President Obama insults Special Olympics on Leno. Apology Issued to Special Olympics P7

Originally Posted by tmay407

Originally Posted by dmbrhs

Who cares? This country has lost its sense of humor.
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What's funny about what he said?
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It's not about what he said being funny, neccessarily, it's in regards to how overly sensitive we've become as a society. Every littlething seems to be misconstrued into something offensive and everyone is so damn uptight that they can't just sit back and chuckle a bit. It wasn't thatfunny, but it's nothing anyone should ever have to apologize for.
 
Originally Posted by dmbrhs

It's not about what he said being funny, neccessarily, it's in regards to how overly sensitive we've become as a society. Every little thing seems to be misconstrued into something offensive and everyone is so damn uptight that they can't just sit back and chuckle a bit. It wasn't that funny, but it's nothing anyone should ever have to apologize for.
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Gotcha. I'm real uptight about this kind of stuff because I had to listen to these jokes directly affect my sister for about 11 years. Itseemed like every day she would come home from school depressed because the kids at her school would make fun of her non-stop...there's nothing funny aboutmaking fun of anybody that was born the way they are.

The funny thing about this situation is that I guarantee you if I called a black person the N-word, they would wanna fight me on the spot, and I'm sure 99%of black people would say it's justifiable. Yet if someone is making fun of somebody else and calls them ******ed or cracks a Special Olympics joke,I'm called sensitive if I wanna stand up against it. Just my take on it, and I'm sure a lot of people don't feel the same way.
 
[h1]Special Olympics Bowler Offers Obama Bowling Tips[/h1][h2]Tim Maloney, a 38-year-old with Down Syndrome who has been bowling for 30 years, said the president needs to practice more if he wants to bring his recentscore of 129 anywhere close to his average of 165.[/h2]
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[h1]Special Olympics Champ to Barack: Bring it On![/h1]A bowling phenom in the Special Olympics has just challenged Prez BarackObama to a White House roll-off ... and he'll probably kick Barack's butt.

0320_kolan_obama_2.jpg







We posed the challenge to the White House. They said "no comment."

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Originally Posted by dyyhard

Originally Posted by Hodog16

Anybody who is trying to spin this thing into something positive is just kidding themselves. How Obama becomes a better person by insulting a large portion of the country is beyond me. And those who think "you're being too sensitive" need to stop thinking concretely and see the world from others' eyes.
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acknowledging your mistake and showing contrition makes you a better person. I believe he's capable of doing that.

I don't agree with the "you're being too sensitive" mindset. it's the insensitivity of the comment which is at the heart of the matter.
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I agree with the second statement.

However, acknowledging a mistake you unknowingly make and fixing it makes youa better person. Obama was trying to be a comedian at the expense of somebody else's misfortune.

Using your logic, I could call a person of ethnic descent a racial slur or make a joke about homosexuals, and then as long as I apologize for it (sincere ornot), I've become a better person? How about not doing it in the first place, especially when you are supposed to be well-educated and a leader?

*Edit* Don't get me wrong, you can't change the way people think or perceive others, but you would expect certain people to be smart enough to knowwhat to keep inside their head and not say on national television. Guess that was hoping for too much.
 
Originally Posted by Hodog16

Originally Posted by dyyhard

Originally Posted by Hodog16

Anybody who is trying to spin this thing into something positive is just kidding themselves. How Obama becomes a better person by insulting a large portion of the country is beyond me. And those who think "you're being too sensitive" need to stop thinking concretely and see the world from others' eyes.
Click to expand...
acknowledging your mistake and showing contrition makes you a better person. I believe he's capable of doing that.

I don't agree with the "you're being too sensitive" mindset. it's the insensitivity of the comment which is at the heart of the matter.
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I agree with the second statement.

However, acknowledging a mistake you unknowingly make and fixing it makes you a better person. Obama was trying to be a comedian at the expense of somebody else's misfortune.

