[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by amitoj

The power to heal those scars comes not from banning external influences, but from within.

How long will it take for the scars to heal on its own if the external influences remain all life.

There needs to be a limit on what can be portrayed as humour so that it does not cross the line into humiliation.

I remember after seeing Golmaal 1 I was very amused on seeing Tushar Kapoor's antics as a dumb guy but when I met one such guy (at a family friend's place) I realized the stark reality of life. I could see the awkardness of the guy when people were actually talking to him at the top of their voice thinking he's not only dumb but also deaf. That hurts a lot. The social stigma which surround a differently abled person can be experienced only by those persons.

Thats where I silently thank God for giving me whatever features I have.

[typeOnegative]

I have not yet signed the petition, because of the net speed. Should be able to do this in the evening. For the record, I do not feel bad when people crack jokes about Indians in general. For example that most Indians are hotel owners, 7-11 store attendants etc. Why? Because that is the truth and these are traits / characteristics that we can change.

Stuttering, lameness, blindness etc. are things that are out of control for the person. Being fat, sloppy etc. is not. It is within the power of a person who is fat to change, in fact taunts can goad them into doing just that (not to say that I agree with taunting anyone). So there is a clear distinction.

Coming to Indian movies, most of the time it is about making fun of people who are in disadvantaged positions - minorities, differently abled etc. Even in the US, I have not heard jokes being cracked about blacks because of their colour. It is mainly about other characteristics like crime, stereotypes etc. And in most cases it is blacks making fun of blacks. Also most jokes about Indians abroad are cracked by Indian origin people themselves.

So, while there is a case for lightening up and not taking things too seriously; indeed I believe that is therapeutic to laugh about oneself once in a while; in this case, I will draw the line. Making fun of somebody because of his/her disability is terrible. If there was a situation which was exploited and humor done in a more sober, subtle manner, I would not have minded, but these movies are the pits. Infact, I have stopped watching slapstick Bollywood movies for this reason.

[mallumowgli]

These senseless depiction are found in all the Indian language movies I've seen - making fun of people on the basis of their color, physical ability etc. The senthil-Goundamani jokes in Tamil are replete with such lousy jokes. I think it is high time someone made a beginning. Am signing the petition.

But hope people dont take political correctness to the extreme and lose the ability to laugh at oneself, once in a while. I've no problem if someone calls me a madrasi, but depicting madrasis or sardarjis or any community as inferior is where I would draw the line. Am a big fan of the mallu 'gelf' jokes doing the rounds

@typeOne : You've put it in a much better way mate. saw your post after putting in mine!

[hiren.mistry]

Originally Posted by typeOnegative

I have not yet signed the petition, because of the net speed. Should be able to do this in the evening. For the record, I do not feel bad when people crack jokes about Indians in general. For example that most Indians are hotel owners, 7-11 store attendants etc. Why? Because that is the truth and these are traits / characteristics that we can change.

Stuttering, lameness, blindness etc. are things that are out of control for the person. Being fat, sloppy etc. is not. It is within the power of a person who is fat to change, in fact taunts can goad them into doing just that (not to say that I agree with taunting anyone). So there is a clear distinction.

Coming to Indian movies, most of the time it is about making fun of people who are in disadvantaged positions - minorities, differently abled etc. Even in the US, I have not heard jokes being cracked about blacks because of their colour. It is mainly about other characteristics like crime, stereotypes etc. And in most cases it is blacks making fun of blacks. Also most jokes about Indians abroad are cracked by Indian origin people themselves.

So, while there is a case for lightening up and not taking things too seriously; indeed I believe that is therapeutic to laugh about oneself once in a while; in this case, I will draw the line. Making fun of somebody because of his/her disability is terrible. If there was a situation which was exploited and humor done in a more sober, subtle manner, I would not have minded, but these movies are the pits. Infact, I have stopped watching slapstick Bollywood movies for this reason.

Very well said. I totally agree with you.
Being a fellow stammer, I find it difficult to see such crassness on screen. These guys have no idea what it is to stammer.

I am not sure whether signing the petition will lead to anything except for free publicity to the movie. But I guess we as a community need to make a stand and for this I will sign your petition ntomer.

Regards

[vkochar]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

By and large we Indians have a very poorly developed sense of humour. We seem fundamentally unable to laugh at ourselves or join in a good joke where we ourselves may be the "butt" of the said joke.

Well said !

