"It was like Special Olympics or something" said Barrack Obama on The Tonight Show, making a reference to his unimpressive bowling abilities.
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President Obama created quite a stir with these words in his recent interview with Jay Leno. His remarks were called "offensive" and many were "disappointed" for his insensitivity. Some were "infuriated that an organization dedicated to empowering millions of people with developmental disabilities would be reduced to a late-night punch line." http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-obama-special-olympics21-2009mar21,0,7433169.story
This conflict is nothing more than extension of the political correct (PC) movement that has swept the nation in the last decade. Often it is segues into a political debate, so I deemed it worthy of exploring further.
Of course, Obama went onto apologize. His flocks of supporters rushed to his aid and assured the disabled community that he did not mean what he said. This resurgence of PC caused a presidential faux-pas to become a presidential blunder. A minor point on the political legitimacy of my argument- PC is often associated with the left. When Obama made his comment, liberals felt conflicted and in turn rationalized his argument. See the optimistic ending of the LA Times (a rather liberal publication) if you don't believe me.
Now I'm not saying that it is fair to make assertions about groups of people...actually that is what I am saying. Low bowling scores and disability kind of hand-and-hand don't they?. Ultimately, we know that stereotypes hurt people, but we can't condemn our president for trying to be funny, even if it was candidly at the expense of others. PC has become so invasive that everything becomes a question of whether or not one's feelings will be hurt. I don't think "diversity was sacrificed" because Obama was tongue-and-cheek. Differences can be celebrated in society without making them a big deal. The attention that Obama's comment was given by the media made it a big deal. By focusing so much on the differences in the disabled communities, we are surmising that they are different from us, and in turn, should be treated differently. If you asked a disabled person if they would like to be treated differently, I can assure you there answer would be “no”. Enforcing PC to the point that it gets front page headlines undermines the very fabric of self-expression. I don't support a self-expression that is hateful, but if it involves mindless pokes and casual faux-pas, I can live with it. For those of you that see no difference between this and a black joke, I’m sorry for you. A president shouldn't be done up and shouldn't be the product of its constituents. I want Obama to be human.
Before you jump on me, carefully consider my argument and see where I inserted my own PC preambles. Kind of ironic, don’t you think?
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The argument over political correctness and its invasiveness in society is a very controversial one; some people believe that political correctness, or PC, has gotten to the point where every statement said can be scrutinized in some manner, while other believes that censorship and caution in speaking is necessary. I do believe with you that Obama is human, and that rights of self-expression apply to him just as they do to any other citizen in the United States. Obama is allowed to say what he wants to an extent, as long as it does nothing to hurt the country. But let’s take a quick look at the position he is holding right now: the President of the United States. You don’t think that the President should be held to a little higher standard than the rest of the country? He is not a college student saying this on the way to class; he is on The Tonight Show, in front of the entire country. There is no debating that while on television, as a respected man in the highest-held position in the White House, President Obama absolutely should not have said that. I am sure that Obama’s remark meant no harm, and should not be taken seriously, but it was most certainly in bad taste, and as a role model for this country, he should have thought twice about comparing poor bowling skills to those of an athlete in the Special Olympics.
And, your statement that this is not comparable to a black person joke is wrong in my opinion. Singling out a group of people and using their status as part of that group as a late-night punch line, whether it be African American people, gay people, or mentally-challenged people is all the same; just because they are mentally-challenged does not make it any less worse than a racist joke. If this was Bush, or any other president making a racist or derogatory comment on live television, they would have been done. Just because Obama is a rock star president, that makes it ok?
Perfectly willing to have my morals called out, I am going to support Carl on this one.
First consider that Jay Leno is a comedian and the Tonight Show is supposed to be funny. Of course, when the line is taken out of context, it seems inappropriate. That is why special-interest groups like to do it. They can manipulate and distort to serve their cause. But strictly within context, this is completely justifiable. It was a clever simile and should be recognized as thus.
The president did not attack the Special Olympics. Instead, his comment was more of a shot to himself. This is crucial because it differentiates the comments from anything that should be considered offensive. I am sure the Olympians do not consider themselves proficient at their undertakings, so why should we pretend that they are? This is one of Carl’s strong points: they should be treated the same as any of us. When you shelter entire groups like this, it may actually be worse for them. Consider that the Special Olympics themselves are designed to mimic the Olympics. They want to be treated the same, not sheltered and protected. They should receive the same treatment because they are no less than any of us. What PC is doing is making them feel as though they need to be protected, diminishing their level of self-respect and confidence.
