It’s really not funny

Question: What if anything is to serious to be joked about?

Answer: “In World Religions with Cuba we had to write the worst thing you ever said or whatever. There were so many people that said that they were making fun of people with disabilities. I was shocked. Mine was like talking about a teacher and they were behind me and everyone was like I made fun of a kid with a disability. He was reading them and he was like mad kinda. I don’t think people understand why it’s not something to joke about because they aren’t in the shoes of those who are special needs. I also feel like people to seem cool or whatever, but it’s not. Maybe they want to feel better about themselves by doing that, but really like when someone does that it turns me off from being friends with them, ya know? But yeah I think that’s probably one of the worst things to joke about. It’s not like a joke, it’s peoples lives.” -Paige Gerber

I chose this quote because it means so much to me that she has the same point of view that I do. My uncle is mentally handicapped and whenever people joke about it it really hurts me. I think people forgot that others around them could have someone in their life who is special needs and what they are saying hurts others. We have never been able to use the word “retarded” in our house because we know how much that hurts handicapped people. My Uncle would do anything to be able to do what I do every single day. It hurts me so much when he tries to do normal things like getting job, but he can’t because he is physically and mentally handicapped. He can’t even go places alone. Could you imagine not being able to even simply go to the store to pick up milk? The things special needs people go through are something we would never be able to go through. If we were able to switch lives for a day with them, I don’t think we would be able to get through the challenges they face everyday. We would understand how much they want to be able to do the things we do everyday.