August 17 at 2:00PM
From the Writers of The Daily Show: Ben Stiller
The Daily Show considers how to welcome guest Ben Stiller:
* "Big show tonight. Big guest. You guys like Bill Clinton? Good. So does Ben Stiller. He's our guest."
* "Tonight, he'll be in blackface, and I'll be playing a retarded man. And before you say anything, I already protest."
* "Ben Stiller is here tonight, and I don't know how this happened, but this show's already done $30 million."
* Tonight we have a special guest: Marcia Brady's husband, Ben Stiller."
* Ben Stiller is here tonight. He's written a book about how the Bush administration misled us into war in Iraq. It's pretty much the only way you get booked on this show."
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Iowa Grad:
I've been a long time viewer of Daily Show; Mr. Stewart is a frequent flier with respect to the word "Retard". So are several of the correspondents.
So I'm not bashing Mr. Stewart for being nice to a guest; I'm reminding Mr. Stewart that he influences people, too, and it is not enough to just go to fund raisers for autism if you're going to use the most hated word in the disabled community as a synonym for "stupid" on your cable show that invades the home of –gasp–the disabled.
ok… understood, and agreed. And I'd add the use of the word "gay" as a negative to things I wish people'd stop using. Meanwhile… I'm not sure how much they actually read these comments, so maybe a letter-writing campaign would be better?
I have been protesting the use of "gay" with young people for years, and they regularly inform me that language changes with each generation, that "gay" doesn't mean what it used to mean, and that I should get over it.
While I haven't fully embraced that logic, I wonder if the same isn't true of the word "retard".
Most of the people I know who use the term to imply incredible stupidity would never dream of using it to describe those who cannot control their own intellect – only to apply to those who knowingly make moronic choices. (By the way, when was the last movie boycott over the use of the word "moron" – a clinical classification for intellectual impairment ?)
Among the youth with whom I work, they willingly call most politicians "retards" but don't even use labels when describing their disabled peers. Their peers get the respect of their names, but the president is a "retard".
Maybe it's time to re-define the word and take the power out of it. Should we consult with the "queers" and "niggas" to find out if it's wroking for them….?
When its my turn to have my Ox gored I hope I have the patience and circumspection to not over react.
I have a child who has autism. He is very intelligent, but just can't communicate the way that most "normal" people do. The problem that I have with people in mainstream comedy (or anyone for that matter) using the word "retard" to describe others is that it further desensitizes our youth and gives them permission to use that word as a descriptor for just about anyone. That word should NOT be used as a put down or a punchline. I have always enjoyed Stiller's and Stewart's comedy, but it seems that if they can censor themselves in certain situations, such as a charity show, then they should know better.
Kelly
Dear Kelly,
Be careful what you wish for. Picking and choosing was it appropriate and inappropriate is a double-edged sword that coul d but a large swathe through all or our freedoms. And who decides, so don't be a retard.
Franks and Beans!!!
Hey jackasses. This isn't the Fox News Blog – lighten the fuck up!
Hey Kelly. My mom committed suicide, but you don't hear me bitching about all the people who make jokes about that? If you're son is intelligent, and I'm sure that he is (most autistic kids are), then why are you so offended by a word that simply means slow? Mental retardation is a fact. I make fun of smart people all the time! Just ask Jew boy and his friend, Bishop Stephen!
I would like to protest the use of the word "protest" which I believe further desensitizes our youth and gives them permission to use that word as a descriptor for just about anything with which they might disagree. "Protesting" the use of the words gay, retard, or (dare I say) "bush" should require re-defineification the word and we should take the power out of it.