I’ve always known that Governor Paterson had a sense of humor. He uses it a lot, even joking about himself. I’ve always felt that he was a man of dignity, even when he was being pissy at being attacked for some idea, or unfairly slammed.
That’s all changed now.
I’m sure that by now, many folks have seen the video of the Governor’s, erm, ”performance” at the Legislative Correspondents Association (LCA) dinner. If you haven’t, go ahead and check out this link:
http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2009/04/patersons-sight-gag.html
What the heck was the Governor thinking????
Let me give a bit of history so that you can get a clearer picture, because none of this was random. Back when the Governor’s budget first came to light, the SEIU (Service Employees International Union) did a commercial where various people were asking the Governor, essentially, “why are you doing this to me?” The budget had tons of cuts that would have devastated poor people and folks with disabilities. One of the folks in the SEIU’s commercial was an older gentleman of color who uses a wheelchair, and is blind. In the commercial, the gentleman tells the Governor that because of the cuts, he won’t be able to pay his bills, and he may lose his home, and ends by asking the governor, “Why are you doing this to me?”
As you’ll see in the video (I won’t describe much of it because you just have to see it for yourself), Governor Paterson is seated in a wheelchair, with dark glasses on (which he usually doesn’t wear, though he, himself is legally blind), and dressed similarly to how this gentleman was dressed, and mocking him, in speech and affect. At the end of the commercial, he does a cartwheel, and a backflip, and walks off the stage.
Again, what was he thinking???
Look, I can understand that he felt slammed by the commercial; even the SEIU got blowback from it. People felt that by using this gentleman, they’d gone too far, and were using people with disabilities in a manipulative fashion. I’m pissed about that, but I’d expect that from them. I don’t expect to see my Governor, a person of color, and who has a disability, himself, to be onstage making fun of fellow folks with disabilities, and cavorting about onstage with about as much dignity as a drunken frat boy.
And what about this mocking of folks with disabilities? When Saturday Night Live did a skit on Paterson, portraying him as a bumbling incompetent, boy, did the Gov go up in smoke! Dude was NOT happy, and rightfully so! In his response to SNL, he made several good points about the effect that the skit would have on people with disabilities in general. Then he goes and pulls this stunt! What a hypocrite! Whats good for the goose is good for the gander, Governor! You don’t want to be made fun of. Don’t do it to others with disabilities. You should know better!
I’ve noticed something about Paterson. When he feels put upon, or picked on, he tends to lash out by mocking people. He did this at his recent town hall meeting here in Rochester. A woman asked him a question about the cuts, adding that she was going to lose her child child care suppliment. Believe me, that is no joke! If you don’t have child care, you can’t work, plain and simple. What was the Governor’s response? Something on the order of, “Hello, we’re in a recession!” Sorry, but that was totally uncool. He could have responded with more compassion. Maybe he thinks he’s being funny, but he isn’t.
I’m not saying that humor isn’t cool, but, sometimes, humor can be hurtful, even if it isn’t meant to. And, lets not talk about satire, because it, too, can be used to hurt. For those who would say grow a thicker skin, I’d say pass the advice on to the Governor. With all the stigma and stereotyping that is rampant about people with disabilities, humor of this type only serves to strengthen that.
Governor Paterson, let me give you some friendly advice. Behaving like a petulant child when you receive criticism is behavior unbecoming to your office and your person. So are the silly and embarassing antics such as your LCA “performance” in an attempt to get back at your critics. You’ve embarassed yourself as Governor, an African American, and a person with a disability. The next time you feel picked on, muster up the dignity and maturity that I know that you posess, and behave accordingly.
RA’s Note: Here are some thoughts about this from Chris Hilderbrant on the Center for Disability Rights Blog. http://cdrnys.org/wordpress/?p=199#more-199