Protesting Retard

I haven’t seen Tropic Thunder yet- but I’ve heard it’s pretty damn funny. I have this feeling I won’t be getting to see it in the theater though- what with the babies and all. But it’s already added to our Netflix queue.

Anyway- I didn’t really want to talk about the movie. Instead I wanted to discuss the recent controversy about it. Specifically, the use of the word retard.

I never considered myself hyperliberal or an activist or anything like that- still, I do understand why someone might be offended by this word and I also understand why someone might even organize a protest.

From the supposedly-offensive clips I’ve seen – it doesn’t really appear to be too bad – but, again, I do understand why someone might be offended and they certainly have the right to protest.

But watching video of the protests, I keep seeing images of severely mentally handicapped people holding up signs and it makes me wonder why the hell they are there.

I find it pretty hypocritical that people who claim to have in mind the best interest of mentally disabled people would organize a protest that included these mentally disabled people- specifically the ones who obviously aren’t capable of understand what they are doing there.

It isn’t like they made the decision to organize, got together and made up signs and then drove over to the movie studio to protest.

Again, I’m not talking about the high-functioning special olympics kids- I’m talking about the ones who can barely dress themselves and who are now standing out on the street holding a sign that they obviously didn’t make, trying to yell some slogan that probably doesn’t even make sense to them.

I found it kind of obscene. Kind of abusive actually.

It’s not as bad as the mom’s who dress up their little babies in T-shirts that say “I’m glad my mommy didn’t abort me” and protest in front of abortion clinics, but still…