerantz at lacity.org] 
Sent: Tuesday, December 16, 2008 10:31 AM
To: 
leadership at acb.org
; Michael Byington
Cc: 
acb-l at acb.org
Subject: Re: [leadership] SNL skit

Michael:

I believe your comments go to the heart of why I felt ACB needed to
respond
in a thoughtful, reasonable way to the SNL skit.  Those of you who
believe
that it's really no big deal should consider where each of you as an
individual would draw your line: acceptable on the one hand,
inappropriate
on the other.

The skit was indeed about a public figure with a rather spotty personal
history.  No problem there; he is a public personality and his
indiscretions
fair game for the comedy writers and pundits.  However, the fact that
SNL
also felt it necessary to make light of his visual impairment, to my way
of
thinking, crossed that line.  For those of you who disagree, where would
your line be?  What if the spoof made fun of or misrepresented a guide
dog
team, or an older person losing their vision, or anything else about
which
you are sensitive.  I submit that if you strongly identified with the
character being spoofed, your reaction would be quite different.  That
old
expression comes to mind: it's a matter of whose ox is being gored.

Since Michael mentioned the Mr. Magou controversy, let me tell a short
story.  When the debate arose during the ACB National Convention a few
years
ago, I and an active ACB member who is African American found ourselves
on
different sides of the argument.  I strongly objected to the Magou
movie,
this person had no problem with it.  The following morning, this
individual
approached me and said that when they got back to their room and turned
on
the television, Step-n-Fetch-It was on the air and all of a sudden, the
light went on.  Yes, the light went on because this 50 year old racist
portrayal of African Americans hit very close to home.

To those who say that this means that blind folks are being treated just
like everyone else, I respond that this doesn't make it acceptable or
proper.  I consider myself to be a pretty sophisticated person and not
always as politically correct as I probably should be.  Nonetheless,
humor
which is based on someone's gender, sexual orientation, disability
status
and the like do nothing to forward acceptance or understanding; it
simply
makes it okay in the minds of many to continue discriminating.

Mitch Pomerantz

>>> "Michael Byington" <
byington at cox.net
> 12/15/2008 10:49 PM >>>
Okay, I followed the link and watched the whole thing. I have mixed
feelings
with regard to Jeff's comments. Much of the skit was about a politician
who
had a record of drug use, and who fell into a position they never
expected
to be in. Those parts were funny, and blind or sighted, those are the
kinds
of barbs that any politician in the public eye is going to have to
endure.
Where I got offended was after the skit when the Patterson character
kept
walking into other skits. As far as whether that was over the top or
not, I
might not have been sure of my own feelings, but then I caught Governor
Patterson's comments on CNN. The Governor came off as extremely rational
and
made a good point about public perception. This was not a Mr. MaGoo
situation. I took some heat on that one as I was President of CCLVI at
the
time that movie came out, and I wanted to take the position that MaGoo
was
simply a comedy, and that we could laugh at ourselves while at the same
time
educating the public about the realities of low vision and blindness. To
portray Governor Patterson in the way that this was done, however, is a
very
different story. We are not talking about a fictitious character here.
We
are talking about a real legally blind person who has a real job. His
comments about the stereotypes that could be brought out through the
portrail, and the percentage of people with severe disabilities that are
unemployed were very well focused. 

 
Mitch and Melanie, your press release was well focused and appropriate
in
supporting one of our own who has made some valid comments about public
stereotyping and its impact on employment of persons who have
disabilities. 

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-- 
Join the Monthly Monetary Support program (MMS) and help improve
tomorrow
today in ACB.
For details, contact Dr. Ron Milliman, MMS Program Committee Chair, by
e-mail:
rmilliman at insightbb.com
 or by phone at 270-782-9325 and get started
making
tomorrow look brighter today in ACB!

This message has come to you from the ACB Leadership List:  a special
List for use by the leadership of the American Council of the Blind.
This communication is privileged and may contain confidential
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