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Tropic thunder: national blunder
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By now, the outrage of disability advocates on a national basis has died down related to the movie, “Tropic Thunder.” If you haven’t seen the movie, or heard about the outcry surrounding the flick, the web based encyclopedia Wikipedia states that,”it caused controversy in the disability advocacy community.” “A website for Simple Jack, a faux film exhibited within the film, was pulled on August 4, amid several groups' concerns over its portrayal of mental retardation, called "intellectual disabilities" by disability advocacy groups. A coalition of more than 22 disability advocacy groups, including the Special Olympics and the Arc of the United States, objected to the repeated use of “the R-word" in the film, because of its negative connotations. After some representatives for the groups saw the private screening, they picketed outside the film's premiere. Timothy Shriver, the chairman of the Special Olympics stated "This population struggles too much with the basics to have to struggle against Hollywood. We're sending a message that this hate speech is no longer acceptable.”*
People First is one of the largest international disability leadership organizations, having been in existence since the early 1970’s, starting in Sweden, through Europe and Asia, Australia, Japan and then on to North America. According to the President’s Committee on Employment of People with comprise 20 % of the population, with over $175 Billion dollars in the market place. Our buying power “will exceed over $1 trillion dollars during this century.” People with disabilities work or are trained to work in all kinds of professions. Of the 120 million employed Americans, 16 million of them have a disability. They are executives, machines operators, managers, sales workers, mechanics, service workers, advocates, teachers, accountants, and health care workers. (Americans With Disabilities: West Virginia University, McNeil, 1993) 72% of working-age people with disabilities have high school diplomas or a higher education. Yet, of those with a college degree, 55% are unemployed, compared to 14% of college-educated people without disabilities. (National Organization on Disability, Harris Poll of Americans with Disabilities, 2000) What this shows is that people with disabilities are a vital part of our communities. We are a diverse people, with much to offer. Society does not have the luxury of taking anyone for granted, or to treat people with such disdain.
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