Comedians making "jokes" about disability, again.

I can't help but notice lately than some comedians have caught the attention of the media for making jokes about a certain group of people and that's people with learning disabilities. Frankie Boyle, Ricky Gervais and Jimmy Carr have been criticised for making jokes about people who have learning disabilities and in particular people with down's syndrome.

I'm a big fan of comedy and I love to see stand up shows but I think these jokes about learning disabilities definitely cross a line. All kinds of people and cultures are targetted by comedians but the difference here is that many people with learning disabilities are not able to stand up for themselves, have conditions that they certainly did not bring on themselves and face enough challenges every day and don't need added challenges brought on by this kind of ignorance.

Hate crime against people with learning disabilities is still a problem that is far from being solved, with the death of Gemma Hayter at the hands of people she considered to be friends (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-15723053) and the case of Fiona Pilkington the mother of Francesca Hardwick, a woman with learning disabilities who took both of their lives after years of being targeted for hate crime (http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/sep/28/fiona-pilkington-suicide-mother-police), condoning bullying of people with learning disabilities only hinders the efforts to reduce hate crime against those with learning disabilities. Many people with learning disabilities face harassment and bullying on a regular basis, the bullies will hear the jokes made by these so-called comedians and use it against those they are bullying.

I notice that these comedians will offer some sort of apology but will try to justify their actions, in the case of Ricky Gervais he persistantly used the word "mong" and tried to justify it by saying the meaning has changed. I doubt the people who face these insults feel the same way. I also have to point out that he used the word to describe Susan Boyle, who does have a learning disability (but not down's syndrome, of course). I have also noticed that Frankie Boyle has implied that people with learning disabilities wouldn't understand what he's said, but many actually do and they understand that they are mocked for something that is not under their control.

I can't help but think you've hit the lowest of the low when you feel that you have to target vulnerable people in our society.