Using your logic, I could call a person of ethnic descent a racial slur or make a joke about homosexuals, and then as long as I apologize for it (sincere or not), I've become a better person? How about not doing it in the first place, especially when you are supposed to be well-educated and a leader?
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Or how about we just not overreact to everything and just take things in stride?

Clint Eastwood said it best:

"People have lost their sense of humour. In former times we constantly made jokes about different races. You can only tell them today with one hand overyour mouth or you will be insulted as a racist," the Daily Express quoted him as saying. "I find that ridiculous. In those earlier days everyfriendly clique had a 'Sam the Jew' or 'Jose the Mexican' - but we didn't think anything of it or have a racist thought. It was just normalthat we made jokes based on our nationality or ethnicity. That was never a problem. I don't want to be politically correct."
 
Originally Posted by Hodog16

Originally Posted by dyyhard

Originally Posted by Hodog16

Anybody who is trying to spin this thing into something positive is just kidding themselves. How Obama becomes a better person by insulting a large portion of the country is beyond me. And those who think "you're being too sensitive" need to stop thinking concretely and see the world from others' eyes.
Click to expand...
acknowledging your mistake and showing contrition makes you a better person. I believe he's capable of doing that.

I don't agree with the "you're being too sensitive" mindset. it's the insensitivity of the comment which is at the heart of the matter.
Click to expand...
I agree with the second statement.

However, acknowledging a mistake you unknowingly make and fixing it makes you a better person. Obama was trying to be a comedian at the expense of somebody else's misfortune.

Using your logic, I could call a person of ethnic descent a racial slur or make a joke about homosexuals, and then as long as I apologize for it (sincere or not), I've become a better person? How about not doing it in the first place, especially when you are supposed to be well-educated and a leader?

*Edit* Don't get me wrong, you can't change the way people think or perceive others, but you would expect certain people to be smart enough to know what to keep inside their head and not say on national television. Guess that was hoping for too much.
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I think reflection on the matter actually makes you a better person, but there are steps to gaining wisdom, and first and foremost is contrition (you have to be sincere about it --- otherwise it wouldn't be "contrition").
In a courtroom, showing remorse is valued by judges in their discerning opinion , same goes with the court of public opinion. I agree that he shouldn'thave said it in the first place, but his perception of the Special Olympics was tainted --- after all it came out of his mouth at the expense of adisadvantaged group of society. He does have his flaws, but it's not enough for me to dwell on as long as I seeapology and remorse. Now the reflection part -- it's an issue for himself to handle. When you can think over what you have done, and then make amends forwhat you have done(you're entitled to it - even if you are the President) - that's actively taking steps to remedy the wrong.

We all have our own expectations for our President, especially if you gave him your vote. Yeah it's disappointing, even more if your expectations arehigher than others. But, I think there is room to look past it, if you see him taking initial steps to correct the situation.
 
The people who are making a big deal out of this are the people who didn't like Obama in the first place.
 
I like Obama and I voted for him but I think that joke was grossly inappropriate. Glad to see that he apologized though.
 
Originally Posted by dmbrhs

Originally Posted by Hodog16

Originally Posted by dyyhard

Originally Posted by Hodog16

Anybody who is trying to spin this thing into something positive is just kidding themselves. How Obama becomes a better person by insulting a large portion of the country is beyond me. And those who think "you're being too sensitive" need to stop thinking concretely and see the world from others' eyes.
Click to expand...
acknowledging your mistake and showing contrition makes you a better person. I believe he's capable of doing that.

I don't agree with the "you're being too sensitive" mindset. it's the insensitivity of the comment which is at the heart of the matter.
Click to expand...
I agree with the second statement.

However, acknowledging a mistake you unknowingly make and fixing it makes you a better person. Obama was trying to be a comedian at the expense of somebody else's misfortune.

Using your logic, I could call a person of ethnic descent a racial slur or make a joke about homosexuals, and then as long as I apologize for it (sincere or not), I've become a better person? How about not doing it in the first place, especially when you are supposed to be well-educated and a leader?
Click to expand...
Or how about we just not overreact to everything and just take things in stride?

