To find Jimmy Carr's latest 'joke' really disgusting and pathetic

[runningwilde]

Jimmy Carr has done it again. Nor content with making deeply disrespectful and horrid jokes about soldiers, he has now made a joke about children with Down's Syndrome and the Sunshine Variety coaches that do so much to help these kids and others too.

I used to like him but he goes too far. I really think that some things should not be joked about. Why do some people feel the need to tell
Jokes like that?

Yet, I am also aware of the fact that we can't censor jokes, but I wish some comedians actually set out to make us laugh with properly funny jokes rather than the nasty shit that Jimmy has been peddling again.

I didn't say people who ignored were evil or bad.

I said it made me SAD FOR my DD.

Everyone seems to have miss that and thinks I was abusing people for ignoring her. I wasn't.

I thought I was joining in a general part of discussion about the attitudes of people towards people with LDs. And that is what we encounter and it makes me sad.

But clearly I should have kept quiet unless it was about abusive people, sorry
.

Luckily no one has shouted abuse at her yet. I'm sure they will then I will be back.

Fanjo,
I wan't trying to suggest you did. I was just expressing my views about how my child is treated in public.
It's a long thread. I am responding to the full content. If I had been referencing your comments I would have referenced you.

Gawd. I wan't suggesting you should keep quiet.

I was talking about how i feel about my child in the context of how children with difficulties are treated in public.

Pag..fair enough, its just several people have come along and said that to me since my post, and its frustrating. So I am glad I have put the record straight, my comments were not merely directed at you either. :)

Yes, I have to agree with Fanjo in this respect. It does make me feel incredibly sad and frustrated when people stare through DS2 after their initial glance or step away from him. It's almost as if they think having LDs is contagious. I suppose it's much like people who will walk on the opposite side of the street as a adult black male as they perceive him as a threat. A completely misguided idea, but for some people it's still there.

That's exactly it, and why the world is not ready for 'satire' about people who have disabilities

I do agree Pag
imo it is the gawpers that make me fume, they just stare, nit the quick stare, then you catch your self and look away or smile, the walk in to a lampost gawping, we have been followed round a supermarket by a small child who just stared, the parent did nothing until ds told child to bog off.
back to JC, what shocks me is that there are people who will defend this.
perhaps they lol at racist jokes as well, or jokes about rape, or dead babies as well.

Sounds like I should be glad they look away then :)

Just a quick illustration, if I may. Yesterday we went to Asda. They now have these lovely trolleys with a lower seat in the front with a seat belt for disabled children. These are brilliant for DS2, as he cannot tolerate walking through the supermarket without getting overwhelmed and distressed, but can go through in a trolley as he feels secure (I suppose much like in a pushchair), and he is simply at 5yo too difficult to get in a standard trolley seat anymore.

We had numerous odd looks, a few pointing or gesturing towards him whilst talking, a few glares, and someone making a comment within earshot (although not directly to us) about perfectly fine children using trolleys that should be strictly reserved for disabled children. I suppose I could have confronted her and showed her his DLA award letter (always carry it to use as proof if needed for services), but really what's the point? It was a simple trip to the supermarket, and honestly by the time we're done, I'm fed up to the teeth with people. Some days it makes me angry, some days it just makes me sad.

And this is the type of thing we deal with day in and day out... every single time we leave the house... it's wearing and frustrating. And the worry that at some point DS2 is going to start understanding some of these comments and feel that something is "wrong" with him... that's a real concern of mine, because it will shatter him.

I think that these people that say "if you don't like it, don't watch it" just DON'T UNDERSTAND that acceptance of treating disabled children as lesser beings just spreads and spreads... it truly affects their life in way that people don't think about. Because the attitudes change, it then changes how they are treated, which can profoundly affect them personally.

Triggles, I agree with you 100%. we also get the comments on days when Dd is not being very flappy.

Triggles That must be really irritating. If it's any comfort, I've had a real education reading posts from parents of SN kids with eg ADSD. Hopefully, it might have the same effect on other people so they won't be as ignorant and insulting.

Oh, Triggles, that is infuriating!

Triggles I think sometimes it's not so much that people don't understand, it's that they don't fucking care.

You and everyone else on this thread with children with SN, have explained very clearly, very patiently, how the cultural climate affects your daily life. No-one can read your posts and claim not to understand unless they're determined not to understand.

And whatmeworry nowhere on this thread have I accused you of being a man. I merely withhold judgement as to whether you're a man or a woman. I don't really give a shit either way tbh, it's your arguments I despise, not your gender.

I'm puzzled by the whole "man or woman" problem regarding whatmeworry. I personally don't give a monkey's whether another poster is male or female. I suppose the majority are female here, but does it really matter? Not to me.