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

I have a contrarian opinion on this.

I believe we are "offended" far too easily. This is what comedians do everywhere, this is their job. Even Indian origin comedians make fun of us (along with every other race under the sun), but if they attempt such thing in India, there will be uproar.

Russell Peters is a good example and he is one of the best !

Originally Posted by ntomer

Buddy,

I believe that there is a difference in making fun of some community, somebody's ethnicity, accent etc and making fun of somebody's physical disability.

As far as I remember, I have never seen a hollywood movie/US comedian making fun of a person's physical disability.

Movies - Dumb and Dumber, Comedian - Russell Peters.

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

Everyone gets picked on, disability / sexual preferences / religion anything at all. Even disabled comedians pick up on themselves.

I think we need to learn to laugh at ourselves.

That is the spirit. We should learn to live with it.

Originally Posted by download2live

I call spade a spade. You will be better off directing you efforts to help the people with stammer rather than filing a petition in court and burdening the judiciary unnecessarily. Believe me Golmaal or no Golmaal. People will make fun of differently abled people. Going by your logic all the movies in which fat people are made fun of will also be banned.

Face the facts. This is a rough and tough world. Rather then stopping others from making fun of stammers or whatever, we should make the person in question emotionally strong.

Do not give support. Do not shield it. Then the plant will forever be a creeper.
Make it strong so that it stands on its own.

I will not sign you online petition. Sorry.

It is a big bad world out there - I agree. India is nothing compared to what fun is made of people in the Uk / Europe etc. It's everywhere.

Here is my view point -

I can completely understand the emotional trauma or humiliation a stammerer goes through in his life. One of my best friends stammers ( A Lot ! ) and he is a very successful Jeweler in Delhi ( Will not name him BUT he is famous ). I don't remember anyone in our friend circle ever making fun of him. Maybe as a student he might have been laughed at. Did not make him weak ! Only made him tougher.

In society fun is always made of people who stand out whether it is Fat, Stammering, Disability, Color / Caste, Defects etc. The list goes on.

One of my friends brother is a renowned psychologist in Delhi and he takes special classes in schools and speaks to kids under the age of 12. Did you know the biggest emotional trauma in a kid these days apart from physical abnormalities is Money Flaunting Power and specially in Convent Schools !! He says parents are these days going out of their pockets to get their kids the latest gadgets. But that is another debate

Filing a petition will just give more publicity to the movie. I agree the promos look too overdone and are in bad taste. But so what ! If this makes people laugh then be it.

Blind people are always shown in comedy movies and laughed at which is really bad humor. But then even Hollywood does it, let alone Bollywood.

I feel very bad when I see things like these BUT remember there are people who will get their entertainment quotient out of this. You can't stop them. If you start filing petitions - it will just make them do more of it. Trust me - it is human nature.


Look at the latest incident of Delhi CM Shiela Dixit where her last name was made fun of on National Telivision in New Zealand. On asking how she felt - she just ignored or shrugged it. If this was someone else less educated they could have made a huge hue and fuss over it - maybe staging dramas, blocking roads and asking their party people to sit in front of the embassies and burning effigies of the accused.

The best part is to ignore it and move ahead.

[NFS]

My signature took the total to 224. You will need more, I am going to email it to my friends.

I had always laughed at such jokes, but never thought of how you feel today. Thanks for this thread. I had been to your association website and read about how we should treat and how we should help such people. All the very best!

[Jayabusa]

Originally Posted by Sankar

No, provided all other kinds of making fun too is not okay in the media such as "occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, disability, and age-related contexts" (took that phrase from wikipedia).

But i get your point about the kids and the impression they get, more so in your case.



For me it was hard in the beginning, but no big deal. Somehow i overcame the people making fun and stuttering.

Ps: I don't make fun of disabled, and i NEVER did. But i do make fun about a lot of other things which too wouldn't be politically correct.

Not trying to be sympathetic, but I genuinely feel sorry for what happened with you and may God give you all the strength to cope with it entirely.

All the Bhpians, me included, were pretty surprised and are very happy to have come across and become a part of the civilised online community that we are. I have since extended this civilised attitude to my own life and would be delighted if it extends to society too.

Originally Posted by amitoj

I know its not easy. Its not easy to deal with any handicap or anything that makes you stand out in the crowd. Invariably, you will be made fun of because of your uniqueness. Heck i have listened to enough "Sardar Ke 12 Baj Gaye" jokes to know what you are talking about.

