Posted on 02/22/2010 1:05:59 PM PST by Kaslin
Last week Sarah Palin appeared on Bill O’Reilley’s show discussing a crude joke levied at her on the animated television show - “The Family Guy.” For those who may not have seen either the show itself or the O’Reilly interview, here’s what happened.
In the animated show two Sundays ago, a teenaged character named Chris is romancing Ellen, his classmate. She has Down Syndrome. As Chris delves into Ellen’s background, she makes this statement, “My dad’s an accountant and my mom is the former governor of Alaska.” The fact that the actress who does the voice for Ellen, Andrea Fay Friedman, has Down Syndrome in real life complicates this story. In fact, Freidman attempted to make Palin the bad guy by saying that the former governor has no sense of humor.
In an e-mail statement sent to the New York Times Friedman went on to say, “I thought the line...was very funny. I think the word is sarcasm... My parents raised me to have a sense of humor and to live a normal life.” Not a bad statement for an adult with Down Syndrome.
Friedman’s plausible defense of the program is obviously self-serving. Unfortunately, she reminds me of a black comedienne who uses the “N” word in her routine; but would picket any white person who did so.
Even more ironic than the fact the Down Syndrome actress wants to secure her career at all costs, is the fact that the program was aired on the Fox Family Network. The Fox News Network has hired Sarah Palin as a commentator, and is obviously very protective of the governor. This glitch shows that the Fox News Network operates independently from its entertainment branch.
Before I go forward with my comments, let’s take a moment to define Down Syndrome. The WebMD says that most kids with this condition have: “Distinct facial features, such as a flat face, small ears, slanting eyes, and a small mouth, a short neck and short arms and legs, weak muscles and loose joints though muscle tone usually improves by late childhood, and below-average intelligence.”
For my money, Bristol Palin gave the quintessential comment on the matter in a statement on her mother’s Facebook page. Bristol declared: “People with special needs face challenges that many of us will never confront ... why could anyone want to make their lives more difficult by mocking them? ... If the writers of a particularly pathetic cartoon show thought they were being clever in mocking my brother and my family yesterday, they failed.”
As the national debate rages about the latest set of tasteless remarks about the former governor and her family, there is a shift in the tone and tenor of the criticism levied against her. The comments about her do not reflect a new level of political persecution; instead they reflect the fact that the ex-governor is starting to reach icon status. Cultural icons like Sarah Palin and Tiger Woods are famous because of who they are - not just because of what they do. Icons don’t just make the news; they are the news. Their fans dote and their detractors perseverate. They fight the harassment of the paparazzi and the gratuitous use of their names and images. Simply sighting an icon can be a life-defining event versus sighting the garden-variety celebrity.
A great example of how one rises from celebrity to iconic ranks is the meteoric ascent of Paris Hilton. Her family name brought her into the limelight and her “jet set” lifestyle made her the envy of everyone on the celebrity party scene a few years ago. Suddenly she stepped into the icon zone. Wikipedia defines her career as follows: “an American socialite, heiress, media personality, model, singer, author, fashion designer and actress.” This means that she has no permanent job other than being a celebrity.
Returning to the assertion that Sarah Palin has become an icon, let me quote Time Magazine, which said last week, “Palin hits the same mystic chords as Clinton. A woman who goes to war against the 19-year-old boy who knocked up her daughter and then posed for Playgirl is far more comprehensible to most Americans than deficit spending is. In her Fox interview with Chris Wallace the day after her Nashville speech, Palin said she'd been focusing more on ‘current events’ since she quit as governor of Alaska.”
Even her political allies are starting to weigh in on the love vs. hate Palin campaign. A prominent Tea Party leader from Texas (Dale Robertson) is warning that the movement “is becoming nothing more than a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Republican Party.” He goes on to slam Sarah Palin as being a part of “a growing insider's attack to the heart of the Tea Party.”
Contrary to Mr. Robertson’s sentiments, countless newspapers and magazines are hailing Palin as the de facto leader of the Tea Party movement. If these writers are correct, her best selling book Going Rogue may become a manifesto. In addition, her commentaries on Fox may help focus and refine the insights of millions of followers.
Sarah, Plain and Tall is the title of a book and a trilogy of movies known by children everywhere. The award-winning book is a study of the universal themes of loneliness and abandonment. For months many Americans wondered if Governor Palin and her family could survive the rough and tumble atmosphere of modern American politics. Fortunately for Mrs. Palin, her epitaph will not be “Sarah Plain and Tall.” In fact her destiny is to become a culturally defining icon. She will undoubtedly become a role model of what a wife, mother, and citizen can be.
You go girl!!!!
“Name one other candidate/politico that is using their infant child as a campaign prop.”
Trig has Down’s syndrome, but that comment is retarded.
Are you really comparing a book-tour to the rigors of being President of the United States?
