Sure Let's Honour A Homophobe and An Admitted Ablest : Epic Oscars Fail

The Oscars were filled with many, many lows last Sunday.One that I simply could not avoid writing about was the award given to Jerry Lewis for his work infantilizing the disabled.This apparently merited the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. It is further ironic that on a show where Milk was give two awards, that a raving homophobe would receive any acclaim.

Story At Womanist Musings

[Yobyag]

I get the anger at Lewis for his narrow-minded beliefs and comments, but why do people assume that the Oscars were required to be all Gay and only Gay?

Lewis was being honored for his charity work. Whatever your personal opinion of the man, you have to admit that he generates a ridiculous amount of money for MS. Pity is the very nature of charitable donations. If you had no pity for these people you would not donate. Yes, his personal observations are dated and and backward, but that does not make him any less deserving of recognition for years of service to a cause.

[Womanistmusings]

Yobyag wrote:

I get the anger at Lewis for his narrow-minded beliefs and comments, but why do people assume that the Oscars were required to be all Gay and only Gay?
Lewis was being honored for his charity work. Whatever your personal opinion of the man, you have to admit that he generates a ridiculous amount of money for MS. Pity is the very nature of charitable donations. If you had no pity for these people you would not donate. Yes, his personal observations are dated and and backward, but that does not make him any less deserving of recognition for years of service to a cause.

Obviously you did not take the time to watch the videos on this post. The community that he claims to represent i.e the disabled protested this award. That should speak volumes to you about how much his work means to them. How you raise awareness is just as important as raising awareness. Demeaning people is never the answer.

[Fitz]

Excellent widow in into the mindset of the left. One of America’s foremost comedians & a stalwart humanitarian dragged through the mud for a single off color remark.
Go beat up on Mother Teresa you self obsessed sex addled "gender" cretins!

[Daniel P from Long Island]

To the above poster, he raises money for Muscular Dystrophy, not Multiple Sclerosis.

And after all the money he has raised for this cause over the years, has it actually done any good ?

I NEVER liked Jerry Lewis as a comedic actor, but I think he is very good as a dramatic actor.

So where has all this money gone that he has raised, and what good has it done ?

[OutVoice]

If you knew what you were talking about it would help. Lewis not only treats these "kids" like idiots he is verbally abusive. It was taped in several of his telethons. He is a hypocrit and a jerk. Not a single remark one which took place over years. My sister was a polio victim and once Jerry got control of the money from the Polio Foundation is all but disappeared. So you are an excellent window into the mind of the uninformed! By your post you consider yourself the "right". WRONG!

Fitz wrote:

Excellent widow in into the mindset of the left. One of America’s foremost comedians & a stalwart humanitarian dragged through the mud for a single off color remark.
Go beat up on Mother Teresa you self obsessed sex addled "gender" cretins!

[Fitz]

OutVoice wrote:

If you knew what you were talking about it would help. Lewis not only treats these "kids" like idiots he is verbally abusive. It was taped in several of his telethons. He is a hypocrit and a jerk. Not a single remark one which took place over years. My sister was a polio victim and once Jerry got control of the money from the Polio Foundation is all but disappeared. So you are an excellent window into the mind of the uninformed! By your post you consider yourself the "right". WRONG!
<quoted text>

I get it...For some unknown reason gay people ahte jerry Lewis?

[Shane]

Fitz wrote:

<quoted text>
I get it...For some unknown reason gay people ahte jerry Lewis?

It's not an unknown reason and we do not hate anyone, we simply see through the publicity stunts to the real monster that lives behind the facade. Mr. Lewis has built a career on the back of those he claims to serve and over decades of his so called service to them, much of the money raised simply can not be accounted for. On top of that he is verbally abusive to many minority groups, calling homosexuals a growing list of derogatory names is just the tip of the iceberg.

[Umninimuzi]

Calm your little self down, Fritz. You are so eager to vilify the gay community that you jump to conclusions. So far there have been only four opinions expressed on this forum (exluding yours)-- one supported Jerry, one disapproved of him, and a third questioned how the money has been applied -- and now you're going to state that "gay people hate Jerry Lewis"?! P-lease.

[Jason1]

Jerry has always been a masochistic a#us but those gay remarks are typical of his generation. Not an excuse but a sort of explanation.

Perhaps he should stay in France where they still love him.

[Jorge]

Feb 24 09

The world consists of all kins of people. If I were to expect that "all of us" were "truly equal" in every way, where is the challenge in being alive?

No, reality bites hard and everything in life should reflect that, the why should an awards show be any different?

Jorge

[Yobyag]

Womanistmusings wrote:

<quoted text>
Obviously you did not take the time to watch the videos on this post. The community that he claims to represent i.e the disabled protested this award. That should speak volumes to you about how much his work means to them. How you raise awareness is just as important as raising awareness. Demeaning people is never the answer.

Video is blocked at the office.

I completely agree that his mentality is out of date and out of touch and too many people, demeaning.

There are two sides to every argument though. There are enough people that seem to be on board with his methods that this telethon has existed for years. Leave the guy alone and concentrate on the promoters, advertisers and large donators. Convince them to make their contributions in a different way. But don't demonize a man for being from a different time and not understanding how to change with the times.

My grandmother still says "coloreds" when she is talking about African Americans. That does not make her a bad person, just an old one.

