Editor's Views

I do not believe that cartoons are offensive to individuals with disabilities. Cartoons do not single out any one cultural identity. I have been watching cartoons of all types throughout my life and there is never one individual target. When it comes to how they portray disabilities, it is not always negative. South Park’s Timmy, who is in a wheelchair and has learning disabilities, is still a functioning part of the cartoon. Despite his disability he still attends the same classes as everyone, hangs out with everyone, gets the same opportunities, and is treated as their equals. However, there are times when Timmy will be used as a means for comedy by doing things such as having him fight with another cripple. In Family Guy one of the main characters who is in most episodes is a paraplegic who is a successful police officer. He portrays more strength and normality than any of his non-disabled counterparts. There are many other ways cartoons bring up issues regarding disabilities. In an episode of King of The Hill, a school is unaware of the laws behind No Child Left Behind and labels the students who struggle as learning disables to achieve better test results. Although this is false information, it climaxed with the teachers actually teaching the students to their needs. This is something that we tend to do with students with disabilities rather than everyone.

On the other side of my argument, the views that watch these cartoons are not all aware of what they are seeing. Whether the information be accurate or not does not matter if it is funny. However, this is not a flaw in cartoons but rather a flaw within us. When watching these cartoons we must be aware of what is going on in regards to how true or false something might be. Many children watch these cartoons as well and as parents it is important to make sure that you child understands that what they view is not actual facts. You cannot allow yourself or your children to believe that the information they see is accurate and appropriate to say.

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