He said it better than I could have-Tropic Thunder

The following is from a Washington Post editorial by Timothy Shriver. I have put it here but the original can be found at
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/10/AR2008081001869_2.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

What 'Tropic Thunder' Thinks Is Funny*By Timothy ShriverMonday, August 11, 2008;



I've been told to keep my sense of humor about the film "Tropic Thunder,"which opens this week. Despite my requests, I have not been given the chanceto see the movie. But I've seen previews, read about it and read excerpts ofthe script. By all accounts, it is an unchecked assault on the humanity ofpeople with intellectual disabilities -- an affront to dignity, hope andrespect.Consider this exchange:Ben Stiller's character: "There were times when I was doing Jack when Iactually felt retarded. Like really retarded."Robert Downey Jr.'s character: "Oh yeah. Damn."Stiller: "In a weird way, I had to sort of just free myself up to believethat it was okay to be stupid or dumb."Downey: "To be a moron."Stiller: "Yeah."At another point, about acting like a person with intellectual disabilities,they say:Stiller: "It's what we do, right?"Downey: "Everybody knows you never do a full retard."Stiller: "What do you mean?"Downey: "Check it out. Dustin Hoffman, 'Rain Man,' look retarded, actretarded, not retarded. Count toothpicks to your cards. Autistic, sure. Notretarded. You know Tom Hanks, 'Forrest Gump.' Slow, yes. Retarded, maybe.Braces on his legs. But he charmed the pants off Nixon and won a ping-pongcompetition. That ain't retarded. You went full retard, man. Never go fullretard."I worked with the Farrelly brothers on a film on this topic. I know aboutedgy comedy. I'm also told that movies are equal-opportunity offenders.So here's an equal-opportunity response to the equal-opportunity offenders:People with intellectual disabilities are routinely abused, neglected,insulted, institutionalized and even killed around the world. Their parentsare told to give up, that their children are worthless. Schools turn themaway. Doctors refuse to treat them. Employers won't hire them. None of thisis funny.For centuries, they have been the exception to the most basic spiritualprinciple: that we are each equal in spirit, capable of reflecting thegoodness of the divine, carriers of love. But not people with intellectualdisabilities. What's a word commonly applied to them? Hopeless.Let's consider where we are in 2008. Our politics are about overcomingdivision, our social movements are about ending intolerance, our greatphilanthropists promote ending poverty and disease among the world's poor.Are people with intellectual disabilities included in the mainstream ofthese movements? For the most part, no.Why? Because they're different. Their joy doesn't fit on magazine covers.Their spirituality doesn't come in self-help television. Their kind ofwealth doesn't command political attention. (The best of the spirit neverdoes.)Sadly, they're such an easy target that many people don't realize whom theyare making fun of when they use the word "retard." Most people just thinkit's funny. "Stupid, idiot, moron, retard." Ha, ha, ha.I know: I could be too sensitive. But I was taught that mean isn't funny.And I've been to institutions where people with intellectual disabilitiesare tied to beds or lie on concrete floors, forgotten. I've heard doctorssay they won't treat them. I know Gallup found that more than 60 percent ofAmericans don't want a person with an intellectual disability at theirchild's school.I've talked to people with intellectual disabilities who cry over beinginsulted on a bus. I've received too many e-mails from people who aredevastated not by their child's disability but by the terror of beinglaughed at, excluded and economically devastated.It wasn't funny when Hollywood humiliated African Americans for ageneration. It's never funny when good and decent human beings arehumiliated. In fact, it is dangerous and disgusting.This film is all that and more. DreamWorks went so far as to create amini-version of Simple Jack and posted it online. The studio has sincepulled it down, realizing it had gone too far, even in an age of edgy,R-rated comedies.So, enough. Stop the hurtful jokes. Talk to your children about languagethat is bullying and mean. Ask your friends, your educators, your religiousleaders to help us to end the stubborn myth that people with intellectualdisabilities are hopeless. Ask Hollywood to get on the right side ofdignity.I hope others will join me in shutting this movie out of our lives and ourpocketbooks. We don't live in times when labeling and humiliating others isfunny. And we should send that message far and wide.

*The writer is chairman of Special Olympics and a columnist forwashingtonpost. com's On Faith discussion site.*