# Why do people make fun of the mentally disabled people?



## Blue Butterfly

I am on a project at work building programs for the developmentally disabled. There is a guy on our team that makes all sorts of fun of these people. I has me boiling angry and management does nothing to put a stop to it. I know people on this forum has made fun of other people too. I want to know why? What do people get out of making fun of someone for something they can't help?


----------



## confusedone

Oh god this disgusts me to a huge amount. 

Throughout high school I was/am surrounded by people who would pick on the ones with disabilities and no one would do anything about it but laugh along with the perpetrator. I saw it was mainly people with arrogance and an idea of supremacy who would do the making fun. 

The idea they get from it I feel is that they know these people with the mental disabilities can't understand they're being made entertainment out of. So they can basically can control them to do what they want. Only saying this from experience, many of the kids I was surrounded by would make the "mentally disabled" do things for entertainment of those around them and themselves. Or crack jokes about them. Authority figures would even laugh at the kid(s) being victimized too. Seriously disgusting how these people get treated with disrespect and due to lack of understanding no one really tries to stop it and so it continues..(like seen in your case)

The ignorance that many people have regarding the disabilities is mainly where the making fun of is rooted from. They're different. People fear the different so they cover up the fear by treating/talking about them like aliens. Instead of trying to understand/look into what they really are facing. Some also deem them as waste of lives for this reason. :dry:

I think it's ultimately disgusting when people of supposed-to-be mature age make fun of these individuals. That is not a lack of understanding. That's just an asshole.

I have yet to understand what one could possibly get out of making fun of someone with an inevitable disadvantage. Maybe a boost of confidence. I don't know. I'm kind of glad I don't. 

I kind of got offtrack of what you were asking but, I got kind of into it. lol. :tongue: 
Sorry ^^
Hope this might help. Seems like you should say something to that guy.


----------



## xezene

It is because deep down they are insecure about themselves. They try to levy this insecurity by setting themselves apart from mentally disabled people, in this instance, so they make jokes like that. You're right, sometimes they can be very hurtful. :sad:


----------



## Slider

What type of disability are we referring to?

If that guy cracks another joke at their expense, slap him in the face. It will shock everybody and bring attention to the man's poor behavior.


----------



## Immemorial

They do it to make themselves feel superior. It's the only way that they'll ever be able to feel good about themselves in their pathetic existence.


----------



## Blue Butterfly

confusedone said:


> Oh god this disgusts me to a huge amount.
> 
> Throughout high school I was/am surrounded by people who would pick on the ones with disabilities and no one would do anything about it but laugh along with the perpetrator. I saw it was mainly people with arrogance and an idea of supremacy who would do the making fun.
> 
> The idea they get from it I feel is that they know these people with the mental disabilities can't understand they're being made entertainment out of. So they can basically can control them to do what they want. Only saying this from experience, many of the kids I was surrounded by would make the "mentally disabled" do things for entertainment of those around them and themselves. Or crack jokes about them. Authority figures would even laugh at the kid(s) being victimized too. Seriously disgusting how these people get treated with disrespect and due to lack of understanding no one really tries to stop it and so it continues..(like seen in your case)
> 
> The ignorance that many people have regarding the disabilities is mainly where the making fun of is rooted from. They're different. People fear the different so they cover up the fear by treating/talking about them like aliens. Instead of trying to understand/look into what they really are facing. Some also deem them as waste of lives for this reason. :dry:
> 
> I think it's ultimately disgusting when people of supposed-to-be mature age make fun of these individuals. That is not a lack of understanding. That's just an asshole.
> 
> I have yet to understand what one could possibly get out of making fun of someone with an inevitable disadvantage. Maybe a boost of confidence. I don't know. I'm kind of glad I don't.
> 
> I kind of got offtrack of what you were asking but, I got kind of into it. lol. :tongue:
> Sorry ^^
> Hope this might help. Seems like you should say something to that guy.


That is how people at school treated some of the kids too. Kids make fun of them and the teachers and people in authority would do nothing. Apparently that kind of stupidity not only exist with children but with stupid adults too. I get so angry over the injustice!



xezene said:


> It is because deep down they are insecure about themselves. They try to levy this insecurity by setting themselves apart from mentally disabled people, in this instance, so they make jokes like that. You're right, sometimes they can be very hurtful. :sad:


This guy that does that is an old as the hills military man. He should know better but is very selfish anyway. I wish he would get a mental disability so he would know what it fees like.


----------



## kiwigrl

Blue Butterfly said:


> I am on a project at work building programs for the developmentally disabled. There is a guy on our team that makes all sorts of fun of these people. I has me boiling angry and management does nothing to put a stop to it. I know people on this forum has made fun of other people too. I want to know why? What do people get out of making fun of someone for something they can't help?


1. Immaturity
2. Putting someone else down makes them feel elevated in themselves.

Either way it is cruel.


----------



## Blue Butterfly

DarkestHour said:


> They do it to make themselves feel superior. It's the only way that they'll ever be able to feel good about themselves in their pathetic existence.


That is so sad that one can feel superior by making fun of a disable person. That just made me cry to think that. Has the world gotten so miserable that they have to use the disabled to have positive feelings themselves.


----------



## Blue Butterfly

Slider said:


> What type of disability are we referring to?
> 
> If that guy cracks another joke at their expense, slap him in the face. It will shock everybody and bring attention to the man's poor behavior.


These are people that the government take care of because they have developmental disabilities. Some of them have downs syndrome or autism. Some them were born with these disabilities with brain injury or defect in some way. 

I would love to hit him right in his big mouth but then I would be fired on the spot. I have a very stupid supervisor and one that is filled with prejudice.


----------



## kiwigrl

I have noticed how warm and affectionate downs syndrome kids are. 
I watched a boy with D.S on Friday. He picked up his sister's towel and put it around her shoulders as she got out of the pool, after her swimming lesson. It made me go "awww" and smile.


----------



## Calvaire

I know everyone is saying 'it's because they are immature,stupid,rude want to make themselves feel better'
I believe the same in CERTAIN cases.

I always have felt like the real reason is because it's uncomfortable for them to see someone disabled so they feel odd and are not used to feeling that way so instead of confronting those feelings they make fun of what they do not understand,it's pure ignorance,they're unaware of why they are really uncomfortable.
I think a lot of the times were conditioned to act certain ways when we don't feel 'right' about something were taught to make-fun or make some sort of humor out of it and mask those awkward feelings.
It takes a lot to really confront why you might feel that way and to focus those feelings in a GOOD way instead of a bad way.


----------



## Blue Butterfly

kiwigrl said:


> 1. Immaturity
> 2. Putting someone else down makes them feel elevated in themselves.
> 
> Either way it is cruel.


