Aussie Channel Ten apologized for an autism joke stereotyping children with autism. British comedian Russell Kane was quoted as saying to the host of Good News Week that "We went at you like an autistic kid on a drum, we destroyed you". He was apparently talking about his team that won in a comedy fest contest.
Angered parents voiced their complaints about the comment made in the show that aired a couple of days ago. The TV station's website was flooded with upset comments. Complaints even reached Australia's Parliamentary secretary for disabilities, according to new sites news.com.au and TheDailyTelegraph.com.au. Secretary Bill Shorten was quoted, "where it stereotypes vulnerable children it goes too far...What don’t they understand about making fun of a disabled kid?” Several concerned organizations condemned the comedian's irresponsible joke. Channel Ten's airing the pre-recorded show unedited was seen by many as irresponsible.
Stereotyping children with autism (or any child with any disability, for that matter) just shows how egotistical some people are. In this case it happens to be a celebrity. After the uproar, he'll probably just shrug it all off with a comment that he didn't mean it, make a press release and then go on like nothing happened. The press release by the TV station that aired the pre-recorded show unedited shows even more callousness. A spokesperson from the station was quoted as saying the network is a strong supporter of autism awareness, and that they pledged to increase community service announcements for one organization working for the cause of autism. The sad truth is their pronouncement sounds like a convenient excuse so they could slither away unharmed after saying sorry and making amends by bribing people with their 'goodwill'. Jokes like these and half-hearted efforts by those who tolerate them make the impression that it's 'acceptable' for people to joke about disabilities. And it just shows how misinformed most people are about autism and how terribly heartless they can be.
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