Blog 4

Throughout my lifetime experiences, the amount of discrimination I have witnessed towards those who are disabled has been consistent. In this generation, it is common for both young men and young women to make fun of someone who is disabled, and cause emotional stress to that person. Even in our media, producers of shows have taken low blows at handicapped individuals.
In Family Guy one of the main characters is Joe Swanson, a handicapped policeman. Throughout many of the episodes I have watched they always take cheap shots at people who are in wheelchairs. In one of the episodes the main character Peter isn’t aware of Joe’s handicapped and invited him to play baseball. When he arrives, Peter freaks out, but Joe plays marvelously. The stereotype that disabled can’t play sports is ridiculous because they can, and quite effectively.
In the episode I watched three nights ago, Peter and his family open up a restaurant called Big Pete’s House and Munch, and Joe visits frequently. He indeed likes it so much, that he comes back with 30 of his friends. Although business sky rockets for Peter, he gets annoyed because all of his friends are in wheelchairs, and claims that Joe and his friends are a buzz kill to the restaurant. According to Peter, “ I don’t want you or your kind eating here anymore, you’re ruing what was supposed to be a cool establishment.” He also says, “ I think it’s immoral, it’s a lifestyle choice your forcing on America,” “No Legs No Service” Family Guy. Season5.Episode 14. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. 1999. Seth MacFarlane and David Zuckerman.
Basically what this is saying is that If you’re handicapped its wrong. A sign in the restaurant states, no legs, no service. Its joke like these, that give representation of disabled people a bad reputation. Just because a person is disabled, doesn’t mean that they will be hindered in life with their overall development of a human being. The show Family Guy, gives a negative inappropriate view on people that are handicapped, and this is something that has consistently been viewed in our media.