I know it rips my heart out to be around these monsters that do that. I have lost all respect for the people I work with.


----------



## Slider

Blue Butterfly said:


> These are people that the government take care of because they have developmental disabilities. Some of them have downs syndrome or autism. Some them were born with these disabilities with brain injury or defect in some way.
> 
> I would love to hit him right in his big mouth but then I would be fired on the spot. I have a very stupid supervisor and one that is filled with prejudice.


Then bring it up with HR and ask them what you should do.


----------



## Blue Butterfly

kiwigrl said:


> I have noticed how warm and affectionate downs syndrome kids are.
> I watched a boy with D.S on Friday. He picked up his sister's towel and put it around her shoulders as she got out of the pool, after her swimming lesson. It made me go "awww" and smile.


I grew up with a boy with downs syndrome and he was that way. I so loved him. The people around him were very cruel with him too and it made me angry back then and it makes me angry now. I hated those people that did that to him. And I hate being around these ass holes at work.


----------



## Blue Butterfly

Calvaire said:


> I know everyone is saying 'it's because they are immature,stupid,rude want to make themselves feel better'
> I believe the same in CERTAIN cases.
> 
> I always have felt like the real reason is because it's uncomfortable for them to see someone disabled so they feel odd and are not used to feeling that way so instead of confronting those feelings they make fun of what they do not understand,it's pure ignorance,they're unaware of why they are really uncomfortable.
> I think a lot of the times were conditioned to act certain ways when we don't feel 'right' about something were taught to make-fun or make some sort of humor out of it and mask those awkward feelings.
> It takes a lot to really confront why you might feel that way and to focus those feelings in a GOOD way instead of a bad way.


You brought a new view to the situation. Ignorance and feeling uncomfortable. I will have to think about that. That would soften my view of those cold hearted monsters that right now I just want to HATE.


----------



## Blue Butterfly

Slider said:


> Then bring it up with HR and ask them what you should do.


I work for state government. I have reported those people to HR and I got myself in trouble. They tell me I am being to sensitive that people kid and joke around and there is nothing wrong with that. And because it was not directed at ME there is nothing wrong with what the man was saying. But he is making fun of the disabled and that pisses me off very much so.


----------



## Slider

Blue Butterfly said:


> I work for state government. I have reported those people to HR and I got myself in trouble. They tell me I am being to sensitive that people kid and joke around and there is nothing wrong with that. And because it was not directed at ME there is nothing wrong with what the man was saying. But he is making fun of the disabled and that pisses me off very much so.


I've worked in state government and am surprised nothing was done about this. I guess it depends on the state.


----------



## jack london

There is a special place in Hell for people like that.


----------



## Sgtshanky

What bothers me more is that some people are openly disgusted by the idea of sharing the room with a person with disabilities.


----------



## Blue Butterfly

Slider said:


> I've worked in state government and am surprised nothing was done about this. I guess it depends on the state.


I work for the state of South Dakota. It is a cowboy town with a cowboy attitude. HR management here is not to bright.



jack london said:


> There is a special place in Hell for people like that.


I hope so.


----------



## Raichan

Personally I prefer surrounding myself with the company of people who are mentally disabled but have kindness and love in their energies..rather than be near a satanic like person who's supposedly mentally capable but makes fun of other people just for being what they can't help. It would bring much better progress and light into my life that way to be honest.


----------



## Everyday Ghoul

They attack the disabled people, then people attack them, ahhhh the cycle of life. This is why I quite agree with the philosophy of will to power. Everyone wants to be right, everyone wants their word to dominate as the prevailing, and final say of what is right and what is wrong. That's why I find morality at its worst, to be a farce, and at it's best, to be an evolutionary tool to ensure our protection against Earth's greatest predator; each other. However, violence is a part of nature and we are a long way from it ever not being a part of ours. Everyone attacks (in one form or another) those they subjectively define as weak, in an ever lasting struggle to be king of the mountain.


----------



## Nymma

Blue Butterfly said:


> I am on a project at work building programs for the developmentally disabled. There is a guy on our team that makes all sorts of fun of these people. I has me boiling angry and management does nothing to put a stop to it. I know people on this forum has made fun of other people too. I want to know why? What do people get out of making fun of someone for something they can't help?


OK, they do it because deep down they know they are pathetic scum; it makes them feel in control to be able to mock others without them noticing, and feeling in control augment the inexistant self-worth of their useless selves. How lame of them to have to pick on people who won't be able to get what is going on because they were born that way. Such bullies are just worhtless monsters. :angry:

in my old school, some of my ex-friends and others mocked mentally disabled person just because they were too boring to find a subject of conversation. They were so superficial that once the talk of clothes and make-up drowned, they had to find "entertainement" elsewhere. And of course, they conveniently turned to the activity of mocking, and that included making fun of handicaped folks. it's sickening to see how far people are willing to go to be in the center of attention and how empty-headed they usually are. 

So yes, things such as being desperate to be the social butterfly and cowardly behavior are factors that lead the mocking of the disabled. 

But btw, i find that very disgusting that the management remains inactive in such a situation in your work place; it's like Pheobe Prince all over again: criminal negligence on the supervisor's part.


----------



## Blue Butterfly

Nymma said:


> OK, they do it because deep down they know they are pathetic scum; it makes them feel in control to be able to mock others without them noticing, and feeling in control augment the inexistant self-worth of their useless selves. How lame of them to have to pick on people who won't be able to get what is going on because they were born that way. Such bullies are just worhtless monsters. :angry:
> 
> in my old school, some of my ex-friends and others mocked mentally disabled person just because they were too boring to find a subject of conversation. They were so superficial that once the talk of clothes and make-up drowned, they had to find "entertainement" elsewhere. And of course, they conveniently turned to the activity of mocking, and that included making fun of handicaped folks. it's sickening to see how far people are willing to go to be in the center of attention and how empty-headed they usually are.
> 
> So yes, things such as being desperate to be the social butterfly and cowardly behavior are factors that lead the mocking of the disabled.
> 
> But btw, i find that very disgusting that the management remains inactive in such a situation in your work place; it's like Pheobe Prince all over again: criminal negligence on the supervisor's part.


If I could I would hug you right now. I just got home from that workplace where that worthless monster also works. I did find out that my supervisor forwarded my report on up higher in the command chain. I don't think they will do anything about it. But at least they know what is going on. The guy has not made any comment like that for a while now. But he sure hates me. He got his finger right up in my face and also reported him for that. My supervisor was going to talk to him over it. People like that turn my stomach sick too. I agree too that anyone that makes fun of the disabled is "pathetic scum". I think they are the things that crawl under the scum. So they are lower than the scum.


