u235

The Special Olympics is seeking greater recognition by looking for sponsorship from big cities such as New York. While they have had a great deal of success in smaller towns and venues they appear to find the lack of support from larger, more urban locations to be disappointing. Unfortunately there remains a fundamental line drawn that very often supporters of those with disabilities don't like to acknowledge. To summarize in brief, being "special" does not put you on par with the "gifted".

It's not cruel, most especially when you consider that even "average" or "normal" people aren't on par with premier athletes either. In fact there isn't even an internationally recognized competition for "normal" people called the 'Ordinary Olympics'. Sorry, that's just how it works. No one will pay to see Joe-Armchair wheeze through a 100 meter dash, so it shouldn't be all that offensive to the disabled to understand that no one wants to see them either.

''I think in this day and age, New Yorkers are looking, like everybody else, for something to believe in,'' said Shriver, whose mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founded Special Olympics in 1968. ''And I think they can believe in our athletes, and I think our athletes have a vision for the future that's better than any politician or any business leader or any celebrity out there.

Yes, if you read that quote as an euphemism, it's fine to see their effort and dedication as a tribute to the human spirit in overcoming adversity. But to say that they have a superior "vision for the future"? In the sense that they aren't as ready to pick up guns and kill, exploit, murder and extort, yes I guess so. To say they're ready to lead an international quorum to solve all the world's woes? No, I don't think so.

I actually don't believe the participants or the families of the participants have such lofty aspirations, just the organizers and supporters who want to support both a cause and themselves.

I have a knee-jerk reaction to bumper stickers. Often if I find the advertised message offensive, retarded or just plain asinine (e.g. 'I love Cats, they taste great with sauce', '"W"', 'No Jesus, No Peace') I feel free to immediately cast aspersions on their thinking, their looks and their lives. Hell if you feel comfortable enough to glue your message to the side of your car, you're clearly comfortable enough to receive my opinion on it.

Of all categories of stickers none will piss me off faster than right-to-life bullshit. Having a 'I'm pro-life and I vote' sticker is a clear signal to me to flip someone off, cut them off or block them in behind the slowest 'wide-load' vehicle on the three lane highway. The other day, however, as I was about to give the finger to the 'clearly too old to reproduce, but not too old to fuck with other people's lives' Octogenarians, I had to pause. Their sticker said "Choose Life, your mother did".

The first response was "well yeah so did Stalin's mom, Hitler's mom and Barbara Bush." But then I thought about it some more. While phrased as a command it still had the word "choose" highlighted. Choose. That's important. The inference there is that they support a women's right to decide, which is quite different than trying to change the laws to deny women their right to control their body and their future.

"Choose life". Well ok, so long as you support the ability to choose otherwise, then I can wholeheartedly support your right to express your opinion and try and change individual opinions through conversation, advertising or other media.