Do you think the President of the United States gives a 1 hour speech each day and that is that? I have news for you. It’s a 24-hour job. Being a mother is a 24-hour job.
If you don’t see how he was used a prop, then I don’t know what to do for you. Find me one speech where she didn’t mention Trig. Do you think she’s the first politician with a handicapped child? She’s the first I’ve ever heard ad-naseum.
And also, why is Sarah Palin free of criticism while you bots slam everyone else but its okay? Why is that?
You tell me how Haley Barbour is more qualified, or more electable, than Sarah Palin.
Are you really comparing a book-tour to the rigors of being President of the United States? NEVER MADE THIS STATEMENT
Do you think the President of the United States gives a 1 hour speech each day and that is that? I have news for you. It’s a 24-hour job. Being a mother is a 24-hour job. YOU HAVE NO EVIDENCE THAT THESE ARE MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE. THOUSANDS OF PROFESSIONAL WOMEN - CEOs, DOCTORS, ETC - HAVE YOUNG CHILDREN AND ARE ABLE TO FUNCTION IN BOTH CATEGORIES.
If you don’t see how he was used a prop, then I don’t know what to do for you. Find me one speech where she didn’t mention Trig. Do you think she’s the first politician with a handicapped child? She’s the first I’ve ever heard ad-naseum. MOST OF HER SPEECHES ARE NOT POLICY-DRIVEN AND SHE UTILIZES HER POSITION AS A MOTHER OF 5 AND WIFE OF A WORKING MAN TO HELP ILLUSTRATE HER VIEWPOINTS REGARDING HOW THE POLICIES OF THE SOCIALIST LEFT ARE AFFECTING AVERAGE AMERICANS. AND, I CAN’T RECALL A PROMINENT NATIONAL POLITICIAN BEING THE PARENT OF A DOWN’S SYNDROME CHILD. ANOTHER IMPORTANT ASPECT OF HER SON IS THAT HE IS A LIVING BREATHING EXAMPLE OF HER COMMITMENT TO THE PRO-LIFE CAUSE.
And also, why is Sarah Palin free of criticism while you bots slam everyone else but its okay? Why is that? I HAVEN’T SLAMMED ANY OTHER REPUBLICAN/CONSERVATIVE CANDIDATES.
Ron Paul is a joke and is entirely worthy of being called out.
Further, anybody stupid enough to think he is a viable Presidential candidate is worthy of the mocking they receive.
I love how a few nuts on here attack Palin and the GOP nonstop to further their fruitcake 1.7% of the vote wack a nuts...as if it matters...thus giving Mitt Romney and open path up the middle to claim the GOP nomination.
You will be battled like you dish it out...get used to it.
Again, you’re keep comparing 8-12 hour professions with President of the United States.
I see that you aren’t serious.
Good day.
no offense, but if your comment is not satire you are an asshole.
And you still haven’t proved that a mother of young children could not serve as President of the United States. With an extensive staff of professionals surrounding her and available for her every need, I doubt she would be searching for suitable day-care.
Seems more and more that your arguments are misogynistic in nature... Seriously!
You lack common sense.. That fact that you even have a right to vote is frightening in itself.
My comment was the truth.
Good day to you.
Tell me... what “common sense” part of your misogynistic arguments am I missing?
And, yes, it’s tough we commoners have the right to vote...
By what twisted logic do you see the ‘joke’ as directed at her child? The only possible joke is obscure and directed at Palin—— illegitimate Down’s child with an accountant? I think the joke is on those that are getting their underwear in a bind. FG is adept at tasteless obvious satire and this is just too vague to not be intentionally so. They wanted to get the uptight a little tighter— that’s the purpose of the joke. Let’s put in this nonsensical line and watch them go nuts.
die.
or better yet, esad.
Ahh.. another with Palin-Bot Dementia.
The Downs woman was used the way deformed people were used in freak shows in traveling carnivals. Nothing sophisticated or clever there..
she never mentioned the name of the show or the name of the writer in her FB post. She cleverly denied the show and writer recognition. your boy inserted himself into the fray, waving his hand for attention. Governor Palin simply commented on it once after BOR asked her about it, and then still didn’t mention the name of writer or show. she never demanded anyone apologize as douchebag geraldo claimed last night. she hasn’t “been everywhere” as the NY times lies about.
Any decent human being would find your comments disgusting, because they are.
See your point. IMHO, I think she probably got fed up seeing her kids used as pin-cushions by her political and cultural opponents. This was not, as we all know, an isolated incident. They even wanted her to take DNA tests to “prove” parentage. Put yourself in her place. I’ve got kids - I don’t think I could have withstood having them pilloried, investigated, and made the butt of national sneering campaigns by every reprobate on the left. And, she has demonstrably come out as an advocate for special needs children. Might make her a little more sensitive.
You wouldn’t recognize the “truth” if it were crammed up your ***
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