Frankie Boyle on Down Syndrome - horrific

[Lymond]

interesting blog post from a mother of a DS daughter who was blasted by a 5-10 minute diatribe containing all the old stereotypes about people with DS at a Frakie Boyle show. I'm turning off any TV show he's on in future.

blog here

Grauniad article on it here

wow and they say travel is fatal to prejudice, not in your case.

"Has anyone else noticed that Daftpunk and TheShriekingHarpy always wade into these types of threads and back each other up - surely they are one in the same. You would think they would name change once in a while as it is sooooo obvious."

Shit I must be another of her logins then because I regularly find myself backing up her points in threads which relate to free speech/freedom of association/or those occassional ridiculous ones where a so called "liberal" will call for her to be banned because they don't like what she says (and this is done without a hint of irony from siad liberal) despite disagreeing vehemently with most of her ideology and politics.

I can not stand DP and what she stands for - she is so hate filled it makes me sick.

I will never ever exchange with her or her sympathisers again - they are simply not worth it.

I hope everyone else has a good weekend.

her "sympathisers"? she's not a terrorist movement.
petty to not wish a good weekend on the downtrodden supporters of DP and their families. How very unchristian of you.

AuntieMaggie tbh I don't know, but if it was pointed out to me, I would think again.
I most definately don't find jokes about people with disabilities funny.

mayorquimby go off and examine your own flaws. I don't recall anyone on this thread claiming to be Mother Theresa.

get over yourself TSH you are only words on the screen....

..I'm a pink haired female punk who votes BNP, a man, and a scottish woman who now lives in Switzerland......

I always knew I was complicated....

Interestingly, UCM was banned for similar spoutings.

wasn't ucm's outburst just over one night? i often wonder if she just 'went off on one'

UCM always makes me laugh....it stands for Union of Catholic Mothers where I come from...

I think it's more complex than just not being funny because it's related to disability.

All FB really said about DS when I saw him was that people with DS tend to dress funny - now I personally don't see that as offensive and I'm sorry if anyone does. I don't particularly find it funny either, but I've got a cousin who has DS and I take the mick out of his clothes the same as he does mine. It's not like I'm making fun of having DS.

I just see it as a generalised comment about the way people with DS dress - and yes I realise that not everyone with DS dresses funny. Just the same as people laugh at the way teenagers dress for example (that jeans hanging below the bum thing really does my head in!) and I wouldn't think that just because someone has DS or is a teenager that they would dress a certain way.

Although, I do have to admit to laughing at FB programme page which was an imitation of the windows 7 ads and had a picture of someone who looked like they had DS. I felt bad about it afterwards. But I really hate those ads.

you don't get it do you..........

UCM was banned for far less

This is a quote from the woman's husband about Boyle's act that night

"He used words like Mongoloid. And one joke was, 'Why is it that everyone with Down's syndrome has bowl haircuts and bad clothes?'
He came back three times to the idea people with Down's syndrome die early."

www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/news/2010/04/10/puerile-childish-and-ignorant-115875-22175424/

I think the fact that Boyle chose to make jokes like that shows that he is scum. It is not just about being offensive or a free speech issue. Bernard Manning was offensive and unlike Boyle, he was kept off TV and not praised by the critics, but he drew the line at making jokes about disabled people and sick children.

FB wasn't on TV though was he..?

BM made some pretty offensive jokes on TV...he just picked on different groups...I heard him say some pretty Xrated stuff about homosexuals with aids...

Boyle wasn't on TV when he said it, but he is regularly feted on BBC shows. I think the BBC should cancel his TV contracts after what he said.

Manning was on TV in the 70s, but he was not on TV later on as he was not considered politically correct. In his obituary a BBC News article says "the comic was deemed too risky for TV late in his career".
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/3867363.stm

Manning was more offensive and risky than Boyle, but at least Manning had the decency not to insult disabled people.

"mayorquimby go off and examine your own flaws. I don't recall anyone on this thread claiming to be Mother Theresa. "

Don't recall saying anyone was? my flaws are too numerous and varied to mention. they'd take up a multitude of threads on their own.

"Isn't there a limit to what is allowed to be said though? Hence our laws about inciting religious/racial hatred?
Or is anyone fair game even if they are young or vunerable?
Is bullying ok because its free speech?"

yes there is a limit to free speech without a doubt. In the British Isles this has tended to be at the point when you infringe on somebody else's rights. That is normally been drawn at libelous or defamatory statements or incitement to violence or incitement to religous/racial hatred (as you have said above). I'm not sure if you are now referring to FB or DP so I don't want to make specific comments, wuld it be possible for you to specify what you are referring to in this post?
For me I can't see how either of them could be accused of any of the things listed above which would convince me that their free speech needs to be curtailed. I disagree with both of them profusely and have at times found opinions of both offensive and disgusting. But never to the point where I thought that I or anyone else had a right to silence them as they pose no threat to anyone.