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.