----------



## alaska

It's such a low blow- i would imagine they do it because they dont understand it, are an easy target, and feel superior towards them
andd maybe they get some influence from tv comedies+media supporting it
It would be informative to have insight from someone who does do this


----------



## prplchknz

I make fun of everyone, but mostly non mentally disabled people, doing something retarded.It's usually in good humor though.


----------



## Gracie

Slider said:


> What type of disability are we referring to?
> 
> If that guy cracks another joke at their expense, slap him in the face. It will shock everybody and bring attention to the man's poor behavior.


In a way, I would *love* to do something like that, and if I was in blue Butterfly's position, I think I quite possibly would. That or threaten my employers with some kind of lawsuit under equality legislation, I dunno... definitely, there's only so much of this I could put up with before I went apeshit and smacked someone/threw shit around.

On the other hand, I would really hate for the bully in this instance to manipulate my aggressive response into making himself the victim. Unfortunately, the world seems determined to screw over the most conscientious, decent people so TBH it wouldn't surprise me. I'd hate to give them the satisfaction of convincing themselves that I was just infringing their "free speech" or some shit like that. :angry:

As to the original question, some people are just scumbags. I know that sounds simplistic, but TBH often I'm ont ferociously interested int he underlying psychoses/insecurities/other bullshit that affect such behaviour. We all have our baggage, but unfortunately some people are less able than others to channel this productively or healthily. And there are some behaviours - like making fun of disabled people - where I honestly don't give a shit what your problem is. You're just a fucking asshole.


----------



## lirulin

Has the disabled person you are worried about complained to anyone? Do they play along with it, or do they resent it? What is his/her opinion in this matter?


----------



## Seren

This is one of those rare things that truly pisses me off. Why do people mock the mentally disabled?

They want to fit in. So, they ridicule anything that doesn't. This includes the mentally insane, mentally/physically disabled, the depressed, anyone/thing that is different...

I think it's worse for those physically disabled, depending on their condition... Cerebral palsy, for example (For the ones out there who can't talk). They can understand that people are making fun of them, but there isn't anything they can do. They can't defend themselves. I hate to say it like this, but... At least the mentally disabled can't understand. You could also make the argument that that's even worse, but I think each opinion has the same amount of reason on it's side.

Either way, it's an act of cruelty.


----------



## Le Beau Coeur

Because that person making the rude jokes is spiritually disabled.


----------



## chaeriean

it doesn't matter if a person is disabled or not. making fun of people and mocking them and bullying them and degrading them is wrong _no matter what_.


----------



## USAirlinesLetter

People make fun of the mentally disabled people simply because of ignorance! What a shame!


----------



## vellocent

People see differences and weaknesses as an opportunity to tear others apart. It shouldn't be that way, but people can be very cruel.


----------



## Voodo Chile

I don't think I've ever seen anyone make fun of a disabled person. I do however sometimes feel on the verge on cracking up when people make strange noises. We've probably all seen a person sitting in a wheelchair, dribbling and making ridiculous noises. Just look the other way and block them out. Just deny they exist or I'll probably end up with an over protective caretaker on my heels. But i dont have the status of Paul Henry so i don't think i can get away with anything. I think i find it funny because i'm not used to it. Its not something you see every day. I remember when i used to start laughing every time i heard people speak other languages. Then we had a Korean student stay with us for like a month who used to talk on the phone loudly...


----------



## BloodiedDenizen

Why do people make fun of anyone? Because it's human nature to think that your group, whatever that group is, is the best, and that anyone who is different is weird and bad. Stupid, dangerous, you name it. People make fun of mentally disabled because they are different, and pointing out differences as bad makes you seem better. There could also be some sort of evolutionary psychology behind it since people with mental illnesses would be less likely to survive and thus anyone who tried to help said person with said illness would also be less likely to survive. But we need to learn to rise above or basic instincts, that raging id beneath the surface, and tame it with the our more benevolent nature, the nature of empathy.


----------



## dagnytaggart

Honestly?

It depends whether we're talking about making fun of individuals or making light of the disabillity in general.

If anyone past the age of 9 is making fun of disabled individuals, then clearly, they've got a few issues going on "upstairs" themselves as well. 

If it's more about the concept, then I admit to doing it too. No insult intended, it's just a way to exaggerate a point I'm trying to make. (i.e., "that guy's sociallly awkward" ---> "dude's gotta be aspie.") A hyperbole.


----------



## MissJordan

Don't people generally make fun of _everyone?_


----------



## Emerson

MissJordan said:


> Don't people generally make fun of _everyone?_


He's right you know.


----------



## DustyDrill

Maybe it's not that they're making fun, but that mentally disabled people can be funny... They do funny things and make funny sounds. You'll notice that people will laugh, but only the idiotic will be cruel about it.


----------



## tuna

DustyDrill said:


> Maybe it's not that they're making fun, but that mentally disabled people can be funny... They do funny things and make funny sounds. You'll notice that people will laugh, but only the idiotic will be cruel about it.


uhh jsyk laughing at a disabled person is hurtful and cruel regardless of your intent.


----------



## DustyDrill

tuna said:


> uhh jsyk laughing at a disabled person is hurtful and cruel regardless of your intent.


Not necessarily. I don't have any malevolent intentions. I just hear a funny sound or see a funny facial expression and laugh, no harm done. If any other person made that sound or face I'd laugh. They don't have to be handicapped.

People are too damn sensitive. Political correctness is the enemy of humor. Especially when it's taken to the extreme.

In fact, some disabled people use their set-backs to make people laugh. They realize they make normal things funny and use that to bring people joy. There are many movies with handicapped people doing hilarious things. Little people also use their shortcomings (oops... no pun intended) for hilarity.

They can't change it, why cry about it?


----------



## Paradigm

Voodo Chile said:


> We've probably all seen a person sitting in a wheelchair, dribbling and making ridiculous noises. Just look the other way and block them out. Just deny they exist or I'll probably end up with an over protective caretaker on my heels.


That's actually almost ruder. Ignore a person's existence? How could that even be considered nice? At least if you're laughing, you're acknowledging them, even if it is in a cruel way. But to be treated like nothing, like little more than a dead leaf on the sidewalk or a piece of litter someone threw down? No, that's downright gut-wrenching.

Besides, the person in the wheelchair is probably just as smart as you, you just can't see it. I can't tell you how many times people have been ignored in favor of their "caretaker" just because they look different.

And it would be rare if whoever you can talk to--wheelchair-user or someone else--would hate any questions being asked. If they do, it's probably just because they're having a bad day, and everyone has those.



tuna said:


> uhh jsyk laughing at a disabled person is hurtful and cruel regardless of your intent.