EleanorRathbone Yes, I imagine you are right, people DON'T care. And that alone is a sad thought not only for my child but for society as a whole. Isn't it appalling that in this day and age, with all the information available out there on the internet, whereby people COULD take the time to actually EDUCATE themselves about these learning disabilities that they prefer to simply wallow in the stereotypes and rumours instead of finding out the facts? Talk about wasting an opportunity to better yourself by gaining some insightful knowledge. It's the whole "it doesn't affect me so it doesn't really matter" thing, I suppose. (much akin to the "I'm alright Jack", eh?)

I no longer attempt to educate people when they make negative comments. It's simply not worth the effort. I no longer take the time to explain WHY to people or make excuses or even tell them that he has LD/SNs. Again, what's the point? Some people have their own beliefs and simply do not want to be confused with factual information, as that would upset their little apple cart. Besides, I have noticed that some even seem to make an extra effort in their comments, in what appears to be an attempt to make me feel badly - and I REFUSE to give them the satisfaction.

fanjo Sorry - I didnt mean to cause trouble. It was a genuine question and appreciate both the answers you and others have given.

I was just aware that rushing in all smiles might be okay in one case but not in another and that in the end it would still be treating someone differently because I wouldnt normally overtly smile or talk to a stranger (even a kid). Gah anyway will try not to try in the future and just be natural....(which certainly doesnt include impatience, name calling, or brick throwing of any description).

I had the exact same thing in a queue with a shop assistant being a dick. When he apologised to me I took him at face value and told him it was no good apologising to me as it was the previous customer he had been rude to. Sadly he just look puzzled and glazed over...

Oh post on here and you will get 100% of people agreeing with you!!!! OP, far too easy a target really. wnhy even bother posting????

I watched Frankie Boyle and he made an EVIL joke about that dead russian spy, but fuck me it was funny

for the first time I kind of "got" why people laugh at evil jokes

no rape, handicap, dead people are not funny

But quite franky there is enoiugh bad shit in the world for me to worry about

By the way, I dont find jokes about disabled children funny, should have maybe mentioned that.

I do get why the evil jokes make people laugh tho, but I also think mocking disabled children is a step too far....

Porca have you read this thread? Noone is agreeing with each other.

Strangely everyone is up in arms about the abusive woman on the bus though, noone defending her 'right to free speech'

Entropygirl - no worries :)

I'm puzzled by the whole "man or woman" problem regarding whatmeworry

Ah, its that PA s/he or his/hers that is a fave of the MN Feminsist when you disagree with them, here was Eleanors shot on this thread:

I think there's no point directly engaging with WMW because to be frank, s/he either simply doesn't understand any complex argument (about any subject)

...calling me dumb is fine, as I noes i are, but calling me a man is man-ist and clearly meant as an insult, and I can't tolerate that discrimination :o

Anyways, I mostly agreed with Pagwatch and now Porcamiseria on this thread.

Strangely everyone is up in arms about the abusive woman on the bus though, noone defending her 'right to free speech'

Of course she has a right to free speech, but everyone else also has a right to think she is a complete twat and even tell her to her face. The bigger issue there though is not waht she is saying, but that she clearly has problems, and what that signals for the poor child.

Yes, and the poor children being insulted

pmsl at "calling me a man is man-ist and clearly meant as an insult" ... Isn't that rather a backhanded insult at men in general just by saying that someone calling you a man is an insult?? (doesn't that indeed then make YOU man-ist? ) Sometimes I think people are simply looking for things to nitpick over. Clearly you are missing the forest for the trees, as from what I recall, nobody gives a rat's ass whether or not you are a man. Free speech and all notwithstanding, I don't see why you're so up in arms about it. With some of the posts you've put on, surely you've been called worse than "a man" ??

edam @ Fri 23:58

I'm afraid you rather lost the argument there by recommending some comedians:

" Shappi Korsandi, Tommy Teirnan, Ross Noble, Sarah Millican, Stewart Lee, and the gorgeous Reginald D Hunter "

Not one of them is at all funny.

But that's just my opinon and is, of course no criticism of your taste in comedy.

There, in a nutshell is the dificulty faced by everyone who has commented in this thread. No one has the answer - what to do about a comedian who some people despise.

A ban would be unreasonable unworkable because, as everyone knows- there are no absolutes about what is, or is not funny. Many people have criticised Carr's joke, many have also criticised his style. But MN does not represent the population of the UK because, as I pointed out above, he is hugely popular.

Oh, and I must say your definition of "gorgeous" is unfathomable in the extreme but, there again, you are perfectly free to say so! :) To me he looks horrible!