The power to heal those scars comes not from banning external influences, but from within.

Anyway, each to his own.

I completely agree with the 'from within' part. But isn't it a sadistic society, where handicaps are ridiculed?


Crying over ones problems is one extreme and laughing at them another. Why not bring about a balance by simply coping with them and accepting them.
This would lead to a state of bliss. Bliss isn't a state of happiness as generally thought to be.
It is a state of neither happiness nor sorrow.
Bliss is a state where you stay the same whether the external influences, good or bad, do not affect you at all.
'Sthitaprajna'

[pjbiju]

Out of all the guys who are making comments about "being able to be the butt of the joke", how many have interacted with people who stutter? Do you have friends, relatives, family members who suffer from this? Do you have friends, relatives, family members who have other disabilities like being mentally challenged, deaf mute etc.? Interact with such people at least a couple of times, before passing comments about taking everything sitting down. It is very easy to say this when you or your loved ones are not affected.

I think Shankar is the only one who has also suffered from stammering in his childhood.

Kids reflect what the society is. Stop the ridicule and there will be no scars to be healed.

[typeOnegative]

@vkochar:

1. Where in Dumb and Dumber was some one's physical disability made fun of? And was the 'fun' in the same class as that of Golmaal 3?
2. Laughing at oneself is different from laughing at others.

Originally Posted by vkochar

I feel very bad when I see things like these BUT remember there are people who will get their entertainment quotient out of this. You can't stop them. If you start filing petitions - it will just make them do more of it. Trust me - it is human nature.

I totally agree. But small steps gather momentum over time, and I believe this is a small step. BTW, it was an uphill struggle even in the US to get specifically designated areas for the physically handicapped. We have to start similarly.

[SilentEngine]

I signed the petition last night. I support this initiative. I don't know what kind of impact this petition will have on the movie, but i genuinely hope your are successful.

Making fun of disability of someone will never get my support.

[typeOnegative]

Okay. I have signed it. ntomer, keep us posted on developments.

[ntomer]

Originally Posted by typeOnegative

Okay. I have signed it. ntomer, keep us posted on developments.

The latest - The Indian Stammering Association: Progress: Legal recourse

[ExtremeTorque]

Beyond a certain age and as one grows, i think the abuse stops to some extent. It would be the closest of our friends/colleagues who make fun of it and by that time we probably learn to take it in our stride and ocassionally rebuke/repart.

It is the kids at school that we should think about, how they live with day and night of pestering/taunting by their classmates. In my case i was the frequent butt of jokes at school as i was a little overweight (well i am still overweight).

I just shudder at the thought of my kid or any other kid having to put up with this kind of torture, at such a tender age.

ntomar - thanks for bringing this up. Am signing up right after this post.

Edit: Signed up. Last count is at 243

Regards,
Arun

[Edsel Rulez!]

Yes, we tend to be overly politically correct these days, but all the same I'm disturbed to see that Indian films STILL find people's disabilities a cause for merriment. I'm not a movie buff -- not of Bollywood at least -- but I would have assumed this sort of 'humour' would have gone out of style at least two decades ago. Clearly I'm mistaken.

However, I wonder if signing petitions will have the desired effect. Sensitising people is what is required. Films are a good way to go about it, but here we see them take the opposite approach. It's sad. But I agree wholeheartedly with you, Nitin. I too would feel squeamish watching such scenes with kids.

[ntomer]

Hi,

I am sorry to raise a dormant thread; but I think this needed posting.

Here is an excerpt from an Hrithik Roshan interview -

On being asked if he was made fun in school, Hrithik says, "Of course. Unfortunately, it's one of those handicaps that is made fun of. Especially kids, you can't blame them but they end up being mean because it looks funny! So the childhood of a person suffering from a problem like this is pure hell. From the time you wake up in the morning to night you almost dread some days...to wake up! Because you have to go through an entire day when you have to use your speech and you have to go through all those little moments of hell."

And he adds, "For oral tests at school, I used to bunk school, I used to fall sick, I used to break my hand, I used to get a sprain." He also speaks of getting tremendous family support but admits to it making it tougher on him; "Mummy and daddy have been supportive. Yes, but sometimes love is not enough! When you love someone you want that person to be okay and it comes out as anger. It's like "Come on, you can do it, just concentrate hard!"

Read more: Stammering is hell: Hrithik - The Times of India

Nitin