Depends on if the person is trying to get a laugh out of you or not. Depends on if the person is laughing themselves or not (at the same thing you're laughing about). Don't social norms apply in this situation like any other, as a _general_ rule?


----------



## Voodo Chile

Ignorance is bliss...
I don't personally see anything wrong with pointing out something. "That guy over there smells like piss"
As long as they don't hear it. If they don't hear it then they have nothing to worry about.

My brother is good at picking up peoples disabilities and going "hey look at that person" to me. And he often finds it quite funny.
Most of the time i wont find it funny. But its not like he is doing much wrong. Its not like hes making it public and going "hey look at this everybody" and tormenting them. The most i can say is "dont point you idiot" and then walk past them as if they were a normal person. And if you were walking past someone who is 'normal' then you wouldn't stare at them constantly as you walk past. You might take a quick glimpse at them. So in a way you're ignoring them.



> Maybe it's not that they're making fun, but that mentally disabled people can be funny... They do funny things and make funny sounds. You'll notice that people will laugh, but only the idiotic will be cruel about it.


I think that sums it up quite well.


----------



## Paradigm

Voodo Chile said:


> My brother is good at picking up peoples disabilities and going "hey look at that person" to me. And he often finds it quite funny.
> Most of the time i wont find it funny. But its not like he is doing much wrong. Its not like hes making it public and going "hey look at this everybody" and tormenting them. The most i can say is "dont point you idiot" and then walk past them as if they were a normal person. And if you were walking past someone who is 'normal' then you wouldn't stare at them constantly as you walk past. You might take a quick glimpse at them. So in a way you're ignoring them.


Your brother's not making it public, but he's intentionally singling people out to make fun of. Anyone could overhear you, thus perpetuate the trend. And it's more than likely that whoever he's pointing at _has noticed_, because after a while one can get hyper-aware of how different everyone sees them to be.

I'm not entirely sure why disabilities are _so hilarious_; people don't laugh at glasses, and that's a worldwide accepted disability. Why is it funny just because they do things different than you? Is a cast funny on someone who's broken their leg? They have to use a wheelchair or crutches to be mobile.

There's a difference between walking past someone because they're part of the crowd and walking past because they're not worth your notice. 

For the record, I'm not speaking for only one subtype, but for both physically and mentally handicapped. It's probably biased towards the physical, but just because someone is mentally handicapped it doesn't mean they're not aware of this stuff, how it makes them feel.

I probably shouldn't have replied in the first place; the discrimination/ignorance has a tendency to work me up... :frustrating:


----------



## MCRTS

Paradigm said:


> Your brother's not making it public, but he's intentionally singling people out to make fun of. Anyone could overhear you, thus perpetuate the trend. And it's more than likely that whoever he's pointing at _has noticed_, because after a while one can get hyper-aware of how different everyone sees them to be.
> 
> I'm not entirely sure why disabilities are _so hilarious_; people don't laugh at glasses, and that's a worldwide accepted disability. Why is it funny just because they do things different than you? Is a cast funny on someone who's broken their leg? They have to use a wheelchair or crutches to be mobile.
> 
> There's a difference between walking past someone because they're part of the crowd and walking past because they're not worth your notice.
> 
> For the record, I'm not speaking for only one subtype, but for both physically and mentally handicapped. It's probably biased towards the physical, but just because someone is mentally handicapped it doesn't mean they're not aware of this stuff, how it makes them feel.
> 
> I probably shouldn't have replied in the first place; the discrimination/ignorance has a tendency to work me up... :frustrating:


I agree with what you're saying. I don't have a disability, but I do know what's it like to be stared at, because I have a pretty noticeable skin condition. It must be a million times worse for someone who has a mental or physical condition. For those who look at people with disabilities and laugh, put yourself in their shoes for a day. These people have already illnesses which they have to deal with on a day to day basis. They're already suffering. Why should they be subjected to stares, as if they were nothing but freaks in a freak circus, or animals in the zoo? Are they less human, just because they have a disability?


----------



## Erbse

Some will laugh, some will put on their shiny white knight armors, others don't care one way or the other.

Yea, yea. You might want to build an hierarchy of social acceptance in regards to the options available, at the end of the day however, it's all fairly moot, given that nothing is going to change.


----------



## Paradigm

MCRTS said:


> I agree with what you're saying. I don't have a disability, but I do know what's it like to be stared at, because I have a pretty noticeable skin condition. It must be a million times worse for someone who has a mental or physical condition. For those who look at people with disabilities and laugh, put yourself in their shoes for a day. These people have already illnesses which they have to deal with on a day to day basis. They're already suffering. Why should they be subjected to stares, as if they were nothing but freaks in a freak circus, or animals in the zoo? Are they less human, just because they have a disability?


Well said. :happy:

The only thing I would add is that the handicapped don't want _pity_. We want to be accepted. Not singled out, not ignored, not seen as inferior. We're people, just like everyone else.

And I dunno about you, but I'm not "suffering" from a disability. It's just... there. It doesn't bother me that much, only people's reactions do. 

This sort of thing is almost as bad as being made fun of:
Old lady: *GASP* You poor thing!
Me: Uh?
Old lady: Aw, bless you for being out in public!
Me: I'm shopping for groceries, I don't--
Old lady: So cute! *toddles off*
Me: ...'Cause this isn't as mundane as Western life gets...



Erbse said:


> Yea, yea. You might want to build an hierarchy of social acceptance in regards to the options available, at the end of the day however, it's all fairly moot, given that nothing is going to change.


I'm sure the other minorities--black slaves, German Jews, etc.--would have _loved_ to hear that in the past. You can tell that to the LGBT group, too. See how it works.


----------



## Erbse

Paradigm said:


> I'm sure the other minorities--black slaves, German Jews, etc.--would have _loved_ to hear that in the past. You can tell that to the LGBT group, too. See how it works.


Well, pardon me for my lack of emotional involvement regarding strangers. Although, I'm certainly on the indifference spectrum rather than the mocking side. If people are too busy feeling sorry for themselves and who they are, that isn't much of my business, nor my fault.

Although, laughing doesn't necessarily imply a sense of mocking, or putting the person in question down. Most people are plainly too busy projecting themselves into the situation and how "oh so horrible it'd feel" - Granted, being laughed at isn't the most pleasant thing in the world, certainly wasn't when I was a kid, but I'm no kid anymore. Quite the opposite, if I do something dumb, stupid, or "retarded", I even gotten to the point where I can laugh about myself.

