The Point

The Point: Demeaning, not Funny

01/30/18

John Stonestreet

Demeaning people with disabilities is not funny. For the Colson Center, I’m John Stonestreet with The Point.

Recently on Netflix, comedian Tom Segura joked about how you can’t use the word “retarded” anymore to refer to something you don’t like. So instead, he suggested to replace “retarded” with the phrase “an extra 21st chromosome,” referring, of course to people with Down syndrome.

Ha ha.

A lot of people aren’t laughing, including GiGi’s Playhouse, a nonprofit that conducts free educational programs for those with Down syndrome and their families. They’ve launched a change.org petition asking Netflix to remove the anti-Down syndrome rhetoric from the show, to take the anti-disability sketch out of the trailer for the show, and to issue a public apology.

So far, nearly 80,000 people have signed it. Come to BreakPoint.org, and I’ll link you to the petition and contact information for Netflix. so you, too, can let them know that every human being—including those with disabilities—is made in the image of God. Demeaning them is never funny, or okay.

 

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