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.