Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Uncle "anything to make a" Buck


I had an interesting Ebay experience today. On looking up "Tourettes", I found a few shirts like the one you see above.

I suppose it's funny in its own way, and Lord knows I make jokes all the time, but making fun of people with disabilites? That's where I draw the line.

So I wrote the person. I told them their stickers suck. And then I told them that, and I quote you, "Less than 15% of Tourettes sufferers curse like that. That particular condition is called Corporlalia. Educate yourself. But most of all, go and make money. That’s way more important than leaving something decent in the world, isn’t it?"

Here's what they had to say back.

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I think you should be focusing on helping your child adjust rather than focusing on sending me emails!

How about you contact all the people who tell blonde jokes ~ arent they offensive to half the population! People with blonde hair cant help it ~ they are the butt of jokes constantly ~ go save them.

I have a child with autism ~ please dont presume to know me or understand who I am or my family situation or the people I know! My son who is nearly 15 is quite well adjusted to his ability & is able to laugh at himself ~ we could ALL learn from that! Everyone has a disability of some description ~ & we all need to understand who we are & what is important. If you are able to laugh at yourself first ~ it makes life so much easier ~ I know this from experience. so please take care of your child & stop trying to protect him from a world that s/he is going to have to live in ~ the more you wrap him/her in cotton wool the less prepared s/he will be & the less able to cope with the world.

You've had your say ~ now move on

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So what did I do? Leave it alone? Ummmm.... no.

I wrote them a thank you note.

I told them that I now have two national columns online (more to come on this later) and that if they wanted to have an interesting dialogue where millions of people could read it, then I could get the word out on what Tourettes really is, and they could get some cash for their stupid tee shirts.

That just might rock their world. Damnfuckin'shitassteeshirtidiots.

How's that for Tourettes?

PS: Who uses the word "cotton wool"? That just sounds hot. And sticky. I might like this person better if they told me not to wrap my child in 100% cotton.

10 comments:

Liv said...

ack. what bullshit. why is this kind of thing out there?

Dapoppins said...

Oh. You go girl.

cotton wool...what is that?

Gretchen said...

Cotton wool? Sounds like an old fashioned/granola type tampon or something. Eeew.

Boy, THAT person needs to drink a little decaff, wouldn't you say? One would think that having a child with autism might make them extra sensitive to the feelings of kids and their families who deal with disabilities of ANY kind.

"We need to understand who we are and what's important."

I like to think of myself as quasi-intelligent, but I don't get that $h!t. xxxoooGJH

Heather said...

Sure...more people need to be able to laugh at THEMselves - I totally agree. But, uh, I wonder, do they have a check box certifying that people buying those rudeass t's actually have Tourettes? No, didn't think so. And by golly, like we need more people making fun of others, particularly an "other" group that gets plenty of crap without their help.

Damnfuckin'shitasstshirtidiots is right.

Wonder if s/he is blond too...then I could see the vendetta approach, it all makes so much sense. Pshaw...

Anonymous said...

I must thank you for your writing in Letitia`s blog!
The story is affective and so right!
thank you.

Gretchen said...

I came back to visit, mostly because I couldn't believe what I had read. So sad. I truly feel sorry for them and those they touch.

Liza on Maui said...

Now I wonder what kind of Autism joke shirt do they wear in their house. Were they selling Autism joke shirts too? hmmm...

I'm glad you responded back.

Liza on Maui said...

You know... may of the people with Autism lacks the "social skills and sensitivity" .. I wonder if they too ...hmmmm...

oh well...

Andrea Frazer said...

Liv - I guess you can't escape it anywhere.

Dapoppins - I have no idea what cotton wool is, but I do have the need to scratch myself now.

Gretchen - Thank you for your double quote! I actually had a zillion back and forth emails from this person. After he called me a hippocrite and I accused him of not knowing proper English, he told me how dumb Americans were and I needed serious help. LOL.

Ham - Haaaaammmy! Your article! Thanks!

Leena - I am glad you liked the crack pot story. I have always loved it.

Liza - I thought about asking if he sold Autism shirts, but didn't want to stoop that low. You're so right though. Believe me - I was thinking that, too.

Em said...

Well, you know I have a kid with a basket full of special needs...and like the person you wrote to, my son is able to laugh at his difficulties and weird behaviors. But being able to laugh at yourself seems very different from having people laugh at you. I'm not sure my son would appreciate t-shirts that made fun of his disabilities.

I'm glad you spoke up to those folks.