[Daniel P from Long Island]

Yobyag wrote:

<quoted text>
Video is blocked at the office.
I completely agree that his mentality is out of date and out of touch and too many people, demeaning.
There are two sides to every argument though. There are enough people that seem to be on board with his methods that this telethon has existed for years. Leave the guy alone and concentrate on the promoters, advertisers and large donators. Convince them to make their contributions in a different way. But don't demonize a man for being from a different time and not understanding how to change with the times.
My grandmother still says "coloreds" when she is talking about African Americans. That does not make her a bad person, just an old one.

doesn't the NAACP also use the word "colored" ?

:)

[OutVoice]

I know it is hard Fitz, try and concentrate. My reasons for not liking Lewis is what happened to my sister a polio victim. She was straight. Did not mention a word about gay. You are obviously obsessed with gay. Isn't it a bit close in that closet?

Fitz wrote:

<quoted text>
I get it...For some unknown reason gay people ahte jerry Lewis?

[Daniel P from Long Island]

Where hell has all this money gone that he has raised for Muscular Dystrophy and has anything actually been accomplished in fighting this disease ?

[No Surprise]

Most don't act as a comedian or speak as one. Lewis has always been a comedian, he is a comedian and will die a comedian. Comedians are insultive and vulgar and sarcastic and if anyone in this thread expects a comedian to be any different, you need to go listen to Chris Rock and some old Cheech and Chong tapes and even back to Red Skeleton if need be.

Um Daniel, why don't you inquire at the MD main office? Unless your afraid Lewis has the entire MD financial staff in his pocket? Then I suppose it wouldn't be worth your effort to inquire based on your paranoia/suspicions of Lewis being a thief are true. Unfortunately I can't validate your theory on the net of Lewis being a thief and a swindler because no charges of any such kind have ever been put against him in a court of law.

[Daniel P from Long Island]

No Surprise wrote:

Most don't act as a comedian or speak as one. Lewis has always been a comedian, he is a comedian and will die a comedian. Comedians are insultive and vulgar and sarcastic and if anyone in this thread expects a comedian to be any different, you need to go listen to Chris Rock and some old Cheech and Chong tapes and even back to Red Skeleton if need be.
Um Daniel, why don't you inquire at the MD main office? Unless your afraid Lewis has the entire MD financial staff in his pocket? Then I suppose it wouldn't be worth your effort to inquire based on your paranoia/suspicions of Lewis being a thief are true. Unfortunately I can't validate your theory on the net of Lewis being a thief and a swindler because no charges of any such kind have ever been put against him in a court of law.

I did not state, nor imply, that Mr Lewis was a thief. I think he does this telethon honestly and sincerely.

But I would really like tonknow what medical progress has been made after all these years.

That's all I am asking.

And incidentally, while I have NEVER been a fan of Mr. Lewis' comedy, I have seen him in dramatic roles and i think he is a GREAT dramatic actor.

[No Surprise]

Daniel P from Long Island wrote:

<quoted text>
I did not state, nor imply, that Mr Lewis was a thief. I think he does this telethon honestly and sincerely.
But I would really like tonknow what medical progress has been made after all these years.
That's all I am asking.
And incidentally, while I have NEVER been a fan of Mr. Lewis' comedy, I have seen him in dramatic roles and i think he is a GREAT dramatic actor.

My apoligies. If you haven't seen his earlier movies, you should check out the ones he did especially with Dean Martin.

[Voice of Reality]

Shane wrote:

<quoted text>
It's not an unknown reason and we do not hate anyone, we simply see through the publicity stunts to the real monster that lives behind the facade. Mr. Lewis has built a career on the back of those he claims to serve and over decades of his so called service to them, much of the money raised simply can not be accounted for. On top of that he is verbally abusive to many minority groups, calling homosexuals a growing list of derogatory names is just the tip of the iceberg.

Shane, you seem to forget that MR. Lewis had a career for YEARS before taking on the responsibility of the telethons. I would wonder what YOU do for any of the disabled in the world, have you been involved in raising even a small fraction of what this man has raised? People, we all have the right to our own personal opinions when it comes to the issues, you may or may not agree with some of the things Mr. Lewis has said, HOWEVER, to demean the lifetime work of raising money to fight a disease is utterly juvenile in nature. I wonder how many would demean Lincoln's effort to free the slaves, if they had the knowledge of his master plan for them. If you did not know, he never had a vision of free blacks walking the country, he wished to send them back to their country of origin.

[Voice of Reality]

OutVoice wrote:

If you knew what you were talking about it would help. Lewis not only treats these "kids" like idiots he is verbally abusive. It was taped in several of his telethons. He is a hypocrit and a jerk. Not a single remark one which took place over years. My sister was a polio victim and once Jerry got control of the money from the Polio Foundation is all but disappeared. So you are an excellent window into the mind of the uninformed! By your post you consider yourself the "right". WRONG!
<quoted text>

I am sure that you have documentation of your accusations about the money from the Polio Foundation, correct? Please provide such or be seen as just a simple minded liar, typical of the poor, poor people from South West Va., our own version of a third world nation.

[Jorge]

Voice of Reality wrote:

<quoted text>
I am sure that you have documentation of your accusations about the money from the Polio Foundation, correct? Please provide such or be seen as just a simple minded liar, typical of the poor, poor people from South West Va., our own version of a third world nation.

Come on, Voice!

There are many poor people that are more decent than rich ones (you have to agree with me on that one).

Jorge