ok..... do tell what a can of whip-ass is Betty? this should be good. Ken or Kyle--- what'd ya think about the dog url? On Wed, 18 April 2001, Betty B wrote: > > In a message dated 04/18/2001 9:17:37 PM Eastern Daylight Time, > [log in to unmask] writes: > > > Oh well, too late > > I missed the first twenty or so minutes of the show due to a phone call (that > I stupidly made ten minutes before the show started), but the second half of > the show was something I'll be thinking about for a while. There seemed to > be a lot of sympathy for the folks who have spent their careers in these side > shows, but nothing said about the impact freak shows have had on the general > public's perception of people with disabilities. > > They interviewed one man who said that because of his small stature, he felt > that being part of a side show helped his self esteem (I'm paraphrasing). I > saw interviews with two other men who run these things. One man was saying > that if people thought freak shows using disabled people were exploitative, > perhaps a look at the paychecks those people were getting would be an eye > opener (again -- paraphrase). > > The freak show is part of disability culture history, but it seemed that the > TV special I watched tonight made it look like anyone who would say that they > are exploitive is the bad guy. > > If anything was said about the negative message these shows promoted, it must > have been in the first half that I missed. > > And if I hear one more person talk about "overcoming the disability," I might > just have to open a can of whip-ass. We have to overcome society, yeah. > > Did anyone else see it? If so, what were your impressions? > > Betty > Also -- sorry Mike -- I did not tape the show after all, because of that > stupid call I made before it started. ------------------------------------------------------------- Sign up for ICQmail at http://www.icq.com/icqmail/signup.html