A mother has recorded a viral YouTube?video as a reaction to a comedy sketch performed on the Steve Harvey Radio Show.
Harvey has a recurring character on his radio show named “Sister Odell.” In this sketch, the character complains about a special needs child distracting her in church. The character goes on to describe a 34-year-old mentally disabled woman, complete with noises the woman makes in church.
This sketch disturbed this mother, who has a special needs child with autism. She was so enraged by this sketch she had to express her anger. The video below does not represent her initial response; she decided to record several videos and settled on this one because she wanted to tone done the profanity.
Normally I would defend a comedian’s right to make a joke. I think comedy represents the very height of our personal freedoms, but sometimes it can take us to the depths of our souls.
I won’t claim to be?a saint. I do use the term “retarded” in an offhand manner sometimes. It’s not a habit I’m proud of. But comedians don’t always plan their words. However, for the most part they usually know what they want to say beforehand. I would never propose that we censor comedians, but just as they are free to joke, we are free to react, whether that’s with laughter or with something a lot more serious. Do you think it’s OK to joke about a special needs person, whether adult or child?
Here’s the video.
