As my wife would say, “I know how that twit votes”.
OOOOhhh...how can you be in two places at once,
when you’re not anywhere at aaaallll...pum pum pum...
I wonder how many people know where the name Rocky Rococo came from...I’ve listened to that album hundreds of times...
Anyway, Jerry had his heart in the right place, but his using the victim idea to make people feel sorry for those with MD and collect money always irritated me.
In its early days it was one of the few charities that wasn’t totally corrupt and paying more of its money to the executive board of directors than to the people they claimed to help. I don’t know about later on, but the link in post #15 is a brief example of what most charities eventually become. Their CEO was paid over $200,000 more than their average donation to hospitals and research.
This was brought out in the 70’s, most of the biggest charities at that time were spending up to 80% of the money they collected on executive salaries. So 20% actually went to the starving kids in South America or whatever.
At that time, I think MDA was still doing pretty well, and Jerry did a lot to help.
I have an uncle who had polio when he was 2. Had to be put in an iron lung at one time. More than a dozen surgeries, he would set off a metal detector if he went through nude. Right leg 1½” shorter than his left, it gave him trouble for many years. He finally had it amputated below the knee about 1995, he swears he’s been better off since.
He refuses to get a handicapped license plate or sticker, I can call him cripple joking around but don’t even think about saying it seriously or behind his back. He uses a prosthetic now and you can’t tell it until he puts on short pants, no limp. I did remodeling and trim carpenter work with him for 10 years, roofing, climbing ladders, you name it.
Before he had the leg amputated I’ve seen him refuse to park as close as possible and walk 50 yards across the parking lot to the store when I had to half carry him on my shoulder because he hurt so bad to walk at all. With an artificial leg he still refuses to get a handicapped sticker. I tried to get him to get one years ago just to use when he couldn’t walk.
“No, as long as I can still walk at all, people who actually need it can have the handicapped parking places.” It pisses him off to no end when he sees someone without a sticker park there. Me too. And he refuses to use that option. He refuses to be called cripple, doesn’t like being called disabled.
That’s why I never liked to see Jerry making people with MD out to be victims. That’s why I hate it when I go to stores and see women who weigh 300lbs riding around in electric carts, their only handicap is usually too fat and lazy to walk. People who walk with a pronounced limp when they use a prosthetic. I’ve only known one person who limped for a good reason. When they wrapped the nerves in his leg they did a sloppy job, it hurt him badly to walk at all. (they bundle the nerves under the skin rather than cut them off, that’s why people have phantom pains and itches, all the nerves are still there.) They bundled his off to one side, they rub against the boot of the prosthetic, it’s very painful.
I know I’ll catch some blowback for some of what I’m saying, but I’ve seen way too many people milking society for sympathy instead of fighting their way through the pain and limitations like my uncle did to be able to function normally and do things that would surprise a lot of people. How many people do you know with that kind of disability that will work as a carpenter at all? Much less climb ladders, replace roofs...I’ve had to make him get on the ground and let me do the roof because his shoes did nothing but slide on the tin, he was going to go off the edge if he stayed up there. And I had to literally tell him to get down. Argue even...how many people have you seen with an artificial leg who would get on a roof at all?
And Jerry promoted the victim mentality. I didn’t like that. Otherwise, what he did was great but I thought he should have promoted it differently.