In case of a mentally disabled person the matter of laughing can have various reasons, and I don't think you're in any place to judge them without taking the disabled person's opinion about it in regard, assuming the supposed offender doesn't go out of his way to verbally put the person down by mocking him. For all the emotion projecting people though, why should people suppress their urge to laugh? If it's there, might as well make room for it - inevitably it always depends on how things are taken care of towards the outside, to avoid mis-perceptions.

There are always multiple sides involved, and if anything I'm rather tired of social obligations, albeit the reason I stick to my own moral code. People may pretend and crave collective empathy / sympathy for all I care, but leave me out of that. I don't need to donate x bucks a month to a "good cause" thinking I'd have so helped someone out and feel better about myself.

There's a vast difference between light hearted humor (which may not be down your alley, still valid none the less) and serious mocking.


----------



## Paradigm

Erbse said:


> There are always multiple sides involved, and if anything I'm rather tired of social obligations, albeit the reason I stick to my own moral code. People may pretend and crave collective empathy / sympathy for all I care, but leave me out of that. I don't need to donate x bucks a month to a "good cause" thinking I'd have so helped someone out and feel better about myself.
> 
> There's a vast difference between light hearted humor (which may not be down your alley, still valid none the less) and serious mocking.


The only thing I was calling into question was your statement that nothing changes. Everything changes at some point. There's tons of civil rights movement in the present and in the past; to say they haven't changed how the world perceives is inaccurate.

We're not talking about a mass group of faceless people in this thread--or, at least, I don't think we are? What we _are_ talking about is why people make fun of (in a cruel manner; there's various types of bullying) others. I believe the OP asked why "normal" (non-handicapped) feel like they're better than the disabled people.

Now, I agree, in the terms of "someone looking in," we should always ask how the one (seemingly) being bullied feels. Maybe they were friends making light of a situation; maybe it wasn't what you thought. As an outsider, nothing is ever certain, and it's best to get information from everyone involved--but in this kind of case, if it feels downright wrong, then you're probably not far off.

Personally I'm desperately curious as to why disability is _funny_ to some. I'm curious as to why bullying makes people feel better. I'm curious as to why the disabled are treated as inhuman. (And if one doesn't think they are... Well, that's almost willed ignorance.) This sort of behavior has never made sense to me as a physically handicapped person, and while I don't think I'll ever _truly_ understand it, I want to know what/how people think.

And I don't think fear is a good answer. Nor is low self-confidence. Both are cliche and, in my experience, are mere excuses for the real underlying cause.

But, Erbse, I'm not asking you to _care._ I don't give a flip if you donate. (I don't know where you're from, but in the US we have this "Jerry's Kids" telethon that thrives on nothing but pity donations.) I understand being downright exhausted from society's notions, and this isn't your fight. I wasn't trying to "recruit" you or anything--far from it! I just think that things can change at some point, and that's why I quoted you.


----------



## Erbse

Paradigm said:


> Personally I'm desperately curious as to why disability is _funny_ to some. I'm curious as to why bullying makes people feel better.


Funny and bullying in that sense perhaps shouldn't be put in conjunction per se, as it gives away a false sense of judgment being passed. As you've said, the "low self-esteem" answer is cliché, overused and perhaps simplistic, yet holds truth in most cases. I'd also dare to say that it's typically extrovert who remain long term bullies, or introverts who have a disorder. Bullying strikes me as nothing else than feeding a certain need a person has, that has to come from the outside, some sort of validation, or underline one's own "power", so they think anyway. What the cause specifically would be, I do not know.

In fact, back the in my earlier child hood I've been quite a bully myself, as for the reasons why, I do not know. In retrospective I cannot find explanations that could justify such behavior, and if anything it makes me feel bad, as I hate to be incapable of explaining my actions. Though, what's done is done, and I perhaps wouldn't have grown out of it, if I happened to be able to permanently justify it.

In many cases it may just be a maturity issue, if you've never experienced the side of being the bullied however, chances are you'll never see much wrong with bullying. You're "stronger" hence you "deserve" more - until the day someone "stronger" comes by and basically makes you realize how the flipside of the whole apparatus works. The options are to either admire him, team up, become friends and keep on going, or to introspect and gain some insights. With lacking/malfunctioning introspection however chances are many will never come to learn some very fundamental aspects of life and will forever depend on external stimuluses. 



> I'm curious as to why the disabled are treated as inhuman. (And if one doesn't think they are... Well, that's almost willed ignorance.) This sort of behavior has never made sense to me as a physically handicapped person, and while I don't think I'll ever _truly_ understand it, I want to know what/how people think.


I wouldn't really say treated as inhuman, at least I've never done it. Though, matter of fact, most these people have no practical relevance for non handicapped people (dependent on the degree of illness). You'd never take a deaf person to the movies, or a club (plus you'd have to learn sign language, which isn't a bad thing, but again, extra work), or not do physical activities such as playing soccer with someone who has issues controlling his motor activity appropriately.

It is not that they'd be less human as a being (unless being in their own world, far off what a normal being experiences the world as, which still wouldn't make them less human, but completely inaccessible for the average person without spending extraordinary amount of effort) and you can still hold conversation of depth etc. with them. So to speak many handicapped people would make more than valid conversation/intellectual peers, if not more so than normal people even, but they simply cannot properly partake in most of the modern free time activities without being crapload of extra work many simply aren't willing to do - or cannot compete in most things it would be necessary for a normal person to enjoy an activity wholeheartedly.

Anyway, I actually have to apologize for my earlier tone, I've been headachy but taken care of the issue by now :tongue:


----------



## viva

Because some people are straight up assholes.


----------



## Angel

I don't think it's right to make fun of disabled people at all. My brother has a speech problem, and even though he's actually very smart, the moment he opens his mouth, people start thinking he's stupid. He got teased on the playground a lot when he was younger.


----------



## sprinkles

People used to make fun of me until they realized that one day I might see fit to rip out their spleen and cram it back down their throat. And not even because I'm offended, just simply because they drew attention to themselves at the wrong moment.


----------



## marzipan01

Well, I think, it's hard because I laugh at people for things I would laugh at myself for. I stop when I realize they don't get the joke. It's immensely frustrating. How can you handle living without laughter? 
Mentally disabled people laugh, too. And often they're laughing at jokes you don't really get. You never will either until you're seeing the world from their perspective. To think what innocence there is in being able to laugh at the most simple joke even after having heard it millions of times before. 
The beauty in simplicity, to never know that people are laughing at you, to never feel embarrassment, or shame. Perhaps some laugh at the mentally disabled because deep down, the joke is actually on them. Because the bliss that exists in the simple mind, makes the more mentally endowed wonder, what do any of these petty concerns of mine really have to do with anything anyway?
We are all going to die eventually, why can't I just be happy like that guy? 
For some, this thought is crushed and repressed via cruelty. The question is too painful/not possible and never asked.


