A comedian named Eric Golub told a joke at an event that most people would find to be distasteful. He compared liberal political ideology to “special needs children”. This occurred at an event for Sarah Palin, who is the mother of a child who has Down Syndrome.
For a moment, put aside whatever you happen to think about politician Sarah Palin, or her political ideology. In this particular situation, the most relevant thing about the former governor of Alaska is that she is a mother to a child who has special needs. Her son, Trig Palin, has Down syndrome.
Recently, Sarah Palin was scheduled to give a speech in Indianola, Iowa. A comedian named Eric Golub was asked to speak to the crowd before Sarah Palin gave her speech. I’m not sure how often comedians are asked to “warm up the crowd” before a political speech is given, but I have heard that this is a common practice for other types of events.
Comedian Eric Golub started off his joke by praising Sarah Palin on her ability to raise her son Trig while she was balancing other responsibilities. He then went on to say the following:
“For that reason alone, the left should worship Sarah Palin and adopt her as one of their own. Because the leftist haters are an entire political ideology of special needs children”. He continued his “joke” by stating his opinion that liberals are “needy and feel entitled”. After that, he said “And unlike Trig, they aren’t very lovable. All you hear from them is give me, give me, I need, I need, I want, I deserve, I’m entitled – no you don’t.”
I am probably not the only person who finds this particular “joke” to be offensive. It sounds as though comedian Eric Golub is saying that he thinks that children who have special needs are constantly demanding that people give them things, that they feel they are deserving of more than they truly are, and that they are “entitled”.
I don’t really care if the comedian’s opinion if liberals is that they are a group of people who are constantly saying things like: “give me, I need, I want, I deserve, I’m entitled”. What bothers me is that the way he set up this joke implies that he also feels that children who have special needs are getting more than they “deserve”, and that those children feel “entitled” to the accommodations that are made for them in schools and public places due to their special needs.
It is especially troubling that the comedian specifically named Trig Palin in his “joke”. This means that he absolutely knew that Sarah Palin was the mother of a child who has special needs, and that he did not feel it was the least bit inappropriate to make the joke he made. It also feels as though he was basically using Trig, a child, in order to get a laugh from the audience, (which isn’t the least bit appropriate either).
Image by David Shankbone on Flickr