Clint Eastwood said it best:

"People have lost their sense of humour. In former times we constantly made jokes about different races. You can only tell them today with one hand over your mouth or you will be insulted as a racist," the Daily Express quoted him as saying. "I find that ridiculous. In those earlier days every friendly clique had a 'Sam the Jew' or 'Jose the Mexican' - but we didn't think anything of it or have a racist thought. It was just normal that we made jokes based on our nationality or ethnicity. That was never a problem. I don't want to be politically correct."
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dyyhard: I see where you're coming from.

dmbrhs: I'm sorry my comments bother you so much, but do you have a family member who is developmentally delayed? Well I do, so SORRY that I'mOVERREACTING to something you find so trivial. For me it's quite personal. Maybe one day you'll understand, but somehow I doubt it.

I'm done with this thread, I guess I should just accept what Obama says as gospel since he walks on water apparently, at least on Niketalk.
 
Originally Posted by Hodog16

Originally Posted by dmbrhs

Originally Posted by Hodog16

Originally Posted by dyyhard

Originally Posted by Hodog16

Anybody who is trying to spin this thing into something positive is just kidding themselves. How Obama becomes a better person by insulting a large portion of the country is beyond me. And those who think "you're being too sensitive" need to stop thinking concretely and see the world from others' eyes.
Click to expand...
acknowledging your mistake and showing contrition makes you a better person. I believe he's capable of doing that.

I don't agree with the "you're being too sensitive" mindset. it's the insensitivity of the comment which is at the heart of the matter.
Click to expand...
I agree with the second statement.

However, acknowledging a mistake you unknowingly make and fixing it makes you a better person. Obama was trying to be a comedian at the expense of somebody else's misfortune.

Using your logic, I could call a person of ethnic descent a racial slur or make a joke about homosexuals, and then as long as I apologize for it (sincere or not), I've become a better person? How about not doing it in the first place, especially when you are supposed to be well-educated and a leader?
Click to expand...
Or how about we just not overreact to everything and just take things in stride?

Clint Eastwood said it best:

"People have lost their sense of humour. In former times we constantly made jokes about different races. You can only tell them today with one hand over your mouth or you will be insulted as a racist," the Daily Express quoted him as saying. "I find that ridiculous. In those earlier days every friendly clique had a 'Sam the Jew' or 'Jose the Mexican' - but we didn't think anything of it or have a racist thought. It was just normal that we made jokes based on our nationality or ethnicity. That was never a problem. I don't want to be politically correct."
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dyyhard: I see where you're coming from.

dmbrhs: I'm sorry my comments bother you so much, but do you have a family member who is developmentally delayed? Well I do, so SORRY that I'm OVERREACTING to something you find so trivial. For me it's quite personal. Maybe one day you'll understand, but somehow I doubt it.

I'm done with this thread, I guess I should just accept what Obama says as gospel since he walks on water apparently, at least on Niketalk.
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I'm not even an Obama fan. In fact, I'm far from it. But I am a human being who understands the nature of human interaction, and thatinteraction lends itself to making comments that may often be deemed insensitive. In the society we live in today, these insensitive comments are oftenhorribly misconstrued (Don Imus being the prime example) into racist or derogatory attacks on certain segments of society. This society will never progressuntil people understand that not everthing that is uttered is racist or demeaning. Obama made a lame joke. That's it. Nobody should care. Everyone shouldmove on. And this is coming from someone who is not an Obama fan.
 
You guys fail to realize why this is a big deal. People have been taken down for much less. Take a look at Harvard's former President who is nowObama's Director of the National Economic Council.
[h4]Sexism allegations[/h4]
In January 2005, at a Conference on Diversifying the Science & Engineering Workforce sponsored by the National Bureau of Economic Research, Summers described three hypotheses for explaining the higher number of males in high-end science and engineering positions. Summers claimed that he was adopting an "entirely positive, rather than normative approach" and that his remarks were intended to be an "attempt at provocation."[sup][12][/sup] It was the second hypothesis, termed "different availability of aptitude at the high end" by Summers, that drew allegations of sexism.