----------



## marzipan01

sprinkles said:


> People used to make fun of me until they realized that one day I might see fit to rip out their spleen and cram it back down their throat. And not even because I'm offended, just simply because they drew attention to themselves at the wrong moment.


1. Killing people with kindness makes them feel guilty and if it doesn't then feel sorry for them because they will never have true love. 
2. Success is the best revenge.


----------



## marzipan01

Angel said:


> I don't think it's right to make fun of disabled people at all. My brother has a speech problem, and even though he's actually very smart, the moment he opens his mouth, people start thinking he's stupid. He got teased on the playground a lot when he was younger.


I used to beat up on kids who beat up on other kids. I feel bad about it now. I wonder if those kids feel bad about it now, too. In childhood the strong prey on the weak (animal instincts) It's sad when we can't seem to grow out of it.


----------



## reletative

I don't believe taboos help anybody.

Look at the tv show "Glee" with the disabled girl in the cheer squad. They treat her like every other character on the show. do we laugh? Yes, it's a comedy. Is she being "made fun of"? No I don't think so. They've actually made her more "human". 

Bullying is wrong, but acknowledging differences and appreciating how they make us unique is right, whether we laugh or not. the intention/motive/purpose is what counts.


----------



## Jessayy

A lot of people love to think they are superior to everyone else and by making fun off those less fortunate than them, they get a false sense of power and security. Mentally disabled people are an easy target .
To me people who bully the mentally disabled are mentally lacking themselves.


----------



## Beyond_B

Cause they are emotionally disabled?
Cause they are ignorant?
Cause they don't know that respecting others is required to be respected in return?
Ah wait no one told them they have to respect others to be respected!
Maybe they don't know what being a human means?
Or they don't know how to use their imagination to figure out what others are experiencing, and have to experience it themselves to figure it out?
No insult would be sufficient enough to descible those people(thought about using a**holes, but that isn't enough).
They need to be taught how to behave. They don't deserve to be respected. I would treat them with respect anyways(cause I know I have to respect others if I want to be respected), but I would tell them what I think about their behaviour without being asked for my opinion(in a respectful manner though).


----------



## telepariah

I think a lot of people don't make any distinction between making fun of the stupid shit that people *do* and making fun of people because of characteristics they were born with and have no control over. In my values, the former can be ok if it isn't mean spirited but the latter is never ok. I especially don't like it when people use the word retarded to describe a person who is not disabled but is merely acting stupid. I think if they ever had a real friend or a family member who was developmentally disabled, they wouldn't think that is ok.

I had a senior executive I worked for a couple of years ago who used to do that all the time. It really bothered me but I didn't feel safe confronting him about it.


----------



## Sniper

it generally seems, no matter how many helpful programs there are, its human nature to pick on the weak. There is always someone out there to exploit people who cant defend themselves i order so they can feel strong and scare others from attacking them. They should be helping them but they are too ignorant and want self gratification. Its cruel and unkind but it wont stop. Some live by survival of the fittest i suppose


----------



## Id_

I'm not really sure what there is to make fun of, because these people are stuck with something they cannot change. I think that laughing at it is due to immaturity, and we all have our moments during a given circumstance. I've laughed at friends who act mentally challenged because they did something incorrectly. But in that moment I think my friend is trying to say "This is who I am and I cant change it, so accept it. I made a mistake, maybe im not perfect!" which is funny to me because it's endearing humility.

Would you find that offensive?

Don't get me wrong, I think its wrong and i am not trying to justify your co-workers behavior. I think he is out of line, but I'm letting you know my friends and I have been guilty of it.


----------



## Type B

Blue Butterfly said:


> I am on a project at work building programs for the developmentally disabled. There is a guy on our team that makes all sorts of fun of these people. I has me boiling angry and management does nothing to put a stop to it. I know people on this forum has made fun of other people too. I want to know why? What do people get out of making fun of someone for something they can't help?


Because they're assholes. That's why. And that guy on the team making fun of disabled individuals, he's an asshole too.


----------



## GhostProtagonist

I feel set apart from all the champions in shining white armour around here because I think that everybody should be made fun of. There doesn't even need to be a reason for it, make one up if there isn't one. Everyone takes this world way too seriously.


----------



## Type B

moonlightning said:


> I feel set apart from all the champions in shining white armour around here because I think that everybody should be made fun of. There doesn't even need to be a reason for it, make one up if there isn't one. Everyone takes this world way too seriously.


While I will admit to making fun of silly things, and I will also admit to NOT taking life or the world too seriously, I draw the line at making fun of mentally/physically disabled people. 

Doing so in order to avoid taking the world and life seriously is a chicken-shit excuse.


----------



## Kyandigaru

I'd never make fun of anyone with a mental disability. Its never funny, also karma's a bitch! Never know what could happen in your own life.


----------



## Verthani

This kinda of stuff is usually bullying hidden under the guise of humor. I'm pretty sure what the OP is talking about is more analogous to sitting around making racist jokes than laughing at someone who just happens to be African American doing something funny and someone else accusing the person being racist. 

If a disabled person made a joke or honestly did something funny there's nothing wrong with laughing at it because that would be treating them like any other human being. But sitting there tittering and making snide comments about someone with a disability like that is just being a bully. You mine as well push them down and take their lunch money because it is literally that level of maturity.


----------



## Icebreaker

only sick people with low self esteem do that . No one is perfect you know .


----------



## Bear987

@Blue Butterfly

I reckon making fun of the disabled is a 'subtle' form of sadism. I don't really like it, although some crude or awkward jokes do make me laugh - even though it is wrong.

However, I can think of another possibility. The guy maybe feels uncomfortable around the disabled. Maybe he is afraid of becoming ill or disabled himself and the jokes serve as a way to ease the tension he's feeling. Also, maybe someone in his family was disabled and needed a lot of attention. His jokes are meant to get even in this case.


----------



## DeductiveReasoner

That's the idea though. They can't help it. There's no way to escape it, may as well have a bit of fun with it, yeah? People make fun of everyone. The rich and famous, the poor, the beautiful, the ugly, even average everyday suburbians get made fun of.
I don't see why the mentally disabled would be any different. Yes, I can see why this man is disagreeable and annoying, but sooner or later everything and everyone gets made fun of.

That being said, if he's being extremely abusive, to the point to which it's causing distress to the mentally disabled, then something needs to be done. I don't know how cruel his statements actually are.

And if/when you deal with the problem, I wouldn't recommend violence. Come up with a witty comment in defence of the patients. Or just report him to your boss.