This topic is actually important beyond the realm of the tabloids. The subject matter relates to how campaigns are run. Appearances like the one on the Tonight Show are commonplace in the months preceding an election, and how they are conducted has a lot of effect on the public. A strong candidate should be expected not to make any blunders, but where is the line drawn? If it stays where it is today, then our political system is in a mess. What this promotes is the recruitment of good “candidates” not leaders to run. Anyone could have made the comment that President Obama did considering his standing as a “great orator.” This spells trouble because it creates duplicitous candidates that just feed the public what they want.
The PC nature of the political debates today do not allow candidates to express their true beliefs. If it goes against the current trend in PC, then it is demonized. A candidate might have a good point which is correct, yet that candidate might be prevented from voicing it due to the political backlash. As citizens, we should evaluate statements made not based upon the current trend. There are good ideas that get squashed or delayed due to unnecessary concerns based on misinformation (e.g. slavery). After all, if the candidate for “change” is afraid to challenge the status quo, who will?
I beg you the same as Carl did: shed your own version of PC before evaluating my post.
The arguments that are made in support of President Obama in this situation make their points. However, it cannot be ignored that the President of the United States of America needs to present himself in a higher manner. Obama is the figurehead of this entire country and unfortunately he may have to bite his tongue at moments. It may seem unfair that he cannot fully express himself as he pleases but it comes with the job so get over it. He knows that he cannot say things that even borderline are inappropriate and when he does things like this he makes not only himself look bad but this country. Sometimes PC can get out of control and seem ridiculous but there is no where to draw a line. It is a situation of the slippery slope. So let us say that the President can make jokes about the Special Olympics, what next? Obese people? Homosexuals? It is understood that Obama is a different type of President. He is the first African-American man to hold the position, he is loved by many and acts as though he is a celebrity. But this doesn’t mean that this country is ready for that kind of lack of PC.
The justification that the people in the Special Olympics do not want to be sheltered and want to fit in with everyone else is completely absurd. Yes, people that have mental conditions do want to fit in as much as possible and they should be treated no differently but the fact of the matter is: they are different. And it is in the back of everyone's minds subconsciously. The whole notion of the Special Olympics is to allow them to display their talents because they would never make it in the Olympics. The Special Olympics itself is separating these people and treating them differently. If you wanted to make the argument that they should not be treated differently than the Special Olympics should not exist and they would have to try and qualify in the Olympics.
There is a lot of intense scrutiny being placed on President Obama right now, as he is viewed as someone who is completely different from everyone else who has become President of the United States not only for his youth and diversity but also for his ideas on changing the way politics is run. During his first 100 days, he is judged on all of his official political moves and on every word and movement that he makes outside his office. Obama has tried to create a positive image that relates to the public by appearing on many nightly TV shows such as Jay Leno and on ESPN's Bracketology, on which he filled out the NCAA Tournament Bracket. Some people believe that he should be spending all of this seemingly wasted time working on ways to spark the economy again, and this is just an opinion that supports the fact that Obama has been made into a superhero who has neither the capacity or time to relax from such a stressful job.
President Obama needs to realize that everything he says will be analyzed, especially on a nationally televised show. Even if his comments come from only one reporter from a small news station, the footage of potentially insensitive quotes may end up in the hands of comedy shows such as "The Daily Show with John Stewart" and "The Colbert Report," where millions of other viewers will hear about his words. Since Obama is a skilled orator, he should easily be able to pause before he talks to avoid saying anything potentially contradictory. Luckily for him, this slip happened months after the election. His opponent, Sarah Palin, has told reporters that she thought that his comment was a'"degrading remark about our world's most precious and unique people, coming from the most powerful position in the world."'(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/uselection2008/sarahpalin/5025638/Sarah-Palin-Barack-Obamas-Special-Olympics-gaffe-on-Leno-was-degrading.html). The Republican Party would have had a field day with this quote had it occurred in October, but given the amount of pressure Obama has been under recently he should be given a free pass on this quote. However, if the President wants to avoid becoming ridiculed for his slip-ups and get re-elected, he should avoid any inferior references to subgroups, even if they are meant to make fun of himself.