According to Summers, the preponderance of males in high-end science and engineering positions could be explained by the following: first, that more men than women were willing to make the commitment in terms of time and flexibility demanded by high-powered jobs; second, and controversially, that there were differences in the intrinsic abilities of men and women at the extremes (3.5 to 4 standard deviations above the mean), as shown by higher variance in aptitude, abilities, or preferences relevant to science and engineering among men; and third, that the discrepancy was due to discrimination or socialization.[sup][12][/sup] He also stated his view that the order given reflected the relative importance of each of the three hypotheses.[sup][12][/sup]

An attendee made Summers' remarks public, and an intense response followed in the national news media and on Harvard's campus.[sup][13][/sup]Nancy Hopkins, a biologist at MIT, walked out during the talk in disgust.[sup][13][/sup] It was claimed that Summers perceived sexism cost him the job of Treasury Secretary in Obama's Administration.[sup][14][/sup]


[sup]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Summers#cite_note-13[/sup]
He was forced to resign.

Obama has to watch what he says when he doesn't have a teleprompter. It's embarassing to me to see our President make a joke about challenged people.
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Well I do, so SORRY that I'm OVERREACTING to something you find so trivial. For me it's quite personal. Maybe one day you'll understand, but somehow I doubt it.
To me thats the sound good cause I'm in the same situation and overreacting is overreacting to me. I agree with what Clint Eastwood said. Its like nowadays cats get selective morality and its ashame.

My thing is the comment comming from the President is stupid (lets be real us commoners for the most part hear stuff like this normally) but people acting likedude killed somebody is crazy imo. I would say the same thing if Bush, you, whoever said the same thing.
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and Clint Eastwood grew up in the era that gave us nonsense like this...




boofrigginhoo.. you can't make racial jokes anymore... good!
 
^^ It might be good to you, me, and alot of people but as long as your living in America your going to have cats upset that can't say what they want. Itsjust a never ending cycle and I guess thats how the world is made to be.
 
yo what i dont get is why nbc didnt edit that $%%! out...the show was taped so they had plenty of time to edit it out....also i think obama was forcing thosejokes which he should have.
 
Originally Posted by tmay407

Gotcha. I'm real uptight about this kind of stuff because I had to listen to these jokes directly affect my sister for about 11 years. It seemed like every day she would come home from school depressed because the kids at her school would make fun of her non-stop...there's nothing funny about making fun of anybody that was born the way they are.

The funny thing about this situation is that I guarantee you if I called a black person the N-word, they would wanna fight me on the spot, and I'm sure 99% of black people would say it's justifiable. Yet if someone is making fun of somebody else and calls them ******ed or cracks a Special Olympics joke, I'm called sensitive if I wanna stand up against it. Just my take on it, and I'm sure a lot of people don't feel the same way.
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^^ It might be good to you, me, and alot of people but as long as your living in America your going to have cats upset that can't say what they want. Its just a never ending cycle and I guess thats how the world is made to be.
that's fine... and I'll keep the cycle going until those people finally understand that even if it doesn't affect them, these types ofstatements are wrong..
I don't have anyone who is developmentally/mentally disabled in my family...but...I understand completely how these types of comments are hurtful.

When you have the President of the United States making saying it.... it gives the green light for everyone else in the country to think that it's ok tomake these same type of comments.

as stated before... jokes at the expense of someone else's misfortune(due to no fault of their own) aren't funny
Originally Posted by ROME357

Originally Posted by SIRIUS LEE HANDSOME

Whatever man I am a grown man...
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You really aren't giving that impression though
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Why, because he doesn't agree with you and dirty?

no b/c his argument boils down to this...

m7f3ty.jpg


yeah..that's a "grown man" argument there...
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btw.. I'm glad he apologized... but really...he should know better in the 1st place.
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