Wait, why is this guy even working with mentally handicapped to begin with?


----------



## Vladimir

People do it for attention, to make their peers laugh. If people are alone, I'm sure they don't make fun of disabled people, not even internally. It disgusts me that people do this as well, and even more so because they want attention.


----------



## TooGood_ToBeTrue

It builds self-esteem. Putting someone down brings that person up, or whatever sick way they wanna think of it.
I really am against it. It's just not right. Even if you don't truly feel comfortable with that person, you don't have to go out of your way trying to make it so obvious.


----------



## Choice

Well, some parents do it to their own children to cope with the hardships of life - just finding humour in semi-crappy scenarios. Not nessecarily malicious.


----------



## Alysaria

This zombie thread likes to keep coming back to life, huh?

My thought is that it stems from primal fear.

In terms of overall population growth and stability, it makes sense for a species to favor strong, healthy mates. In terms of animals, weaker members don't usually live to adulthood. This was also true for people until the advancement of medicine and a better understanding of disabilities. However, particularly when it comes to those who are not around the mentally disabled that often, there is a discomfort and sometimes disgust... We all have different coping mechanisms, and one of them is for people to mock what disturbs them and turn it into a joke. 

There's a psychology term called "Implicit Association" that's pretty interesting... It refers to the immediate reaction toward something that associates it with something else, usually stereotypes. >.> Harvard has several tests up online on various topics if you're interested. https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/demo/

That said, there is a line between discomfort and hostility... And part of the progress of human culture is the development of social strata, etiquette, and professionalism. A person is entitled to their opinions and is more than welcome to share their various types of humor outside of the workplace. Within the workplace, there is an expectation of a certain standard of behavior (that becomes less strict as you move down the wage-ladder XD), but a few things remain pretty standard outside of sweatshops and self employment.


----------



## petite libellule

In my About Me Info in my profile I say that I stare at people who stare and scowl at children who scowl as my recreational activities. I say it to be funny. But sadly, it's true ... I have a little boy with autism and that is my daily life.

IMO ...

People wear their morality on their sleeve when seen interacting with the elderly and the disabled.


ALSO ... NEVER MAKE FUN OF ANYONE FOR SOMETHING THAT IS BEYOND THEIR CONTROL!

That is all -_-

I'm outtie before I get too preachie keen


----------



## Pride49

I am indifferent. It has been unexplained I believe the faults he is doing. Is he calling them retarded? Before idiots decided to create a second definition of the word it was OK to say that. Now it's just slang. I would try to find out why the abuse e is doing this. Maybe the retarded one *wink* isn't the mentally disabled, but the second definition describes how he is acting. I cou;dn't see a practical reason for making fun unless one of them did something ironic or hilarious and he couldn't hold himself. I guess I'm trying to justify his reasons. To think maybe there are other conflicting problems rather than...he's a jerk.


----------



## nakkinaama

I dont know! Its fucking crazy


----------



## Death Persuades

It gives them a false sense of superiority.


----------



## StElmosDream

Laziness and assuming they don't have to make any effort with minorities who seem different... see it all the time where social rules are seen as 'something everything must practise the same way' if you don't there is a risk of feeling like a social outcast.


----------



## whoameye

sometimes all they see is the oddity of those who are handicapped. They dont seem to have a capacity to be compassionate. everyone has the capacity to be compassionate, some people just dont use it. and without that compassion they dont see how terrible their jokes are. ironic thing is that those making fun of the handicaps have more internal issues than the handicaps themselves. which makes them handicapped in a sense. I actually feel sorry for those making fun of the handicaps. they seem trapped in a way. people with mental handicaps seem to be more pure and for that I admire them. the real handicaps are those who cant be compassionate because of their own internal issues that they are blind to. (still not an excuse. I want to give people whats coming to them when the treat the innocent in a bad way.)


----------



## Bricolage

Yomiel said:


> If you've ever made fun of someone for being bad looking, bad at sports, stupid (even if not deficient enough to qualify for a medical diagnosis), etc then you know why. *Most people are kinda horrible*, and I think it more often than not comes from insecurity, though there are those occasional narcissists/sociopaths that are really no fun to deal with. Go up to the guy and tell him to stop being rude.


Pretty much. :laughing:


----------



## Stelmaria

Sharpnel said:


> Yes, yet that's the kind of humor we all relate to. Regarding misfortunes, that is, not necessarily people with disabilities.
> Even children laugh at Daffy Duck getting hit on the head with a 10 tn anvil.
> 
> I don't think I'd go so far as to assume we are conditioned to laugh at other people's misfortune, but it does seem to be a universal humor.


I don't relate to it. Maybe you have been conditioned by a variety of media and social experiences to relate to it?


----------



## Sharpnel

Snow Leopard said:


> I don't relate to it. Maybe you have been conditioned by a variety of media and social experiences to relate to it?


I did say I wouldn't go as far as saying we ALL are socially conditioned, as some people *do* seem to genuinely feel glee when they do see a misfortune--sadists, one would call them? Unlike mass mentality. Yet, there are pointers, I mean, we (or most of us, at least) grew up with seemingly non-violent cartoons, and caricature live action movies geared toward kids, in which characters are getting hurt and we laugh at it.

Maybe along the way in transitioning from home TV and social settings, we somehow project those to real life?

Schadenfreude?


----------



## TwinAnthos

Blue Butterfly said:


> I am on a project at work building programs for the developmentally disabled. There is a guy on our team that makes all sorts of fun of these people. I has me boiling angry and management does nothing to put a stop to it. I know people on this forum has made fun of other people too. I want to know why? What do people get out of making fun of someone for something they can't help?


For the same reason that people say gay as an insult; They don't know it's nothing wrong with being different.


----------



## Climhazzard

I generally don't make fun of the mentally handicapped because I avoid them wherever possible.
Then and again, I'm sure by someone's flawed logic I'll be called a bad person for THAT also...

I do use words like "retarded" to describe persons, actions, policies, etc., because... look the definition up in a dictionary and deal with it.



TwinAnthos said:


> For the same reason that people say gay as an insult; They don't know it's nothing wrong with being different.


Same deal as "retarded" - calling something "gay" is an evolution of the word's usage. I don't give a shit if someone is homosexual - that's their choice, their right, and I support them in that. When someone says that something is "gay", there are no insinuations or implications of any actual homosexuality.

i.e. "This movie is gay" - translation: "This movie sucks" UNLESS referring to Brokeback Mountain in which case, yes... that movie IS gay in the literal sense. lol


----------



## lightbox

Snow Leopard said:


> How is it not? Laughing either directly or indirectly at someones misfortune is one of the lowest forms of humor.