That’s all well and good- but haven’t you missed the underlying point- political correctness is a contradiction of Free Speech. This transcends Obama’s faux-pas (which in no way resembles the hatefulness that shouldn’t fall under free speech); it’s the great American hypocrisy, and unfortunately our 44th president was its latest victim. Those that perceive Obama’s quote as offensive are products of a national environment that simultaneously encourages us to say everything we want and limits us from saying everything we want. I knew I would take some heat from this, but don’t you see that your “morals” border self-righteousness. Brandon and Katie did raise a good point- Obama is “above” the rest of us, and should therefore be held to a higher standard, but I hardly see why a slip-up (that any of us might make) should be taken so seriously. Remember the context, Obama was on Jay Leno. As Ross mentioned, Obama was in a realm where he was supposed to be candid, and making a quip about the Special Olympics seemed appropriate at the time. Katie, I really doubt that this will lead to debasing of minority groups in America. This type of thinking is awfully dramatic and kind of reminiscent of the liberal propaganda that enforces PC in America. Brandon, you make the obvious point that the Special Olympics are different from the Olympics, but the segregation of disabled athletes from the others is only an exercise in fairness. Of course if they had the physical ability to compete, special Olympians would jump at the chance to be in the Olympics. They strive to achieve even when they are so limited. Their object of their efforts extends beyond medals- they are demonstrating to the rest of the world that they “can” even when they’re told they “can’t”. They are no different, and should not be sheltered. Isn’t that the purpose of the Americans with Disabilities Act? Wiki it if you don’t believe me… I’m tired of arguing with you.
Wow. I am not exactly sure where to begin.
I'm sure that most of you will be able to guess just from my overall ridiculous positions on most things in life and in class that naturally I think that PC is bullshit (Realpolitik all the way). I think of it as immaturity. PC is a lot different than being hateful towards a group or being rude, which naturally I do not condone at all.
Although this point was mentioned in someone's post (I forget who because I just read so many) I feel it is worth saying again. People with disabilities are the same, THE SAME, as people without. We are all human. And most of the time when someone is trying to be politically correct, they are really denouncing a group.
By causing all of this controversy surrounding what he said, if I had a disability that caused me to be in the special Olympics, I would feel like shit, not because of what President Obama said, but because of how everyone is acting towards it. It is entirely degrading.
I have been trying to think of an analogy to relate this to and this is all I could come up with:
If Jay Leno had come out from backstage wearing a dress and carrying a purse and president Obama said, "Wow Jay, you look gay", it would be the same thing as what he was trying to say about his bowling. A man wearing a dress and carrying a purse 99% of the time is gay, Obama notices his clothing and accessories, matter-of-factly says that Jay looks gay. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THIS! If this actually happened what do you think the country would do? Everyone would be talking about how insensitive Obama is towards the gay community... insensitive? Hardly. The same happened here, competitors in the special olympics are not good at bowling, Obama was saying that he is not good at bowling, therefore he compared himself to a competitor in the special olympics. If we were in logic class, we would say that statement is logical.
I believe in facts and here they are:
Average Score in the 2007 Special Olympics for bowling- 108
President Obama- 129
The funniest part is, watching the President bowl wouldn't even be as bad as watching the Special Olympics. He might even win.
Well said Brett...
*THIS DEPARTS FROM THE TOPIC*
But we might have to clean up your example. A person isn't gay for wearing a dress and a purse, in fact, the only thing that makes a person gay is a greater affinity and attraction to the same sex, both emotionally and physically. I think your confusing femininity with homosexuality, a common misconception we make in today's society. A man can be as straight as an arrow and revel in their sense of femininity because gender is nothing more than a societal conception. Your analogy was a stark contrast to EVERYthing we've learned in gender studies this semester.
Felt like I should just set things "straight".
You are right Carl. So Jay Leno walks out from backstage, makes out with a guy and then says, "I have a greater affinity and attraction to men." Then President Obama says, "Jay, you're gay." Same scenario applies from there on out.
Thanks for the help Carl
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