In 1986, the beautiful, intelligent actress Marlee Matlin won an Academy Award in spite of her profound deafness. Ms. Matlin went on to become a successful television actress, an author and a happily married mother.
At one point in her career, she appeared on the reality TV show “Celebrity Apprentice.” She came in second that season, and received high praise on camera.
Clearly, her deafness did nothing to stop Marlee Matlin for achieving a happy, successful life. She is a real role model for so many other deaf people.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is a role model for no one, unless you include bullies, sexual predators and all around as*holes.
Stories have come out about the way that Trump used to make fun of Ms. Matlin while she was on his show. It seems that Trump found it hilarious to imitate her voice, which sounds like the voice of a deaf woman.
He repeated referred to her as “retarded,” a term which offends not only her intelligence, but also those in the world who struggle with true intellectual challenges.
As always lacking a sense of decency, Trump didn’t find it remotely reprehensible to make fun of someone who was born with a significant disability. As always lacking a sense of irony, he didn’t even notice that having overcome deafness to learn oral speech, Ms. Matlin is able to communicate far more clearly than Trump himself.
Marlee Matlin reminds me of a young woman I know. I met Anna when she was eight years old. She was also born deaf. I was her speech teacher for years, and have since become her friend.
Like Ms. Matlin, my friend never let deafness define her. Like Ms. Matlin, she is intelligent, kind, strong, accomplished and successful. Like Ms. Matlin, she has some strong opinions about people who bully and demean others for being “different.”
Marlee Matlin took to Twitter to respond to the stories about Trump making fun of her behind her back. She took the high road, naturally, and declined to engage in the kind of moronic name calling that fifth graders and Donald Trump find so entertaining.
She sent this:
My response to recent media reports – Marlee. pic.twitter.com/Mkrbh47dUO
— Marlee Matlin (@MarleeMatlin) October 14, 2016
Bam. Take that, you big orange blowhard. All the people you’ve put down over the years, and all the people who identify with them, will use our voices to hand you a landslide defeat.
Featured image via YouTube Screengrab.