I think there's a huge difference between laughing directly at someone so that the person knows you are doing this, and laughing at someone privately so no other person will ever know it happened. Saying these two are the same is like saying thinking of killing someone is as bad as actually killing someone.


----------



## Stelmaria

lightbox said:


> I think there's a huge difference between laughing directly at someone so that the person knows you are doing this, and laughing at someone privately so no other person will ever know it happened. .


The point is that you know and it can cloud how you relate to a person who is a sufferer of whatever misfortune, next time you meet them.


----------



## kalamitykim

People generally make fun of people with disabilities because people with disabilities make them extremely uncomfortable. People like to be in control. 
Our society is often formed on the basis that we can control things. When a woman gets raped, people want to know what she was wearing, if she was drinking, etc. Because this means it was partially her fault and if she didn't dress revealing or didn't drink, she wouldn't have gotten raped. People think when people get cancer...well maybe they shouldn't have smoked, they probably ate fast food sometimes, etc. If they didn't do that stuff, they wouldn't have gotten sick. People are uncomfortable with the randomness of life, the fact that bad crap could happen to any of us. That is isn't anyone's fault. 
That disabled person could have easily been us, or they could be our child. 

Mortality, and everything that comes with it, is scary for people and when they are faced with this fear they react.


----------



## lightbox

Snow Leopard said:


> The point is that you know and it can cloud how you relate to a person who is a sufferer of whatever misfortune, next time you meet them.


I disagree. Since I generally make fun of everyone (including myself and my own misfortunes which are plenty), it would be far more weird for me not to make fun of some certain group of people. It's not like I deliberately seek something funny in people, but I don't think it helps anyone if I try to reject being amused.


----------



## Jetsune Lobos

I feel even more sorry for the people that do. They're obviously much more depraved than the people they make fun of.



ForestPaix said:


> I actually respect people with mental disablities, often they can't communicate clearly with us, and we shun them, and yet they are still so affectionate. They don't deserve to be treated badly, as they are nicer than the 'normal' people.


Sorry, but this is really disturbing. This idea that mentally disabled folks, as a default, are supposed to fit into this bubbly and affectionate caricature that'll lick your hand every time you pet them. If you actually spent enough time around people that had mental impairments, you'd see that they are very much 'people' too, with plenty of flaws and displays of ego and selfishness. 

It's disgusting to try and sweep them under the rug and pretend they're not there, just as it is to put them on this obscene pedestal that does not exist.


----------



## ForestPaix

Jetsune Lobos said:


> I feel even more sorry for the people that do. They're obviously much more depraved than the people they make fun of.
> 
> 
> 
> Sorry, but this is really disturbing. This idea that mentally disabled folks, as a default, are supposed to fit into this bubbly and affectionate caricature that'll lick your hand every time you pet them. If you actually spent enough time around people that had mental impairments, you'd see that they are very much 'people' too, with plenty of flaws and displays of ego and selfishness.
> 
> It's disgusting to try and sweep them under the rug and pretend they're not there, just as it is to put them on this obscene pedestal that does not exist.


Yes you're right but~
I'm not trying to put them on a pedestal, and I have never pictured them as a bubbly and affectionate stereotype. In my experience, the mentally disabled people I have met are far more friendlier and more affectionate than the other people around them. I'm quite aware that they are people, and should be treated the same as every one. 
Just to clarify~ I'm not some soppy pretentious rich bitch.


----------



## ForestPaix

Jetsune Lobos said:


> I feel even more sorry for the people that do. They're obviously much more depraved than the people they make fun of.
> 
> 
> 
> Sorry, but this is really disturbing. This idea that mentally disabled folks, as a default, are supposed to fit into this bubbly and affectionate caricature that'll lick your hand every time you pet them. If you actually spent enough time around people that had mental impairments, you'd see that they are very much 'people' too, with plenty of flaws and displays of ego and selfishness.
> 
> It's disgusting to try and sweep them under the rug and pretend they're not there, just as it is to put them on this obscene pedestal that does not exist.


Yes you're right but~
I'm not trying to put them on a pedestal, and I have never pictured them as a bubbly and affectionate stereotype. In my experience, the mentally disabled people I have met are far more friendlier and more affectionate than the other people around them. Perhaps I should have made it clearer that it was in my experience. I'm quite aware that they are people just like us, with the same human nature.
Just to clarify~ I'm not some soppy pretentious rich bitch.


----------



## donkeybals

Blue Butterfly said:


> I am on a project at work building programs for the developmentally disabled. There is a guy on our team that makes all sorts of fun of these people. I has me boiling angry and management does nothing to put a stop to it. I know people on this forum has made fun of other people too. I want to know why? What do people get out of making fun of someone for something they can't help?


It is simply they are the word that starts with a d ends in k and has an ic in the middle. Oh and pluralized so s at the end. Let me spell it out. They are d*cks!

roud:


----------



## H.G.S.

This looks to be an interesting topic, so here's my two cents.

Considering that I have met some lovely people who happen to have a disability, it downright sickens me when people tease them solely because of something they can't help. It basically highlights who they truly are; ignorant and intolerant.

I get the impression, in my opinion, that the sort of people who make fun of the mentally disabled have the idea that those who are disabled can't defend themselves the way those who don't have a disability can. They also use those dirty, vile tactics to hide their own pain and sorrow. It's unstable, and it's tragic.

I also feel that both entertainment and the media have played a significant role in this issue by teaching us that it's amusing and socially acceptable to. Family Guy, Jackass (The Ringer especially), and South Park being examples. I'm not hating and saying those examples are necessarily bad to watch as I have done so in the past, but they do condone what we're talking about here. Monkey see, monkey do.

Anyway, just thought I'd give my opinion and add it to the conversation.

:tongue:


----------



## H.G.S.

This looks to be an interesting topic, so here's my two cents.

Considering that I have met some lovely people who happen to have a disability, it downright sickens me when people tease them solely because of something they can't help. It basically highlights who they truly are; ignorant and intolerant.

I get the impression, in my opinion, that the sort of people who make fun of the mentally disabled have the idea that those who are disabled can't defend themselves the way those who don't have a disability can. They also use those dirty, vile tactics to hide their own pain and sorrow. It's unstable, and it's tragic.

I also feel that both entertainment and the media have played a significant role in this issue by teaching us that it's amusing and socially acceptable to. Family Guy, Jackass (The Ringer especially), and South Park being examples. I'm not hating and saying those examples are necessarily bad to watch as I have done so in the past, but they do condone what we're talking about here. Monkey see, monkey do.

Anyway, just thought I'd give my opinion and add it to the conversation.

:tongue:


----------

