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Am I being too sensitive?

Henry

By Henry
in The Tailgate

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Mr. S

Mr. S

Posted
Posted

I put more into how un-pc something is based on how rare that thing is. In this case, Im not sure how common albinism is, but I doubt I have seen one albino person in my lifetime, and if Boomer is an albino, I definitely did not know (guess that shows how much it matters either).

First of all, it does show uncreativity on Czabe's part, then again, most un-pc jokes are really not that creative.

I am definitely not a PC person, and I crack jokes just as much as the next guy. However, this is probably a case where you could get mad, mainly cause albinism is rare, and therefore not even talked about much compared to an African-American person or an Indian. Plus it being personal also makes it worse. I hear Indian jokes all the time, but there are some that are definitely far, most I just laugh and agree with.

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Henry

Henry

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An un-informed question here - is albinism truly considered a handicap ?

I think the answer to the question posed would depend on that.

Actually it is. Not only do you have no skin pigmentation, which makes you unable to tan (you go straight to bad burns) but it affects your eyesight. My son is legally blind (uncorrectable) and very sensitive to light.

My son is lucky, actually. He has some pigmentation. So he just looks like a really really blond kid. Usually albinism is much more obvious.

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Blondie

Blondie

Posted
Posted
I hear ya, Die Hard. I agree with everything you posted.

I guess my question is, is it ok for me to think Czaban was being a jerk.

No one on here or anywhere can tell you what is OK for you to think.

Those are YOUR feelings and YOUR thoughts.

We all have experiences or issues that guide what we think and feel. And we all have certain "hot spots" that might not bother someone else....but absolutely send us over the edge.

Knowing how you are on here......I can only imagine you have taught and will teach your son to be very proud of who he is.....so he will have great self esteem......and will teach him that there are people in the world who speak when they should just hush.

One would think that people in the media would not say such offensive things.....but.......we all know that is not the case.

Blondie

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Destino

Destino

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Henry, I come from a strong hispanic family. Anyone insults a family member and they are jerks. We don't care about the logic behind it or fear being overly sensitive. Screw'em. Family first and anyone that causes harm can DIAF (that means die in a fire, btw)

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DCRunner

DCRunner

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I think I may be more offended that someone thinks Don and Mike are in any way funny or amusing. They aren't in any way bright or witty. Actually I've found them rather pathetic and phony. For all his faults and sins (and he has many) and the many times I just couldn't listen to him anymore, Howard Stern has usually been smart, genuinely funny, and at times rather insightful.

But for Henry's son, that crack may seem like a slap in his face. It doesn't matter how many times he has heard insults - intentional or not - about his appearance, it takes quite a lot of maturity and self-confidence to let those kind of remarks bounce off you. He has a nice head start, though, with a dad who is so aware of that pain.

Having said all that, I don't know who this radio guy is but it's hard to judge a bunch of guys goofing with each other on the radio - they all want to be raunchy and edgy, including most of their guests.

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Henry

Henry

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For anyone who cares, I did send off an email that day. Czaban wrote me back, so I thought to be fair to him I'd post our breif exchange. As far as I'm concerned, the matter is closed, and I'm glad I said something.:

To: Czaban, Steve

Cc: Pollin, Andrew

Subject: The 'albino freak' comment this morning

Gentlemen,

I just wanted to drop you a quick note about Czaban's

jab at Boomer this morning. I know people with

albinism are generally fare game for insults in

mainstream society, but as the father of a 7-year-old

with this condition I can assure you they have

feelings just like the rest of us. Maybe something to

think about for next time.

Thanks for your time,

H

My apologies Henry. I will be more aware in the future.

Hope you and your son have a great Thanksgiving Weekend.

Sincerely,

Steve Czaban

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Tarhog

Tarhog

Posted
Posted

I had a similar experience when I made a couple of bonehead posts here utilizing 'Rainman' sound clips....my intent was obviously humor, and I wasn't making an intentional statement regarding autism...It didn't occur to me that someone with a child, daughter, or family member with autism would take offense.

I really appreciated a member letting me know it was hurtful.

As someone said, we all make statements in our lives that aren't fully thought through. I generally don't think much of Czaban as a 'sports guy', but I do believe he's likely a good guy at heart, certainly not mean-spirited. I'm betting he appreciated the heads-up and that his reply was sincere.

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Henry

Henry

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I had a similar experience when I made a couple of bonehead posts here utilizing 'Rainman' sound clips....my intent was obviously humor, and I wasn't making an intentional statement regarding autism...It didn't occur to me that someone with a child, daughter, or family member with autism would take offense.

I really appreciated a member letting me know it was hurtful.

As someone said, we all make statements in our lives that aren't fully thought through. I generally don't think much of Czaban as a 'sports guy', but I do believe he's likely a good guy at heart, certainly not mean-spirited. I'm betting he appreciated the heads-up and that his reply was sincere.

The Rainman bit's a little tougher, IMHO. My son also happens to be autistic, and I hear people do the '10 minutes to Wapner' stuff all the time. For some reason that doesn't bug me as much. Maybe because that was a fictional character, a character who's creation greatly raised autism awareness, and people quote movies all the time. But that's just me, I suppose.

"Short bus" talk bugs me a little, though. My son takes a short bus to school, for obvious reasons. But that particular comment is so prevalent I let it go. If I said something everytime someone used the 'short bus' insult I'd never have time to dispense my football wisdom around here. :)

Interesting stuff to think about I guess.

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ProBowler

ProBowler

Posted
Posted

Henry,

This is my opinion only, but the comments from others will only be as big as you and your family lets it be. Of course this is real easy for me to say since I can't imagine what it's like to be in your family's situation. I think the best that could happen is that you and your son can learn to laugh about these insensitive comments. Unfortunately not everyone spends alot of time thinking before they talk including myself and I don't see it ever changing anytime soon. Don't let these comments make anything more complicated than it already is for your family and your son.

My cousin has a son who is autistic and him and his wife go through so much in going to meetings(no matter where they may be) about autism to get him help not to mention the problem is too much for his wife to handle since she isn't capeable of physically controlling him any longer wich has really caused problems. She had to quit a very good job and career to take care of him and that's not even working anymore. Luckily, they have other family members who have been able to help.

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stevenaa

stevenaa

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I think you should be upset, Henry. I would be. You can bet your butt if he'd have said Boomer looks like a queer, It would be big news and a big problem. Just because the the demographic of Albinos may be small, doesn't make it ok to use their appearance in the manner in which he did. It is insulting and out of line, IMO. I'm not big on PCism, but sometimes common sense has to rule the day.

It is one thing to have strangers on a playground or street, or kids at school make fun of him. He will have to deal with that, unfortunately. But there is absolutely no reason he should have to hear this type of crap from a sports personality on public air waves.

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GSF

GSF

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Henry,

I don't think you're being over sensitive, and I think you handled the situation with a lot of class. I bet Czabe won't make that mistake again(he really should have known better).

I have 3 kids, and as you know, nothing hurts more than to see your kids insulted or hurt. I'm glad your son didn't hear those comments, but we both know that unfortunately someday he will. The only thing you can do is give your kids a lot of love so that they have the confidence to overcome those kinds of attacks. Something tells me you are doing a great job.

Best wishes to you and your son.

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twa

twa

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I think you are being a little oversensitive,but it is certainly understandable from a parent.

I do not take offence easily unless the remarks are directed in a mean spirited way(I think this was just stupidity on his part) ,If that is the case a blood feud is on ;)

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